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Au Naturel: Cavewoman: Natural Selection #1

Plot

Meriem the Cavewoman is laying on a tilted observation table in Dr. Lansing’s lab. Above her is a large apparatus that has a syringe at the end. At the flip of a switch, the machine punctures Meriem’s superhuman tough skin and draws out a blood sample. With this, Dr. Lansing hopes to synthesize a formula to vaccinate the citizens of Marshville against Jurassic diseases. Happy to have contributed to the greater community, Meriem leaves with her beau Bruce to get ice cream.

Cover shows Mona (left) and Meriem (right) fighting each other. Mona has blonde hair, Meriem dark. Meriem has her right hand on Mona's neck, and Mona has her hand on Meriem's hand trying to pull her away. Both are looking at each other wide eyed making "grrrr" faces. Both are wearing skimpy attire showing off lots of skin.
Personal copy of Natural Selection issue 1. This variant does not have any titles/logos on the cover.

Dr. Lansing’s lab assistant and daughter Mona is invited but her father steers her back to her scientific work. Late, on her way home, she is called “weird” and a “cat-lady” by patrons of a diner. She muses over her inability to land a boyfriend, especially one like Bruce. She decides to steal the serum taken from Meriem’s blood and inject herself with it, transforming her body into a fit, jungle girl. She dons a costume and blonde wig and begins performing superhero deeds around Marshville, such as saving kittens and hunting for food. Her escapades attract the attention of the male populace.

Paper certificate that says "Amryl Entertainment Certificate of Authenticity. Cavewoman Natural Selection 1 Special Edition - Devon. Limited to 75 - copies"
Cavewoman Natural Selection #1 Certificate for special edition cover.

Meriem and Bruce are summoned to Lansing’s lab who reports that some of the serum is missing and is probably connected with the sudden appearance of the blonde jungle heroine. They decide to store the serum in a bank vault for protection. 

Mona overhears this, but risks breaking into the bank to get the serum to continue living in her new form. Waiting in the vault is Meriem and the two ladies get into a fight. After many blows are exchanged, Mona seemingly gets the upper hand as she puts Meriem in a chokehold.

Commentary

Cavewoman “Natural Selection” issue one is the first part of a two issue story arc written and drawn by Devon Massey and published in June 2012. “Natural Selection” is the first comic reviewed in this Cavewoman retrospective that was done by Massey as the other issues analyzed so far (“Extinction”, “Snow”, and “Bunny Ranch”) were written and drawn by Rob Durham.

Massey’s artistic approach to Meriem is extremely different than both Durham’s and Root’s. Budd Root and Rob Durham both embrace the pinup and cheesecake style when depicting Meriem. Massey takes a less glamorous, but still extremely sexualized, approach. It feels at home with old school underground and adult comics (of which Cavewoman is a successor of). Somewhere on the scale of Robert Crumb to Eric Stanton can one find a gauge of Massey’s style.

Mereim has a big smile, but also big cheeks. She says "That's so neat! Can we get ice-cream now, Bruce? You so promised!"
After the doctor’s visit, Meriem is promised ice cream.

Massey’s approach to Meriem is to make her “rounder”, especially noticeable in her face and cheeks. Massey’s Meriem is still voluptuous and maintains the emphasis on her body, especially her breasts and posterior. There is less detail in Massey’s art when compared to Durham, but on the other hand, it leans into a more “cartoony” style which supports the tone of “Natural Selection” which is full of scenes of sexual innuendoes and genre parody. Massey has a specific vibe present in the art, and it supports the more laid back, lower stakes, simple superheroine story of “Natural Selection”.

Meriem is sitting against some heart shaped pillows, leaning backward. She has a leopard print bikini top, popping forward. She looks sultry. She says "Gosh, I've never done this before. Is it gonna hurt?"
Meriem is positioned “seductively” on the doctor’s table.

“Natural Selection” begins immediately with a multi-layered parody of the pulp trope of a hero secured to a mad scientist’s/villain’s table, with a death ray or buzz saw above them, a ticking clock to their demise. This is the type of trope reserved for James Bond Eurospy-type characters or damsels in distress. Meriem is a far cry from being a damsel in distress, so her occupying that role visually in the opening pages is both jarring and comedic, as her powers would allow her to escape at any time. 

Next, it turns out the scene is not perilous at all, but benevolent. Meriem has volunteered herself to have her blood drawn into order to be turned into a serum to help the residents of Marshville survive being in the prehistoric past. The reason for the dramatic and dangerous looking setup is that equipment from an oil drill, (perhaps a nod to the oil drilling plot line in “Snow” issues one and two), is needed to pierce her invulnerable skin. The scene get even more nefarious looking, with Dr. Lansing initially depicted as a lecherous and grotesque mad scientist. However, he is a good guy.

Finally, the dialogue bubbles for this “mad scientist/damsel in distress” sequence are non-stop sexual innuendos and double entendres. The first page of “Natural Selection” shows Meriem leaning back, bracing herself (protruding her buxomness toward the reader as much as possible) as if she is about to be penetrated sexually, “Gosh, I’ve never done this before…is it gonna hurt?” Dialogue lines such as “I have managed to raise the necessary equipment”, “I can begin the insertion”, “you might feel a little prick” pile on, making the scene entirely over the top with innuendo, that in the end, is all misconstruing context that concludes with Lansing getting a blood sample, a benign activity that occurs in many normal visits to the doctor. This is Austin Powers style humour dialed to eleven.

The bulk of the focus of “Natural Selection” is not on Meriem but on Mona, the daughter of Dr. Lansing who has confidence issues and wants to get a boyfriend. Her hair is pulled into a tight ponytail and she wears glasses, but she is far from being homely. She is a parody, like Chyler Leigh’s character in the spoof film Not Another Teen Movie (2001). Her concerns about her appearance are valid in that even in the prehistoric past, advertising and society expectations find a way to make her feel inadequate. She walks by a series of storefronts, such as an adult store and a tanning salon, that bombard her with messaging that she needs to change her appearance.

Mona is walking on a sidewalk next to a building, going left to right. Her thought bubble says "I'm never gonna get a man looking like this". Behind her is a storefront for Sandy's Adult Toy and Swear Wear, and then Marsha's Fitness and Tanning.
Mona walks along the street, bombarded by advertising to change her looks.

Mona has a crush on Bruce, who in this issue has his greaser/rockabilly image cranked way up (he also seems to dig The Rocky Horror Picture Show [1975]). This causes Mona to compare herself to Meriem and become discouraged. This is a theme that Cavewoman previously explored in “Snow” issue two. In that issue Meriem passes by a strip mall on her way to do gardening at a museum. Two women inside the mall watch Meriem pass by. One comments that Meriem needs to cover up more while the other talks about her boyfriend drooling just by looking at the cavewoman. The former does counter that her boyfriend is a “dog” who needs “his ass dumped” and that Meriem “seems nice and she has a boyfriend” implying Meriem is not going to be stealing anyone’s significant other. The exchange is brief, but it does set a background that there are women in Marshville who find themselves threatened or intimidated by Meriem’s beauty, and from the ongoings in “Natural Selection”, Mona can be added to that list.

Collage scene of Mona trying on a variety of skimpy, super heroine outfits. All show off her skins, breasts, and curves.
Mona tries on various super heroine outfits.

Mona eventually steals the serum, injects it, and gains the same powers Meriem has. There is a small superhero parody sequence where Mona tries on different skimpy outfits, with some of the attire being akin to Lady Death and other “bad girl” comic heroines. There are shades of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Mona being the Jekyll and her blond superheroine form being Mr. Hyde.

Mona has her arms locked around Meriem's neck who is struggling to get out. Meriem's thought bubble says "She's too strong.. I'm gonna pass out.."
Mona has a choke hold on Meriem.

Issue one of “Natural Selection” concludes with the two ladies engaged in fisticuffs and wrestling. Lots of panels show clothed breasts and butts during the battle. The entirety of this issue has been nudity free, despite all the sexual innuendo in the beginning. There are lots of cleavage and butt cheeks being shown, (the ending battle makes sure of this), and nipples poking through skimpy attire, but no actual nudity. Massey tongue-in-cheek pokes fun at this, with the final panel of the issue proclaiming “To Be contiNUDE! ‘heh-heh!’”, teasing readers that the second and final issue of the “Natural Selection” arc will pay off with some nudity, be it from Meriem, Mona, or both. 

Conclusion

“Natural Selection” issue one is a fun issue and surprisingly complex. At first glance it may seem trope-heavy or cliché, but Massey makes it work to do some heavy storytelling and character development lifting. Meriem has fought underground Cthulhu-esque monsters, werewolves, and dinosaurs, but she does not often get to fight against humans that can stand toe to toe with her. With Mona, Massey leverages tropes such as “the ugly girl” in high school rom coms and Dr. Jekyl, to build a worthwhile, but not evil, adversary for Meriem. Massey goes the extra mile to make Mona multi-dimensional, showing her insecurities and the climate she is living in: working hard in her father’s lab (isolation), not feeling romantically loved, and yet still being bombarded with advertising and societal expectations (despite being in a town transported millions of years into the prehistoric past) on how to be a more attractive woman. She is selfish because she is stealing the serum that can help others, but there is pity with her. She is identifiable with and perhaps after her battle with Meriem, she can find a new path to get what she wants. 

