By Kelly Gaines
I used to think I was incredibly lucky in terms of friendship. I’ve always believed myself to be one of those fortunate few who have an infallible support system of loving companions who tough out the bad times and make the good times shine brighter. Turns out, I don’t know shit about friendship. Real friends risk life and limb to fight for your cause. Real friends warn you when alien psychos are about to force you to wear khakis. Real friends live in your stomach until the time comes for you to vomit them up so together you can save the world. Swamp Thing is a real friend. Swamp Thing should do a TED Talk.
Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye/ Swamp Thing #1 is the 4th piece of the Milk Wars puzzle- the piece that explains where the mysterious eye herald came from, and who sent out the “all hands on deck” distress call that has Batman,Wonder Woman, and the entirety of the Justice League converging on one point with a cast of superpowered misfits. If you read the first three parts of the Milk Wars event, you already know the complex brand of discomfort that fuels this storyline. Cave Carson/ Swamp Thing ties it all together with a big, abnormal bow. While this issue was probably my least favorite of the four, the preference comes from my lack of familiarity with Cave Carson- not a lack of quality in the book.
Apart from being officially enthralled in Milk Wars, a big selling point of this book for me was the inclusion of Swamp Thing. On a professional level, Swamp Thing has been written and expanded on by some of the best writers in the comic book industry. It’s a fascinating, timeless character with an endless amount of narrative potential. On a personal level, I have an old reprint of Len Wein’s 1970’s Swamp Thing in my purse that ascended to me from a yard sale and has traveled to a vast number of ladies room lines in bars between New York, Philadelphia, and the New Jersey coast (I’m not going to say the Jersey Shore- I was raised here, I have respect). I love this character. When I heard he was going to play a part in Milk Wars, I was ecstatic. You can’t threaten Swamp Thing. Even if this event was a disgusting failure, Swamp Thing would live on. There’s no risk, so It’s fun to see him play a part in whatever weird shit he can.
So why is Swamp Thing in Cave Carson’s stomach, and what do they see that makes them call on the whole superhero roster of the DC universe? Bureaucratic creativity stealing aliens. Forget saying that five times fast, I’m having trouble saying it once. Swamp Thing mouth births himself from Cave Carson after Carson is milk washed into working in Retconn’s main office building. Think The Office meets Johnny Quest meets The Fly. Swamp Thing comes out, which Cave is disquietingly cool with, and with some help, the two find the source of Retconn’s power on Earth Prime. In the “Human Resources” department, Retconn has stored hundreds of captive humans called “the dreamers” and harvests their creativity into the energy needed to run Retconn’s hostile Earth takeover. Swamp Thing, Cave, his daughter Chloe, and their friend Jack decide to essentially use the dreamers as fertilizer to make a bomb that will disrupt Retconn’s operation. Post-explosion, Cave sends his cybernetic eye off with a message- a cry for help addressed to any and all good forces on Earth Prime. This is the eye that wakes Shade and Wonder Woman, Prompts Batman to ask for Mother Panic’s help, and assists the Doom Patrol in helping the Justice League regain control in Rhode Island. Swamp Thing, Jack, and Chloe leave Cave behind to monitor Retconn’s operations with the faith that his eye will bring the heroes they need to save this reality. It’s a good setup, but I was left with a few questions.
First, were the dreamers dead? I really did not get the vibe that they were. In fact, as they’re looking at the captives (who appear to be asleep), Swamp Thing remarks that “some are human and some are more than that” while looking at a dreamer that looks mysteriously like Raven (Teen Titan Raven, not the Disney Channel one). So I was really confused and surprised when Jack then suggests they use them as a bomb to blow up Retconn’s office and everyone is like ‘yep, let’s blow this popsicle stand’. Did they just kill a bunch of innocent people? Logic says no, so the dreamers must have been dead, I just did not get that impression. If that is the case, I really hope I was mistaken about seeing Raven mixed in with them. She’s got a new book out right now, she’s doing so well- let her have that.
Second, after Swamp Thing saves Cave and Chloe, the father-daughter team go looking for Retconn’s prisoners. Keep in mind that these two are newly released from mind control that had them working in an over-cubicled office building. How did they have climbing equipment just ready to go when they lower themselves out of an air vent a few minutes later? There could be a detail I missed, but it looks like they just suddenly have the supplies needed to climb down from the ceiling. Was they eye doing that? I’ve gone rock climbing, you can’t just fit those ropes and harnesses into the pocket of your khakis. Although to be fair, you also can’t just swallow your friend and have them live in your stomach until you need them, so I might be nitpicking.
Overall, Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye/ Swamp Thing #1 is as fun as the other Milk Wars tie-ins have been. The groundwork for an amazing DC event has been placed carefully and cemented with unpredictable (and sometimes gross) setups for each of the major players. I was not as glued to the page with this issue as I was with the first three, but it is none the less necessary to properly set the stage for what is to come. I’ve said it before: prepare yourselves to enjoy Milk Wars. Brush up on the Young Animals, read the tie-ins, and get excited. And if I’m wrong, if Milk Wars underwhelms, feel free to tar and feather or stone me in the street. At that point, I’ll deserve it for so completely putting my faith in DC.
Score: 3/5
Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye - Swamp Thing #1
DC Comics