By: Rob Durham (story and art)
The Story: A new monstrous plagues Meriem’s town.
Review: There’s not a whole lot new to say about about each issue of Cavewoman, as each issue is pretty much like the one before it. There is this “Cavewoman” named Meriem who is sweet, naive and innocent. She mostly goes around in a skimpy cheetah-print bikini as she tries to help her town out of various problems. Everyone loves her because she is nice and kind. She takes her top off sometimes. Dinosaurs attack sometimes. That’s kinda what it is from a story standpoint and this isn’t the place to come if you’re looking for the next great long-form story along the lines of a Vertigo title or something from Terry Moore.
But, what Cavewoman does offer is wonderful good girl art from Rob Durham in all of its black and white glory. Both Durham and Cavewoman creator Budd Root can really handle the pencils and pens (pretty sure this is pens and not brushes). I tend to think their style is evocative of Art Adams with lots of fine lines making up the shadows instead of spot blacks. Durham also loves drawing that line that makes up the hips of a pretty woman! Making the comic B&W is such a smart choice for a smaller press comic: If the circulation is small, it’s hard to make enough money to hire a GOOD colorist. And….I’d rather comics be B&W and be able to see all the linework than to deal with the conflicting lightsources and dreadful Photoshop effects of bad colorists. My only quibble in this issue is that Durham is drawing Meriem’s breasts almost comically huge in this issue. But hey, that’s kinda Cavewoman’s niche. On the other hand, I’m not sure that the book would be harmed if they were merely “massive” and I’d certainly get fewer strange glances from my wife while reading such fare.
Conclusion: Cavewoman is what it is. It’s not a home for epic storytelling, but it does always feature very strong black and white art. Let’s face it, there aren’t too many homes left for good girl art in comics and reading Cavewoman isn’t a tremendous financial burden. Check it out if cheesecake is your thing.
Grade: B-
-Dean Stell
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