For more information on Cavewoman “Natural Selection” #1 check out the official product page at Amryl Entertainment:

For more reviews of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series I’ve penned, check these out (chronological order of issue publish date):

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Comics

Cast a Sexy Spell: Death Nell 03

The Story So Far

Nell is a twenty-two-year-old student enrolled at Deus Mortem, a university for necromancy, who has been having a hard time staying awake in class. She has been overcome with sexual urges, which can barely be satiated by her own hand.

Cover shows Nell, wearing black and purple stripped stockings, and 2 giant sailor moon hair funs sitting on a purple bed or couch. It looks blood soaked. There are green flowing tentacles around her legs. She is wearing sneakers. Behind her is a window with the moon beaming through. On the couch/bed are thin vials of different colors. Nell is holding a vial and vapor is emitting from it. She is beckoning with her finger as if saying "Come closer".
Death Nell #3 Aleriia V Cover.

Nell learns that she is half succubus and that she needs to feed on sexual energy. With the assistance of her best friend April, they break into Ms. Flowers’ (the school’s nurse) office in the hopes of summing an imp that can be at Nell’s side to keep her focused. Instead, they summon a s’imp, a red, sexually charged imp named Hans that bonds immediately to Nell much to her chagrin. 

Later during the night, a mysterious cloaked figure slips an envelope under April’s dorm door which contains a picture of Nell’s parents: a human father and a succubus mother.

Issue 03 Plot

After the next classroom session with Professor Reinhart, which was about the differences between krakens and leviathans, April gives to Nell the picture of her parents that was slipped under her door the night before. Hans the s’imp slaps the picture from Nell’s hands, claiming that it is a trap. And it is. When the picture hits the floor a horned purple wolf with a skeleton head manifests and begins chasing Nell, saying “om nom nom!” as it wants to eat her.

April uses her troll powers to stun the beast while Nell uses her succubus singing voice to charm it. Ms. Flowers arrives on scene and casts a spell that melts the wolf into a pile of pink cosmos.

Flowers agrees with the trio that someone is after Nell and that they need extra help. She sends Nell and company to the school’s crypt to begin learning from Frederick, the school’s necromancy instructor.

Nell is being fondeled by 4 skeletons and lots of ghosts who are wide-eyed and drooling. She has her eyes closed and is singing "oooooooooo". All the undead are enthralled with her.
Nell attempts to control the summoned skeletons and ghosts.

Arriving at the crypt, the three are surprised to find that it is a gym full of skeletons. April is immediately smitten with Frederick who is an extremely fit and swole Frankenstien-esque man. To get them started on learning the ways of necBROmancy, Frederick gives Nell, April, and Hans a protein shake that has been enhanced with necromancer ashes. Nell gives her succubus siren song another try and summons a mass of skeletons that begin to fondle her. She loses control of the skeletons, but April smacks her on her butt to snap her back into focus. The skeletons reform and combine into a giant skeleton golem, a skullem!

Commentary

Issue three of Death Nell has a lot going for it: deepening the mystery surrounding Nell, successfully introducing another new character (Frederick), maintaining 80s style sexploitation comedy and doing something “different” with the sex scenes in this issue when compared to issues one and two (throttling it back and placing it on April instead of Nell).

Frederick is laying on his back, performing lifts. He has one blue eye and one purple eye. He is saying "Grrr! The first step to being a good necromancer is to be a part of the swoley trinity. ou need to be swole of mind, body, and spirit. You got that?"
Frederick, the necBROmancer.

This issue introduces the new character of Frederick, a body builder character that, in a Monster High fashion, takes after Frankenstein. His first appearance make him look like a “gym bro”, but he turns out to be anything but. He has been the only adult character in the Deus Mortem University so far who has not either sexually advanced on the main characters, or been antagonistic toward them. Nurse Flowers has made advances to Nell, groundskeeper Edgar has audibly made comments toward Nell, Professor Reinhart has not done any advances toward Nell, but s’imp Hans proclaims something is off about him (this could be jealousy, though Hans has been correct about his other observations such as the cursed picture). Fredrick, instead, opens up to Nell, April, and Hans immediately, welcomes them to the gym, and gets right to work training them. No punishments or demands like from Reinhart, but right into being supportive. He is a good teacher and a positive character.

Nell is naked and eating a slice of pepperoni pizza. She says "nom nom". And she is eating the pizza, with her eyes closed, she has her left hand on Reinhard as he is performing Cunnilingus on Nell and also saying "nom nom". Hearts float around the duo.
Fantasy sequence from issue 1 – Nell eats Pizza.
A recreation of the scene in Lady and the Tramp - April on the left and Frederick on the right. The are eating opposite ends of the same spaghetti noodle. A place of spaghetti sits between the two. Both are naked and staring into each others eyes.
Fantasy sequence from issue 3 – April eats spaghetti.

The appearance of Frederick takes the spotlight away from Nell’s sexual appetite and places it on April. There is only one sex scene (fantasy or otherwise) in Death Nell #3, and it does not involve Nell, but April. In fact, one of the series’ best jokes is in this issue. It is a meta joke from Nell directed to April when April begins to fantasize about Reinhard: “You better not be eating pizza in there, that’s my thing.” April has collage sexual fantasies just like her best friend Nell, but instead of pizza she goes the other Italian food route and eats spaghetti a’la Lady and the Tramp (1955). There are roughly three nested jokes in one sequence. It is great!

April slaps Nell's butt. She has furrowed eyes.
SLAP DEM CHEEKS!

The comedy in Death Nell #3 continues with its so-bad-they’re-great Monster High-esque puns: necBROmancer, Skullem, etc. Professor Reinhard saying “get kraken” while giving a lecture on leviathans and krakens is the greatest pun ever. Other great instances of comedy in the issue includes a panel of April slapping Nell on her butt to snap her out of a trance, and it turns the phrase “slap dem cheeks!” into an onomatopoeia.

Ms. Flowers is bent over, rummaging through a cabinet. She is wearing a red dress that is hiked up, showing there white panties that have hearts. She is wearing thigh high stockings that have flowers on them. There are books and potions above her and candles lit with purple flames nearby. She is saying "I'll send a bat with a message to expect the three of you. Also, he may come off as arrogant, but...." (she is talking about Frederick).
Panty and stockings (without garter belt) flashes from, Ms. Flowers.

While the sex is throttled back, there is still 80s style sexploitation gags in Death Nell #3. When Ms. Flowers bends over in her office, her knickers and stockings become “accidentally” exposed, something akin to Linda Blair in Zapped Again!(1990) or Linnea Quigley  in Night of the Demons (1988). All in all, this has been the funniest issue of Death Nell so far.

Covers and Swag Impressions

The third issue of Death Nell was successfully Kickstarted back in October of 2023, with physical fulfillment in January 2024. Those that contributed to the campaign received some nifty art-centric swag and trading cards to go with their chosen cover(s).

Death Nell #3 came in nine different covers, with nude and non-nude options available. The standard cover was done by Aleriia V that goes for a sinister approach to an otherwise comedic series. The Aleriia V cover shows Nell sitting on a blood-soaked couch or bed, tentacles wrapping around her legs, holding potion vials and beckoning the viewer to come forth with her finger. It looks like a gothic crackhead crime scene. Not Alerria V’s best cover, especially considering they did the best cover of Vanya #7 (see here).

The sexiest cover of issue three goes to Xong Bros (who focus on Nell’s masturbatory dilemma) while the whimsy-est goes to Mike Debalfo and Tarella Pablo’s cover which captures a more innocent and unassuming side of Nell.

Nell is topless on a purple beach down that has a skull pattern. She is on a dark beach with sinister clouds in the distance. She is cleaning against a tiki statue. Behind her are tiki torches. At her hands is a hollowed pineapple with a cocktail in it, garnished with an umbrella. A green skeleton magic vapor comes from the cocktail.
Personal copy of Death Nell #3, nude version done by Marissa Pope and Hedwin Zaldivar.

The best cover, hands down, goes to Marissa Pope and Hedwin Zaldivar’s tiki cover. Death Nell has absolutely no exotica/tiki/mid-century elements present, but the artistic duo voodoo-tiki-ify Nell and it pull it off.* Co-artist Zaldivar also did the best cover for Vanya #9 (see here).

Two art prints, side by side. The left one shows Nell and June, but in swapped costumes. June, the purple haired sex bot from Hyperguest, is wearing all purple and her hand is reaching from Nell's breast. Nell is dressed in June's outfit, with is black latex with latex garters that connect to latex boots. The smaller art print shows a naked Nell, sitting on the floor, rubbing the top of her head as a dizzy swirl appears. There is a headless skeleton in a cape holding her. She is wearing purple and black stripped stockings that have holes torn in them.
Art print of Nell and June done by Bruno Sousa next to an art print of the Zheanhmeart cover.

