How do you turn off your memories?

Writer: Gerard Way and Jon Rivera
Artist: Michael Avon Oeming
Colors: Nick Filardi
Letterer: Clem Robins
Editor: Molly Mahan
Covers: Matthew Wagner w/Brennan Wagner and Bill Sienkiewicz
Special Thanks to Shelly Bond
Publisher: DC Comics
$2.99

Cave Carson, an adventurer, scientist, husband and father, is mired in grief. Having recently lost his beloved wife and fellow adventurer Eileen, he is aimless and without purpose, haunting his home like a ghost. While he’s continued to work, his heart isn’t really in it, and he’s just going through the motions every day. This isn’t helped by the fact that his only daughter, Chloe, is off to college, and slowly moving on from her mother’s death. Is Cave’s inability to go forward just one of the five stages of grief or does it have more to do with his Cybernetic Eye?

An interesting look at widowhood through the eyes (no puns intended) of a superhero, Gerard Way and Jon Rivera’s CCHACE is quietly paced and sharp, with just enough mystery and action to keep things moving. The storyline unfolds slowly, but that’s as it should be, as grieving for a loved one (especially that of a spouse) is not something that can be rushed. Often in comics death is taken for granted or downplayed as we wait for the convoluted explanation for why a character isn’t really dead. After all it’s comics, where even Bucky Barnes and Jason Todd, the two most famous characters to die and stay dead* for over 15 years, can not only come back but come back better than before. To have a book deal with death in such a forthright and down to earth manner is refreshing. Cave is not okay. It will be a long time before he’s ever okay, and that’s as it should be.

Michael Avon Oeming of Powers fame is on hand with his retro style and sharp angles, which combined with Nick Filardi’s bright colors, enhance the storyline. He also gives us some great throwaway panels that had me smiling as they dug deep into DC’s archive of characters as well as a fantastic closed room battle that’s just the right amount of scary.

Overall this book gets 4 out of 5 power drills.

*No one in comics stays dead except Uncle Ben.