Jon Rivera

This week, I'm looking at one of my favorite DC comics of the moment: Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye from the Young Animal line. Co-created by Gerard Way, Jon Rivera, and Michael Avon Oeming, it breathes new life into Cave Carson, a Silver Age spelunker who was so forgotten that he was even on a team called the Forgotten Heroes, which you probably also don't remember.

Check out the best sci-fi comics in 2016, including our critics' picks and the comics you voted the runners up and winner in this category!

When DC Comics announced its Young Animal imprint early this year, Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye stood out for a number of reasons. The title alone is distinctive, and Cave Carson isn't exactly a fondly remembered concept like Doom Patrol and Shade, yet nor is he a wholly new creation like Mother Panic. Yet the final product by Gerard Way, Jon Rivera, Michael Avon Oeming and Nick Filardi has gone from strange curiosity to one of the standout books of the year, melding sci-fi action, mind-bending visuals and obscure DC Universe cameos. Ahead of the release of Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #3 this week, ComicsAlliance caught up with co-writer Jon Rivera to talk about Young Animal, collaboration, and breathing new life into obscure characters.

The dirt hits the fan in Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye #3 by Gerard Way, Jon Rivera, and Michael Avon Oeming. Chloe Carson has been revealed as the lost heir to an underground kingdom, something even she didn't know, and the corrupt company Cave used to work for is after her. But as he rushes to save his daughter from the literal monster that's chasing her in this exclusive preview for issue #3, Cave has three important advantages: a lifetime of adventuring experience, a tricked out car that can burrow into the ground at high speed, and a best friend who happens to be Wild Dog. Oh, and he also has a cybernetic eye, but we're still figuring out what's going on with that thing.

Gerard Way's pop-up imprint Young Animal has only been alive for a couple of months but it's already proved to be one of the most exciting and innovative platforms in superhero comics in recent memory. Way as a creator has always been one to wear his influences on his sleeves, so it's not too surprising that as part of Young Animal's presence at November's NC Comicon, the imprint will host a film festival with picks curated by its creators.

In the last few weeks, DC has seen the return of Extraño, the Subway Pirates, KGBeast, and Harold Allnut, and honestly? If you had asked me to pick four of the least likely returns, those would've definitely been on the list. Now, though, DC has another one in the pages of Gerard Way, Jon Rivera, Michael Avon Oeming, Nick Filardi, and Clem Robins' Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye, on the offchance that Cave Carson himself returning to headline a high-profile title wasn't shocking enough. So in case you missed it... well, read on if you don't mind a spoiler for the issue's last page.

Who is Cave Carson? He's a heroic spelunker from Silver Age DC Comics, who first appeared in 1960's Brave and the Bold #31. Who is Cave Carson? He's the star of Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye, an upcoming series from Gerard Way's new Young Animal line. Who is Cave Carson? The truth is, he doesn't seem really sure himself. Check out a preview of Cave Carson #1 by Way, Jon Rivera, and Michael Avon Oeming.

Since it was announced at Emerald City Comic Convention, details have been relatively scarce surrounding Gerard Way's so-called "pop-up imprint" at DC, Young Animal. We know the four comics that will make up the line, the creators involved, and tidbits of individual synopses, but not much else. Last night, Way took to his blog to give fans the first of what will seemingly be a weekly sneak peek behind the curtain of Young Animal, discussing the creative and collaborative processes that went into the genesis of each title. He also unveiled brand new art for each series by the likes of Tommy Lee Edwards, Nick Derington and Michael Avon Oeming.

DC has made some interesting moves since its relocation from New York City to Burbank, California, last year, including the upcoming line-wide relaunch DC Rebirth, and a notably uneven line of Hanna-Barbera-inspired comics. Perhaps the most surprising announcement came at Emerald City Comicon earlier this month, when DC unveiled Young Animal, a new line of superhero comics masterminded by Umbrella Academy writer and musician and My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way. Described as a "pop-up imprint," Young Animal includes a new Doom Patrol series by Way and Nick Derington; a Shade relaunch, Shade the Changing Girl, by Cecil Castellucci and Marley Zarcone; Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye, by Way, Jon Rivera and Michael Avon Oeming, and the Gotham-set Mother Panic, concceived by Way and written by Jody Houser, with art by Tommy Lee Edwards. But that's just the start. ComicsAlliance sat down with Way to find out how Young Animal came to be, what his longterm plans are for the imprint, and how involved he is with all the books across the line.

This summer, DC Comics aren’t just relaunching their entire line, they’re starting a whole new imprint headed up by The Umbrella Academy’s Gerard Way. The imprint, Young Animal, will be overseen by Way who will also write or co-write several of the titles which will take place in DC Universe continuity, but with a mature readers edge. Described as “comics for dangerous humans”, DC referred to Young Animal in their announcement as a “pop-up imprint” and Way cited the influence of experimental comics from the eighties and nineties as guides for how to take classic characters and concepts to new places.