For Kickstarter swag, the Death Nell #3 campaign came with two art prints. One is a 6 x 9 crossover piece that has Nell paired up with June, the protagonist from Bad Bug’s erotic cyberpunk series Hypergeist. Nell is wearing June’s attire and June wearing Nell’s. This piece is done by Bruno Sousa who also did the crossover print of Nell and Bobby Jo that was a part of the Death Nell #2 campaign.

The second art print is a smaller 5×7 glossy print of the Zheanhmeart cover for Death Nell #3.

four black and white trading cards showing skeletons engaging in different sexual positions, like reverse cowgirl, missionary, prone bone. The target card shows nell holding an urn of ashes on her head. Her eyes are glowing yellow. She is wearing a purple top that has poofy shoulders.
Necro Sutra trading cards and a Wheel of Fortune Tarot Card.

Finally, as with many Bad Bug campaigns, the Death Nell #3 Kickstarter had a handful of different trading/collectable cards. 

First, there is a set of “Necro Sutra” trading cards done by Cari Salviejo (who has worked on other Bad Bug properties such as the aforementioned Hypergeist). These cards show skeletons engaging in a variety of sexual acts and are similar in theme to the sexy skeleton cards that were included with Death Nell #2.

Lastly there is the Tarot Card. Bad Bug has had a great run of making Rider–Waite Tarot Cards sporting their characters. This card is for the Wheel of Fortune and shows an extremely stylized Nell holding an urn of ashes on her head. She has possessed eyes and glowing arms in her palms, perhaps a nod to the Pale Man from Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). The artist is not credited, but it looks akin to the work of Zach Raw.

All in all, a zesty round up of great swag that backers got with their comic.

Conclusion

Death Nell #3 is fantastic. Frederick is a great addition to the series and he treats the main trio respectfully (hoping that issue four or five does not pull a Scooby Doo and turns him into a bad guy). The comedy in this issue is top notch with many humorous panels and puns. Issue three continues to dive deeper into the mystery around Nell (who she is and why others want her dead), while also exploring other characters more closely (such as April’s desires). 

*Note: I am 100% bias toward this cover as I am really into tiki culture. 

For more information on Death Nell and the comic’s creative team, check out the links below:

Also, consider checking out the reviews I’ve done of other titles published by Bad Bug:

Death Nell Reviews

Vanya Reviews

Categories
Comics

Day of the Lepus: Cavewoman: Bunny Ranch

Plot

Deep in the Jurassic jungle, Meriem the Cavewoman plays hide and seek with a triceratops named Spikey (or Spikes). The tri-horned dinosaur gets a little too much into the game and headbutts Meriem’s bottom. She scolds the triceratops but quickly make amends and rides the reptile to Marshville.

Cover shows Meriem wearing her trademark leopard print bikini top and bottom. She is staying in the middle of the jungle. She is holding a bunny in the palm of her upturned right hand. Her left hand is petting a baby T-rex. There are a few other baby T-rexes hanging in the foilage.
Personal copy of Cavewoman – Bunny Ranch.

Upon entering the town, she seeks out her boyfriend Bruce and her friend, Professor Cook, but to no avail. She happens upon a pet store ran by Cynthia Cross, who knew Meriem when she was young. The two catch up before Cynthia reveals that Bruce and Professor Cook have been working for her, trapping non-prehistoric animals for her to keep safe. Meriem uses her superhuman powers to sprint off into the jungle in search of the duo.

Soon she encounters a baby T-rex that is being bullied by a trio of raptors. Meriem curbstomps one, uppercuts another, and pile drives the last. She then tears off the raptors’ limbs to feed to the baby T-rex who grows attached to her.

Bruce and Professor Cook pop out of the foliage and the three reconnect. Their reunion is short-lived as a giant dinosaur’s stomping causing them to hide, thinking it is the baby T-rex’s mother. Instead, it is a Spinosaurus that promptly devours the infant. The three make their escape back to Marshville and to Cynthia. Bruce and Professor Cook hand over their captured animals and agree to let Meriem accompany them on future excursions. Cynthia marvels at Meriem as she holds a bunny rabbit in her arms, saying she is good with animals. 

Commentary

“Bunny Ranch” is a one-shot Cavewoman comic published in May of 2012, with Rob Durham penning the story and doing the art. As a one-shot comic, like the previously reviewed “Extinction” issue, the story is self-contained, though it introduces a new character, Cynthia Cross, a potential paramour to Professor Cook.

Compared to the solid one shot “Extinction” and the exciting “Snow” story arc that were published in the prior year, “Bunny Ranch” is a major let down. This issue suffers greatly from a ham-fisted coincidental exposition dump, tonal whiplash, and a regression in Bruce and Meriem’s relationship. The overall gist of “Bunny Ranch” is fine, but the actual writing fails this one-shot.

Meriem has her hands pressed against the glass of a pet store. Inside are bunnies. She says "Oh, I haven't seen one since I was a little girl. I..I remember! I remember. Gramps gave me one for my birthday."
Meriem recalls a childhood memory as she gazes on the bunnies.

Early in the issue, Meriem walks about Marshville looking for Bruce and Professor Cook. She happens upon a pet store, sees a family of bunnies in the window, and has a memory come back to her. She remembers being a little girl, Gramps buys her a bunny, and then Meriem’s mother sells the bunny to buy drugs. The next page, Cynthia, the store proprietor, notices Meriem feeling sad and comments the extent of (paraphrasing) “I know you from ten years ago, your grandpa bought you a rabbit, and then your mother took it away.” Why would Cynthia remember these precise details ten years later? It is not a believable exchange between the two characters. It is an exposition dump executed with convenience in mind rather than taking an organic approach with more exchanges, plot building, and dialogue.

The tonal whiplash occurs later in the issue after Meriem has saved the baby T-Rex only for it to be eaten by a Spinosaurus. It is a shocking scene, and a little sad since the baby T-Rex has a cute factor going for it and it had bonded with Meriem. The scene does underscore the harsh reality of how dangerous the primeval jungle is, and death can come at any moment to anyone. The scene loses its impact immediately after when Meriem makes a sexual tease that Professor Cook should mate with Cynthia. This causes the professor to turn beet red and everyone to laugh. It is not an instance of gallows humour, but maybe writer Durham intended this moment that occurs mere minutes after watching the baby T-Rex be devoured as a means to cushion the shocking scene. Instead it comes off tonally wrong, not fitting the gravity of the scene. The joke itself is fine but would have been better executed later when the trio returned to Cynthia in Marshville.

The joke Meriem makes so soon after witnessing the baby T-Rex get eaten, especially after saving it from the pack of raptors, seems uncharacteristic of the character. Prior issues of Cavewoman have explored the mothering and nurturing attributes Meriem exhibits, such as saving Susie from the underground tentacle monster in “Extinction” and have the fever dream about her unborn children in issue four of “Snow”. The subject of the joke is not the issue, but its sudden utterance after watching the infant T-Rex, which she shared a brief mother-child relationship with, comes across as callous and not keeping in with Meriem’s character.

Cynthia is handing Meriem a rabbit. The exchange. Meriem: Oh, it's adorable! Cynthia: I named her "Snowflake". I caught her right after the snow started melting last winter.

This not keeping with how characters should be operating continues with the last major flaw with “Bunny Ranch”, and that is the regression of Meriem’s relationship with Bruce (and, to some extent, Professor Cook). An initial first impression, everything does seem status quo between Meriem and Bruce: they are still in love, still care about each other, etc. The big question: why isn’t Meriem privy to Bruce and Professor Cook’s outings to the jungle to collect animals for Cynthia? The duo have been doing this activity for quite a while, and Meriem has never been notified about it. Shouldn’t Bruce keep his girlfriend in the know of what he is doing, especially if what he is doing involves venturing into the dangerous Jurassic jungle? At the end of “Bunny Ranch”, Bruce and Professor Cook even admit it will be great having Meriem on their adventures go forward because she has valuable skills. So, why not bring her in the loop earlier? The only reasons for Bruce to keep his activities from Meriem are either a) he wants alone/male-bonding time with Professor Cook, b) not thinking and unintentionally coming off as insensitive, c) bad writing that was designed to introduce the new character of Cynthia and get Meriem into the jungle to close the narrative loop (which may have had the side effect of causing a or b). As a reminder, back in “Snow” issue three, Professor Cook tells Bruce a secret while Meriem is away and neither she nor the readers are informed of what was said during that story arc. This does establish that Bruce and Professor Cook are not above keeping information from Meriem, which may explain why they were not initially letting her in on their bro-time.

Black and white panel. It shows a baby T-tex having butted its head against Meriem's butt. She dinosaur says "Grunk!". Meriem says "Oh-Crappo!". Her bikini bottom is flown up, but she still has knickers on. She is bent over, tumbling forward as Gramps looks on.
Meriem is head butted on her posterior by a baby T-Rex.

While the writing falters severely in “Bunny Ranch”, the issue does have its high points. Durham’s art style is excellent, as usual, and his depictions of Meriem capture that cheesecake jungle girl vibe perfectly. There is no nudity in this issue, but Durham does find ways to pepper in some sexploitation. Meriem’s posterior is highlighted a handful of times in the issue. Meriem has a proclivity of being butted in her rear, toppling her forward, causing either her bust or her butt to become more prominent depending on point of view. In “Snow” issue two she is hit by a truck that causes her breasts to pop out of her top. In “Bunny Ranch” she is butted by a triceratops and later by the baby T-rex. It is a combination of a running gag within the series and a way to sexualize Meriem in an otherwise non-sexual situation.

Panel is show from below, as at the ground looking up. Meriem is bringing her foot down on a raptor's head. It then explodes in gore with a "SAAMASH!!".
Meriem curbstomps a Raptor.

The curbstomped raptor is a brutal panel, but exciting to see in action. While the artwork depicts Meriem as a pinup, it is moments like these that remind the viewer that she is incredibly powerful and can be vicious. If anything, after “Extinction” and “Snow”, Meriem’s violent side has not been explored nearly enough, so it is nice to see it exhibited in “Bunny Ranch”.

Conclusion

Regretfully, “Bunny Ranch” is not a good issue in the Cavewoman series. While the art remains consistently pinup stylistic and the overall story at a high-level works, the actual writing to execute it is severely flawed. Flawed so much that it hampers the characters, portraying them in uncharacteristic fashions: Meriem’s mothering nature being swept aside for a sexual joke that tonally does not fit the scene; Bruce (and Professor Cook) keeping their activities a secret form Meriem for seemingly no reason. Finally, what exactly is a “Bunny Ranch”? The issue ends with a joke, with Cynthia watching Meriem pet rabbits, inspiring her to want to open a bunny ranch. Is this a reference to the Nevada brothel of the same name? Is Cynthia looking to become a madam and prostitute Meriem out? Questions that should not need to be asked if the writing was better.

For more information on Cavewoman “Bunny Ranch” check out the official product page at Amryl Entertainment:

For more reviews of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series I’ve penned, check these out (chronological order of issue publish date):

Categories
Comics

The Winter Wolf: Cavewoman: Snow Issue 4

Plot

Defeated, Meriem lays unconscious in the snow. In her fevered state she dreams of her unborn children and Bruce trying to flee a monster. She jolts awake, swinging her fist, catching Bruce right in the chin. Meriem’s gorilla companion, Klyde, happened upon Meriem while out and about, and was able to lead Bruce and Professor Cook to her and bring her home.

Cover shows Meriem leaning forward in knee deep snow. Behind her is Bruce who looks to have had a roof of snow fall on his head.
Personal copy of Cavewoman Snow #4.

Though beaten by the unseen entity, the good news is that the cache of food and supplies that was hidden in the cabin that Meriem located was able to be retrieved and brought back to Marshville, saving the town from the food crisis. A second instance of things getting better is that Meriem, Bruce, and the professor look out a window to see the sun shining, signaling the harsh winter is approaching its end.

With a renewed sense of hope, Meriem bolts from Bruce’s apartment to track down the creature she fought. Bruce and Professor Cook give chase on a snowmobile and find the cavewoman in battle with a large humanoid wolf. The battle looks to be a stalemate. Bruce fires his rifle, scaring away the lupine monster. Professor Cook theorizes that it was a werewolf, the original werewolf that all folklore has descended from.

A month later, spring has officially arrived. The town of Marshville had endured the wicked winter and Meriem finds herself back in the museum garden, planting sunflowers.

Commentary

The “Snow” story arc of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series concludes with issue four, which was published back in September of 2011. Rob Durham continues being the artist and writer for the series at this point in time. This issue sees the conclusion of the primary predicament that has plagued Marshville for the past five months, the brutal winter, but also the reveal of the unseen killer that has been stalking around town, leaving only bodies (sometimes) and tracks.

Meriem is doding backwards as the werewolf lunges forward. He says "Oh!" and the werewolf says "Groarrrr!". The werewolf has 4 human breasts that are prominent, the rest looks like a standard humanoid wolf on 2 legs.
Meriem battles the werewolf.

It is a bloody werewolf.

This conclusion to the “Snow” story arc is bittersweet. The town of Marshville surviving the punishingly long winter is a simple act of waiting out the clock. Unless the Cavewoman universe was about to usher in an Ice Age, this obstacle was going to be naturally overcame. As in a horror film, characters need to survive the night. Overall, high stakes, but an expected conclusion.

The introduction of the werewolf as the unseen killer was an expected curveball, and its extremely brief appearance in the issue is a point of perplexity. On one hand, this works. Meriem and the town of Marshville are in the prehistoric past where almost anything outlandish that could happen, will happen. In the prior one-shot “Extinction” Meriem fights an underground monster that looks like a floating oyster with dozens and dozens of tentacles. If Meriem can encounter and battle a Cthulhu-esque monster like this, there is no reason she cannot encounter a werewolf.

Meriem lunges forward and takes off with a big stride. The panel says "Meriem darts off alone into the snow covered forest". Bruce yells "Wait! Meriem! Where'ya going?" with her replying "To kill the meat eater! I have to project our baby's future!"
Meriem darts off to battle the werewolf.

On the other hand, the story jumps from zero to werewolf so suddenly that it has no time to ground itself. The foreshadowing of the werewolf’s reveal through the prior three issues, though appropriately incremental, were not substantial, relegated to tracks in the snow and dead bodies. Professor Cook immediately jumping to the conclusion that the monster is a werewolf seems uncharacteristic of him. A few pages prior he proclaimed that he needed to run tests to verify that the winter is ending. Jump to a few pages to him saying the creature is a werewolf and probably the ur-werewolf that all other werewolf folk lore is derived from. It is probably a true statement, and in the broad scheme of the Cavewoman universe it fits, but the explanation feels shoehorned in. It comes off as an instance that artist/writer Durham felt the need to overly tell the readers this is a werewolf and to expect werewolf action in future issue. It is an unsatisfactory case of telling instead of showing. 

In addition, the appearance of the werewolf raises a few narrative questions. A month passes between Meriem’s encounter where she is defeated by the werewolf, (with some slashes and gashes shown on her body), but she does not turn into a werewolf herself. The ur-werewolf is also operating during the daytime when traditionally humans turn into werewolves according to a lunar cycle. The werewolf in Cavewoman is not operating like a traditional werewolf. This could be because it is an ur-werewolf, and it would later evolve/devolve into the werewolves of pop culture today. Or it could be Professor Cook is way off base and incorrect at calling the bipedal humanoid wolf with two sets of human female breasts a werewolf (note: a wolf should have eight nipples in two rows, so this werewolf packing two sets of human female breasts is certainly a sexualized stylistic choice).

On the subject of Professor Cook, the character is definitely hiding something from Meriem. In issue three, after Meriem takes off to scout the cabin, Cook takes Bruce aside: “Now that she’s on her way we have another urgent matter to discuss.” The subject of the discussion is not revealed in issue four. Since Professor Cook is part of the inner political circle of Marshville, he is certainly privy to the coverups of the murders that were happening due to the werewolf. This could have been that topic. What is known is that Cook directed attention away from the werewolf twice in issue four. The first time is after Bruce fires his rifle, scaring away the werewolf: “Well Prof,. we go after this thing or what?” with Cook replying, “I think we should let this thing go for now.” The second time is the final page of “Snow” when Meriem states “I’ve been thinking about that hairy meat eater. I have this weird feeling about it. Something familiar” with the professor replying dismissively back “How about we just let that go for now?” and instead directs Meriem to planting sunflower seeds, an act she loved doing in issue two. Meriem stating that the encounter felt familiar ties with a contradictory statement Cook made earlier in the issue to Bruce: “She lost twice to this carnivore.” Yet, Meriem had only encountered the werewolf one time thus far, at the end of “Snow” issue three. This could be an error on Durham’s part, but it could also be Cook let something slip, that Meriem has had dealings with this werewolf before unbeknownst to her. Perhaps when the werewolf was in human form? There is an incredible amount of intrigue going on!

Meriem with a little boy and girl, all in jungle attire. Meriem says "Okay I'm Ready. So where's your papa now?" and the little girl replies back "He's outside. We're all going for a ride on his motorcycle. He wants to take us far away from the bad monster thing."
Meriem meets her children in her dream.

The werewolf is certainly the focal point of issue four, but there are other happenings that deserve mention. In the beginning of the issue Meriem has a fever dream about her two babies, which do not exist. The dream sequence is designed to get Meriem reinvigorated with a renewed sense of purpose. This is another instance of the Cavewoman series exploring the matronly and motherly side of Meriem. In the aforementioned “Extinction” issue, Meriem exhibits her motherly attributes when she rescued Susie from the tentacle cave monster. Meriem is not simply a cheesecake jungle girl with superhero abilities; there is this wholesome side to her as well that the series likes to explore from time to time.

When Bruce and Professor Cook ride on the snowmobile to catchup with Meriem, they ride past her gorilla companion Klyde as he hibernates under a mound of snow near the hot springs. It is not a visual gag per se, (save maybe Klyde’s indifferent facial expressions), but this sequence is a panel-by-panel recreation of the same gag in issue three when Meriem runs past Klyde on her way to the cabin. These are welcome types of throwbacks to find in a comic book, little enhancers like throwing a bay leaf into a stew.

Meriem is sitting up right but her eyes are closed. Her right arm, with hand in a fist, is thrust forward. There is a pair of legs, indicating Bruce has been punches and is laying on the floor, legs up. Meriem's word balloon says "Keep your filthy claws off my little ones!"
Meriem comes out her fever dream and accidentally punches Bruce.

While issue three lacked nudity, issue four more than makes up for it. When Meriem wakes up in Bruce’s apartment, her breasts are on display in many panels, with her pubic hair barely visible in a few. It is not sexual per se, as Meriem has been in a hospital-esque situation, sleeping under a heavy fever, and has just woken up. It is nonchalant nudity. The bare breasted werewolf on the other hand, that might be veering in the direction of furry erotica. 

Conclusion

Issue four of “Snow” concludes the story arc, but it raises and introduces more questions than answers. It does damper the experience a small bit when looking for resolution to the four-part miniseries, but on the other hand future issues will certainly bring closure. The next Cavewoman arc, the two part “Feeding Grounds,” depicts Meriem fighting the werewolf on the cover, so that is exciting to see what will happen. While the writing felt bittersweet in this issue, Durham’s art style is, as always, top notch. Meriem always has the best facial expressions, especially in her eyes, when Durham depicts her. The werewolf is only fully visible in two panels, but it feels like many more when Meriem is fighting the creature. Durham has expertise at controlling what he wants the readers to see, and he has been able to expertly not reveal the werewolf despite the multiple panels of the lupine engaged in hand combat with Meriem. With winter over, and the snow melted, what does the future hold for Meriem the Cavewoman and the citizens of Marshville?

For more information on Cavewoman “Snow” issue four, check out the official product page at Amryl Entertainment:

For more reviews of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series I’ve penned, check these out (chronological order of issue publish date):

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Comics

The Edge of Winter: Cavewoman: Snow Issue 3

Plot

Four months after Marshville was hit with a brutal winter, freezing crops in the town museum’s garden, things continue to look dire. An unseen creature continues to stalk and kill the citizens of the town, though these deaths are being kept from the public. Though the town is still getting heat, per Professor Cook, folks are not getting enough food. He meets with Meriem and Bruce and brings up that a cabin at the boundary between the town and prehistoric earth may have a stockpile of supplies. He asks Meriem if she can investigate. Bruce rejects this idea as the citizens of Marshville have treated Meriem awfully despite everything she does for them. Despite this, Meriem still accepts the mission.

Cover has no text. It shows Meriem being pulled in different directions by three white gorillas as she sits atop a rocky peak in the mountains.
Personal copy of Cavewoman “Snow” issue 3, special edition version.

She makes her way through the snow using her superhuman speed and agility and locates the cabin. Inside she finds a journal which leads her to a cellar stocked with food, ammo, and other supplies. On her way back to report her findings she is attacked by the invisible assailant.

Commentary

Issue three of Cavewoman “Snow” was published in July of 2011 with the story and art being by Rob Durham. It is the penultimate issue of the “Snow” storyline. Taking place four months after the events of issue two, issue three sees the town of Marshville in further jeopardy as its citizens slowly starve during a prolonged, harsh winter, while an unseen killer stalks the streets.

Blue paper that has a picture of the special edition cover. It says Amryl Entertainment Certificate of Authenticity. Cavewoman Snow 3 Special Edition Limited to 750 copies.
Cavewoman Snow #3 certificate of authenticity.

The prior issue had a (probably unintended) focus on how laissez-faire many integral figures of the town acted, which included blame shifting (running Meriem over with a transport truck), not taking situations seriously (dismissing the kids trying to report a murder), and putting off doing necessary tasks (maintenance on the museum gantry), which cascaded to baleful consequences, such as the museum garden getting heavily damaged by snow avalanching in from a cracking skylight, which puts the town in the predicament it is in.

Meriem has wide eyes with prominent lashes.
Meriem’s doe eyes.

On page, during issue two, Meriem was the scapegoat for these mishaps. Sometime, off page, between issue two and this issue, Meriem is absolved by some of the townsfolk. Sensing her depression at the beginning of this issue, Bruce tells Meriem, “The two maintenance workers vouched for you” and later on Professor Cook says “the incident at the museum is over with. Almost all accept the fact that Meriem was only trying to save the garden that day.” It is important to note that these apologies occur off page, and neither said to Meriem directly nor visually shown to the reader. It sends the message that it is ok to chastise publicly but recant and apologize privately. There is also an asterisk in Cook’s statement of “almost all,” no doubt referring to the character of Martson who always has it out for Meriem but of course does not give up a chance to ogle her body (as seen in issue two when he stares at her curvy hips in the museum).

Meriem with a happy expression saying "Hurry, Bruce! It's an emergency! Get the Prof. more coffee and Brandy for his arthritis."
The cure to Prof. Cook’s arthritis is coffee and brandy.

This is all foundation to Meriem’s superhero dilemma: the town needs her, but will turn on her in an instant, and then come back when they need her, rinse-repeat. Issue three brings this superhero trope to the forefront in that Professor Cook wants Meriem to scout a cabin for supplies to save the town, but Bruce brings up the (rightful) observation that citizens of Marshville treat her horribly despite everything Meriem does for the town. Meriem is a true altruist here. She goes above and beyond for Marshville, but the town does not return the favour.

Three panels that show Meriem and then her leopard print posterior as she bashes her way through the floor. The first panel she has her tongue sticking out while the other 2 panels are her butt wiggling around. There are floor boards flying around her.
Meriem batters her way through the floor boards.

The last half of the issue switches from drama to action as Meriem takes off to find the cabin of supplies. When she arrives, she finds a hidden journal where the last page indicates the suppliers are hidden under the floor. Wanton destruction is the key here as Meriem bashes into the cabin’s floor, showing off her posterior in the process. Finding nothing, Meriem then realizes the cabin’s shed has a visible trap door. It is a funny scene for what has been an otherwise somber issue, while throwing in some cheesecake aesthetics as the issue has been chaste up to this point (issues one and two both had sequences of nudity). Meriem in a pinup and a sex symbol, so artist/author Durham finds a lighthearted way to insert some sexuality into the issue. 

Meriem is laying in the snow, on her side, huddled up. She has claw marks on her legs and stomach that are bleeding. She has a thought bubble: "...so tired... s....tir...."
Meriem lies defeated in the snow.

The issue ends with Meriem encountering the unseen creature. The monster is still not shown to the readers, so this will be a mystery to be revealed in issue four. While Meriem gets a good elbow hit in, she is otherwise defeated by the entity. She lays in the snow, finding herself not healing. Perhaps due to the extreme cold that she has voiced concern about during the “Snow” run? Or perhaps due to low caloric intake due to food rationing? Or perhaps lack of willpower due to her depression from trying to save a thankless town? Or all of the above?

Conclusion

Issue three of “Snow” is half drama and half adventure. The first, dramatic half of the issue really sells the dire situation of the town of Marshville but also brings a heavy helping of emotional weight put upon Meriem. The last half of the issue turns into normal jungle-girl activities, though in a winter landscape rather than jungle, as Meriem traverses the terrain, does some light detective work, destroys some things in the process, and has an encounter with the beast that has been terrorizing the town. As usual, Durham’s art is fun, detailed, and heavily emphasizes not only the pinup beauty of Meriem, but also her emotions through facial expressions and posture. Though overall melancholy in tone, issue three does set up everything for an exciting finale in issue four. Will the town be saved? What will the creature turn out to be?

For more information on Cavewoman “Snow” issue three, check out the official product page at Amryl Entertainment:

For more reviews of Budd Root’s Cavewoman series I’ve penned, check these out:

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Comics

Down Below Zero: Cavewoman: Snow Issue 2

Plot

The energy crisis for Marshville has been quelched as Bruce has overseen the installation of the pump at the tar pits north of the city and getting the trucking of oil into town up and running. He returns home to his apartment, into the waiting arms of Meriem Cooper, for an amorous evening.

Cover depicts Meriem, he cavewoman, wearing a leopard print bikini top and bottom, sitting among sunflowers.
Personal copy of Cavewoman “Snow” #2.

The next day Meriem makes way to the town’s museum that has been converted into a food garden. En route she happens upon a set of prints in the snow that remind her of the prints she found a month prior during an expedition to the north tar pits. While examining the prints, she is hit by an oil transport truck, but walks away unscratched, leaving only an impression of her posterior in the truck’s plow. At the museum she begins work on harvesting the sunflowers.

Meanwhile an unseen entity (Animal? Dinosaur? Something else?) slays Mrs. Solomon, a woman returning home with her food ration. A trio of kids happen upon her body and inform two adults who brush off their concerns.

At the museum, snow keeps accumulating on the roof, threatening to break the skylights. Two maintenance workers attempt to clean up the mess but find the building’s gantry frozen. With glass cracking, Meriem becomes more concerned with the safety of the garden she holds so dear and ventures to the roof of the museum to assist. She uses her superhuman strength to dislodge the gantry, but in the process crashes through the window, causing snow to pour in on the crops. Professor Cook attempts to assuage Meriem, but dejected, she leaves the scene and returns home.

Commentary

The second issue of “Snow” was published May of 2011, with series stalwart Rob Durham continuing the story and art. Picking up two months after issue one, the major dilemma introduced in “Snow” #1, the power plant running out of oil and thus the ability to heat Marshville, has been solved. But, for a town transported to the prehistoric past, problems jeopardizing survival are like a game of whack-a-mole: as one is solved another arises. The town may have heat, but an unseen threat, foreshadowed in issue one when Meriem and company found the unknown tracks in the snow outside town, has now popped up, slaying Marshville citizens. An incoming storm threatens to blanket the town with even more snow, causing skylights, such as that atop the museum that houses the town’s garden, to crack under the weight.

A big theme in this issue is the spectrum at which the populace of Marshville takes seriously (or not) their role of keeping the town safe and functioning. The first page of the comic has Bruce reflecting on his role at getting the oil pump up and running and the logistics for transporting oil to town: “In some strange way the important meaning of the projects to our survival has kinda given me… purpose.”

Bruce realizes this, but it is shocking at how many citizens of the town do not, or do not care, and do not take responsibility.

Meriem is hit by a truck. Her butt is planted firmly in the truck's plow. Her breasts have popped out of her top. Her face is an expression of classic pinup girls who have been caught in a situation (like burning a cookie or their skirt is caught in a door).
Meriem is rear ended by a truck.

The first example comes early in the issue when Meriem is on her way to the museum to help in the garden. She stops to investigate a set of mysterious prints in the snow (which are, of course, a part of the grand issue of an entity stalking and killing the people of the town). As she examines the tracks she is rear ended by an oil-ferrying truck. Meriem is unscratched (though her tits pop out of her top, turning the scene into a sex-comedy gag) because of her superhuman abilities. The truck driver (named Tanis), who was not paying attention to the road, is quick to deflect responsibility of the accident from himself to Meriem by saying “Now in the future young lady you should be a little more careful.” Basically, Tanis is able to absolve himself from running over a young lady and instead deflect that responsibility back to her. Though the sequence is played for laughs, it demonstrates subconscious misogyny going on and overt not taking responsibility for one’s role in the safety of Marshville seriously.

Meriem is falling through the snow covered window. She looks down with a ""? thought bubble. Two maintenance workers look on.
Meriem crashes through the museum roof window.

A similar situation occurs at the climax of the issue, though this time it is played seriously and not for laughs. Cathy, who is overseeing the garden inside the museum, has asked Marstone to have the snow cleaned off the glass roof of the museum so it will not cave in. Marstone, in turn, has delegated this duty to two maintenance workers. When they finally get around to address the snow on the roof, they realize the gantry’s gears are frozen. The two have a heated exchange “Damn it, I asked you to grease the gears a week ago!” “I was getting to it!”. Meriem shows up and takes the initiative to solve the issue by using her strength to rattle the gantry loose, but she winds up falling through the skylight, taking the snow with her, damaging the garden. Marstone is quick to blame Meriem for the whole debacle, calling her a terrorist and a menace. Neither of the maintenance workers step forward to claim their culpability (after all, if they had done their job a week prior, none of this would have happened) and instead allow Meriem to take full blame. It is her fault, and not the fault of the men with authority in the scene, just like with the truck crash earlier.

While the men finger point, grumble, and skirt the responsibility of being placed in important positions integral to the survival of the town, Meriem has done nothing but step up her game. Cathy comments that no one else wants to be in the garden picking vegetables: “Glad you made it in, no one else has, and I could sure use the help!” Meriem, on the other hand, is all too happy to lend a hand and pick sunflowers so the land can be rotated to have cabbage planted. Bruce and Meriem are model citizens and go above and beyond for their community (which is one of the reasons they are so compatible together).

A kid is explaining to an adult: "I'm tell'n you she's dead! Ripped apart! Looked like somebody went cannibal on her and started eat'n her, dude."
A kiddo tries to convey happening across the dead body.

A final scenario in “Snow” #2 that feeds into this overall theme of not taking the situation the town finds itself in seriously is when three children happen upon the corpse of Mrs. Solomon who has been slashed by the unseen stalker in the town. The children, as they are supposed to do, report the body to the adults. When the children return with two adults, (who are also the two maintenance workers that were supposed to deal with the museum roof), they find the body gone. The adults dismiss the children’s concerns (which, solidifies their general attitude of not doing anything as is evident with the upcoming scene on the roof). This is a common trope in horror films: the children witness a monsters/something bad, tell someone about it, and are not taken seriously (until it is too late). The Blob (1958) is a perfect example of this. Steven McQueen and friends are teenagers who witness the blob in action, and report it to the police, who are outright hostile to them (one of them thinks the kids are trying to get to him). Marshville is a town that has been teleported to the historic past. It is surrounded by dinosaurs and other weird creatures. The entire situation is absurd and calls for the utmost attention and seriousness. When someone is pointing out “Hey! We saw a dead body”, given the predicament the town is in, it warrants true investigation and not dismissal.

Conclusion

Issue two of the “Snow” storyline is great. Narrative-wise, this is a dense issue. There is a lot going on in the town of Marshville, and even with all the external threats going on, it is seeing the (perhaps unintentional) internal threats from its own citizens that adds to suspense and drama of the story. Real characters/people behave in different ways, and the complacent/fear of taking accountability characteristic is a legitimate character trait that adds depth and complexity. It is heartbreaking though to see Meriem try so hard for the people of the town (with her helpful personality and heroics) but still relegated to the role of outcast and spoken of negatively.

Meriem sits silents in a field of sunflowers in the museum garden.
Meriem among the sunflowers.

Art-wise, Durham always brings the best in the cheesecake style. For sexploitation/exploitation purposes, Durham makes sure to showcase a small helping of nudity (as when Bruce returns home to the awaiting arms of Meriem, or when she is hit by the truck), or to draw Meriem in poses that highlight her glamorous features (as when she is picking sunflower seeds). A great issue that is both fun while not letting up on maintaining its air of suspense that any moment something will occur that threatens everyone.    

For more information on Cavewoman “Snow” issue two or my other Cavewoman reviews, check these links:

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Comics

It’s Getting Cold: Cavewoman: “Snow” Issue 1

Cover is all white, with blobs of snow falling. Meriem the cavewoman stands in the center, looking up. She has flowing hair. She has a white fur hood on (but not covering her head), a leopard print bikini top and bottom.
Personal copy of Cavewoman, Snow #1.

Plot

A heavy snowstorm falls upon Marshville, a town that has been transported into the prehistoric past, covering the streets in two feet of snow. Due to the strain the winter has put on the powerplant, the town has instituted brownouts for the time being to conserve fuel.

The town’s leaders gather to assess the situation: Meriem the cavewoman, her boyfriend Bruce, Professor Cook, Corporal Mack, Sergeant Marstone, and a few others. Prof. Cook confirms the town’s food supply is in great standing, but heat for the populace is in jeopardy due to the fuel reserves being diminished. He proposes an expedition to the north to investigate a set of tar pits to see if oil can be obtained. Marstone expresses vehement opposition to the professor and his ideas (and in particular to the presence of Meriem), but the other townsfolk embrace Cook’s plan.

Black and white panel from the comic. The professor, Meriem, a police officer, and brice stand in stone at the bank of a tar put that says "Ga-loop! Bloop!"
At the tar pits.

The expedition, consisting of Meriem, Bruce, the professor, and police officer Alex, set off to the tar pits, which they arrive at a day later. The professor gets to work testing the tar pits for oil while Alex, Bruce, and Meriem keep warm by the fire, drinking coffee and rum. Professor Cook returns and confirms: oil!

As the party make their way back to Marshville they encounter a farm outside town that is surrounded by prints by an unknown animal. They deduce it is an animal that has adapted to the cold.

Back in town, the professor proposes the town’s windmill pump that is on display at a museum be repurposed to drill the oil so it can be trucked in to Marshville. Bruce sets off back north to get the machinations of Cook’s plan underway.

Commentary

The first issue of the “Snow” storyline in Budd Root’s Cavewoman series was published in February of 2011, with the art and story done by Rob Durham. This is an exposition issue, light on action but upfront about the stakes Meriem and the rest of the town are in: dangerous cold and snow, lack of power to keep the town warm, hints of internal strife, and the possibility of an unknown creature lurking outside of town. The peril is real and Durham goes at lengths to establish this.

Black and white panel. Meriem springs into the air, off the street that has piles of snow from having been shoveled. Bruce is below her. She says "C'mon I'll Race you!"
Meriem leaps through the streets.

Though not an action-centric issue, Meriem is still afforded opportunities to display her jungle girl superpowers. She uses her agility to leap gracefully through the icy streets of Marshville while Bruce stumbles and falls. Her healing ability allows her to drink rum without feeling the intoxicating effects (much to her chagrin). There is a discrepancy on how her thick skin handles the cold. At the beginning of the issue, when Meriem arrives at Bruce’s apartment, she comments that she is only a little cold due to her skin. Later on, while at the tar pits, a much more clothed Meriem is observed by Bruce and the professor to not be as adaptable to the weather, and that she is shivering.

Black and white panel from the comic. Meriem is putting on a fur hood. She is bare chested. She says "Good! Cause I think I like it too!" (referring to her new outfit).
Meriem tries on her new outfit.

On the subject of clothing, Meriem is given a new attire for this issue. Made from bits of Bruce’s old racing suit, it is a fur hood with leggings and elbow-length gloves that are leopard print. The outfit still enhances Meriem’s sex appeal, her leopard leggings looking akin to stockings. The attire does underscore her cat-like agility, demonstrated as she leaps through the town as a panther. Unlike the previously reviewed issue of Cavewoman, “Extinction,” which was more kid-centric and kid-friendly, this issue of “Snow” veers into erotic territory, with Meriem and Bruce having sex off page and Meriem going topless, showing off her large breasts, in many panels early in the issue. 

Though the sex appeal is overt, Meriem and Bruce look to have a healthy, affectionate relationship, with concern for each other’s well-being. Meriem is no damsel in distress, and in perhaps a bit of gender role reversal, she plays the physically strong role in a relationship that is usually depicted as fairly traditional.

Black and white panel in the comic. Meriem is standing straight, arms behind her back with a thought bubble that says "Mother...."
Meriem entertains the idea of being a mother.

Regarding traditional gender roles, in “Extinction” the ideas of Meriem being a motherly figure are brought up when she rescues Susie from the cave tentacle monster. In issue one of “Snow” the subject is brought back up. As she placates her cousin Lumpy and his friend Will (who also appeared in “Extinction”) with promises that she will do something fun with them after she returns from the expedition, Professor Cook remarks that she will “make a great mother someday.” Miriem bites her bottom lip as she holds the idea in thought, enchanted by it.

Marstone, Bruce, and Meriem in a black and white panel. Marstone says "Better keep a leash on your Dino lover, Bruce. I think she's gone Rabid. If this is the kind'a treatment I can expect when I suggest a course of action then I don't much see the point in hanging around."
Marstone is not a team player. He can dish out hostility to the professor and Meriem, but whines when confronted back.

The last theme of “Snow” revolves around the notion of community in Marshville, working together to survive not just being in the prehistoric past, but also a cruel winter. Professor Cook acts as a de facto leader of the town, though no doubt under a dotted line hierarchal relationship to the town’s police force and mayor. There is, of course, dissent in the community that should be unified, particularly with the character of Marstone, who takes umbrage to Meriem and the professor, and suggests they should begin clearcutting the jungle surrounding the town for fuel. This could be a character that truly cares about his community but is extremely skeptical to having to rely on others, or he has nefarious intentions and perhaps wants to seize command to do things his way.

Conclusion

The first issue of “Snow” is off to a great start. There is the introduction of multiple dilemmas (the snow, the tar pits expedition, the unknown creature, internal communal strife, etc.) that will no doubt coalesce during the next three issues. It sounds like a lot to juggle, but Durham has done a great job at keeping everything linked together and relevant. Durham’s art style is always top notch in the Cavewoman series, especially when depicting Meriem, be it pinup style, or jungle girl heroine style. A great issue and a great beginning to a new Cavewoman storyline.

For more information on Cavewoman “Snow” issue one or my other Cavewoman reviews, check these links:

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Comics

Release the Subterranean Kraken: Cavewoman: Extinction

Cover shows Meriem being grabbed/surrounded by tentacles. She has her knife out ready to slash one.
Personal copy of Cavewoman: “Extinction”.

Plot

In Marshville, a town that has been teleported to the prehistoric past, life goes on as normal as possible, despite being surrounded by the jungle primeval and dangerous dinosaurs. Children Lumpy, Will, Miguel, and Susie are about to play a game of baseball but need an umpire. Lumpy asks Meriem Cooper, the superhuman Cavewoman who acts as a guardian over Marshville, if she would be their umpire. Meriem, with plans already made to relax in the magma-heated pools outside the town and recompose herself, asks for a raincheck.

Meriem swings on a vine.
Meriem off to relax at the hot pools by swinging on a vine.

At the bottom of the ninth, Will hits a ball that gets caught by a pterodactyl and then dropped in the jungle. The children set off to retrieve one of the many lost balls and happen upon a dark cavern. Inside they discover a nest of eggs. Will handles an egg but winds up breaking it, awakening a slumbering monster in the process. The children attempt to flee the cave as they are pursued by dozens of tentacles from the shadows. Susie becomes trapped in a crevice while the other three kids escape to seek help from Meriem.

Meriem is on the ground, pushing herself back up with her front two arms. Behind her is the cave monster. Think of a crab without legs or claws, but instead dozens and dozens of tentacles coming from it.
Meriem fights the cave monster.

Meriem braves the cave by herself to rescue Susie and pit herself against the tentacle monster who has been angered by its eggs being disturbed, encountering a powerful foe of the likes she has never encountered before. Meriem takes a battering from the monster’s tentacles, but Susie distracts it with an egg, the last one since the others in the nest appear to have broken. Deducing the monster is the last of its kind, and the egg its sole lineage, Meriem and Susie give the egg to the monster, who retreats into the darkness, allowing the duo to escape. Back at the surface, Meriem promises Susie ice cream after demonstrating her braveness and teases the three boys to stay out of trouble.

Commentary

“Extinction” is a one-shot, self-contained comic in the Cavewoman series, published in 2010 with the story and art done by Rob Durham. Though Budd Root’s Cavewoman series is known for its cover nudity and cheesecake portrayal of Meriem, “Extinction” is rather chaste and instead feels like an 80s/early 90s Saturday morning cartoon that revolves around children getting into trouble and then getting saved. The first few pages feel like the movie The Sandlot (1993), where a group of kids playing baseball lose their balls over the fence into a backyard guarded by “The Beast” (a big English Mastiff). In “Extinction” the children playing baseball lose their balls in the jungle, and the beast they encounter is a Cthulhu-esque monster with dozens of tentacles that protrude from a central, crab-carapace-like, body. The children are put into peril, but it is no more violent than, say, what kids encounter in cartoons like Denver the Last Dinosaur or Dinosaucers. “Extinction” is also full of kid friendly messages akin to the endings of episodes of G.I. Joe or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: don’t play in unsafe areas (dark caverns), don’t be a bully (calling one a chicken to force them to go into said cave), seek the help of adults (Meriem), leave wild animals and their offspring (eggs) alone, the importance of bravery, and so on. All of the above demonstrates that Cavewoman, or at least this specific issue, can be surprisingly kid friendly and positive.

That is to say not all of “Extinction” is without some form of titillation. Aside from her standard issue attire of a leopard print bikini that showcases her body, there is a sequence of Meriem bathing in a hot pool. All of her nudity obfuscated by lapping water or wafts of steam, yet her voluptuousness is still on full display. Late in the issue when she is fighting the underground monster, there are numerous panels of Meriem surrounded and grabbed by tentacles, veering in the direction of Toshio Maeda territory.

Naughty tentacle innuendo aside, the underground monster in “Extinction” is quite cool. The monster does not fit into the cosmic horror bucket per se, so it is not Lovecraftian in the traditional sense, but all of its tentacles give it that Cthulhu, perhaps Gla’aki (from the Ramsey Campbell story “The Inhabitant of the Lake”) vibe. The beast is extremely formidable, and its one on one battle with Meriem at the issue’s climax is a great sequence. There is a series of panels that shows the monster grabbing Meriem and slamming her from side to side, like Bamm-Bamm from The Flinstones. It is a captivating battle.

Four panels, each one shows Meriem being slammed side by side by a tentacle.
The cave monster thwaps Meriem around.

Finally, aside from the aforementioned morality messages geared toward children, there’s other themes present in “Extinction”, especially around Meriem’s character. Selfcare is important, and Meriem realizes this has she has to say “no” to the children (and sometimes, one has to feel comfortable saying “no”), to go and relax in the superheated pools. But it is a short respite and Meriem is cursed with what other superheroes have to deal with: they always must be on “on mode” and be able to save the day at a moment’s notice. Rest is extremely important to avoid burnout, but it is easily taken away.

Meriem holds Susie in her arms close to her chest.
Meriem rescues Susie.

Just like Ripley and the alien queen in Aliens (1986), there are some matronly themes between Meriem and the underground tentacle monster. Meriem takes a motherly role to the four children, especially Susie when she rescues her from the dark and gives her comfort. Conversely, the monster is trying to protect its last egg, the last of its kind (of note – how did the rest of the eggs break between the children finding them and then giving one back to the monster?). Meriem and the monster have a lot more in common with each other, both being incredibly strong and protective of their children. 

Conclusion

“Extinction” is a terrific one-off, self-contained story in the Cavewoman series. It is a quick adventure, with fairly low stakes and that by the issue’s end, the narrative returns back to the status quo, with the hope that the children will stop peer pressuring each other and taking off on dangerous excursions. The issue standalone enough in that it is not too reliant on other issues to establish the universe. A general feeling of what Cavewoman is about is sufficient for reading the issue which can act as an entry point into the series proper. Meriem herself is selfless and brave, and Durham’s art renders her in a detailed and sexy style that brings these attributes to the forefront of the character.

For more information on Cavewoman “Extinction” and my other Cavewoman reviews, check these links:

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The Chaos Continues: Vanya 09

The Story So Far

Vanya is a warrior in training, sent to the prehistoric past for a year to test her survival skills against a harsh primeval environment and dinosaurs. Her journey becomes upended as she is drawn both into an intergalactic war with the purple skinned Torridians and the prophecies of the Bone Tribe who seek to hatch Torridian Dragon eggs. Vanya finds momentary respite when she and her lover, Serah, make it to a Federation installation. There Serah is cared for after having been implanted with a cranial device by the Bone Tribe Witch that gives her visions. As the Torridians commence an all-out assault against the base with their legion of cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs, the Federation responds in kind with their army of mechs. As the battle rages, Vanya is sent out into the jungle once again on a mission to retrieve a set of Torridian Dragon Eggs.

Cover is a scene at night. Vanya stands over a campfire, spear in hand. On a tree root next to her is a saber tooth tiger with a scar across its right eye. Beams of moonlight filter through the jungle foliage.
Vanya #09 cover by Zoran Jovicic.

Issue 09 Plot

The large scale battle between the Federation in their mechs and the Torridians with their cybernetic dinosaurs rages on. Taking advantage of an opening, Torridian general Tora pilots her robo-T-Rex, leaps off her mount, and lands on Relo Quarr’s mech, slashing it open. Holding her double ended sword at Relo’s throat, she orders the Federation to surrender. At that moment, in a deus ex machina, a battalion of Astral Guard arrive, mowing down the Torridians and their dinosaurs with their chain guns, laser webs, light blades, and other futuristic weaponry. Seeing the battle lost, Tora impales herself on an Astral Guard’s blade.

Panel shows a T-rex with metal arms that have blades instead of claws, roaring. General Tora, who has purple skin and is wearing green arm, has a double ended blade in her hand. She leaps from her T-rex mount saying "H'yahh!" toward a bipedal mech that looks like an AT-ST from Star Wars.
General Tora leaps from her cyber T-rex onto Relo Quarr’s mech unit.

Meanwhile, Vanya, having survived the rocket attack from a cyber-pterodactyl, encounters a scarred sabretooth tiger, who beckons Vanya to follow. Vanya does so, and their trek takes them across a chasm bridged by a rotten log. The log breaks, plummeting the two in to the treacherous river below, however they make it safe to shore and set up a camp.

At the caves of the Bone Tribe, the Witch grows frustrated that her pheromones are not imprinting on the Torridian Dragon egg. She tries to force the captured Astral Guard soldier Elah into the massive ritual orgy, but Niya offers to take her place instead.

Far at the edge of the Galaxy, a fleet of Torridian ships receive a transmission from the now defeated General Tora.

Commentary

The titanic battle that started in issue eight sees its conclusion in Vanya #9, though with a change in perspective. Issue eight went for big and epic, with many of the panels zoomed out to show the battlefield between the Federation and the Torridians and how large its scale was. Issue nine takes a personal, focused approach, narrowing it down to General Tora and Relo. The arrival of the Astral Guard, though a deux ex machina, was unexpected and a pleasant surprise. The last appearance of the Astral Guard was back in issue seven and it was not a positive portrayal. In that issue, Elah and her squadron of Guard arrive through a portal and are easily tricked and dispatched by the Bone Tribe Witch. The elite guard, the best of the best, did not live up to mythological-esque hype prior issues hinted at. This issue rectifies this portrayal (perhaps the issue seven portrayal is more of Elah was simply an ineffective leader and hence why her men are killed and she and others are captured so easily). The Astral Guard show up, do not falter in any way, and steam roll over the Torridians.

The panel shows two spider web like webs (all straight, no curves), drive through three pterodactyls. The pterodactyls are slices into little tiny pieces.
The razor sharp webs of the Astral Guard make short work of the cyber pterodactyls.
Close up of a xenomorph from the Alien series, who has a criss cross green pattern on his head and shoulders, caused by being caught in a web launched by a Predator.
The Grid Alien from the 2004 Alien vs. Predator movie.

There are a few panels in the Astral Guard battle that might be homages or pop culture references. The Astral Guard shoot a web that passes through a flock of cyber-pterodactyls, slicing them into tiny pieces. This is akin to the Predator’s net weapon in the Predator movies (best exemplified with the Grid Alien in Alien vs. Predator [2004] that survives such a net attack).

A woman in a grey soldier's armor. She has blonde hair and 2 braids. She his holding a giant chain gun in her hands. Her speech bubble says "Time we made the Torridians extinct, boys".
An Astral Guard Warrioress wields a giant chain gun.
A warrior woman wearing a skull with two tusks sticking up from it, face paint, shoulder pads with a skull on them, and holding a chain gun in her hand. Basically a Lady barbarian with a big gun.
Barbarianna from the movie Kung Fury.

Another panel shows a blonde, braided lady Astral Guard, who evokes images of a Valkyrie, holding a chain gun in her hand. This is reminiscent of the synthwave movie Kung Fury (2015) that features a lady Barbarian (named Barbarianna) from the past who also wields a chain gun. These references may be coincidental, but they are bad ass and rehabilitate the image of the Astral Guard as the elite force that Vanya has been training to be a part of.

As the General Tora plot line comes to a close, another one gains momentum and that is the mystery of the sabretooth tigers. In this issue, Vanya encounters a sabretooth cat with a scar with two slashes across its right eye. Vanya follows the cat, which leads to a near brush with death for both of them as they fall into a chasm (though there is some whimsy present in the panel of Vanya and the sabretooth tiger riding the log together as if it were an amusement park ride).

Vanya, wearing a torn white shirt and pants, holds on to a log. Behind her a giant sabertooth cat also holds on. The river they are in goes "Slam! Slam!"
Vanya and a Sabretooth tiger ride a log in the river rapids.

Is the cat friend or foe? Way back in issue two there was a sabretooth cat that was stalking Vanya and company. However, this cat lacked the scars over its eye, so it cannot be the same sabretooth. Its fate is currently unknown: is it alive or perhaps it was one of the sabretooths that perished during the attack on the Bone Tribe back in issue five.

Close up of a sabertooth tiger's face as it peers through tall grass. It has 2 scars that cross its white eye.
Sabretooth tiger in issue 9 that leads Vanya.
The Bone Tribe Witch is topless and wears a primitive skirt. She has a rope necklace dangling from her neck. She has black makeup around her eyes that run a little bit. There are three sabertooth cats around her, one with two scars over its eye. Behind them is a dark forest and a red sky.
The Bone Tribe Witch and three sabertooth tigers at her command in issue seven.

Issue seven shows the Bone Tribe Witch with a pack of three sabretooth tigers who follow her commands. One of the tigers does have two scars over its right eye. Has the Bone Tribe Witch sent this particular feline out to fetch Vanya and lead her back to the Bone Tribe’s caverns? In issue seven the Bone Tribe Witch references the Prophecy of the Dragon Rider. Perhaps the Witch needs Vanya in order to fulfill this role? With the tribe’s ritual orgies causing the Torridian Dragon eggs to hatch, there will definitely be some dragons to be rode.

Covers and Swag Impressions

Issue nine of Vanya was crowdfunded via Kickstarter in September of 2025 with physical rewards being shipped in late January of 2026. With this issue of Vanya came the news that the series was not going to end on issue twelve but instead would be turned into an ongoing series, the first for publisher Bad Bug.

This issue of Vanya was particularly awash with amazing alternative covers. John Royle’s cover gave Vanya a J. Scott Campbell vibe. Renato Camilo (who did the best covers for Vanya issues two, four, and five) brings their A-game again with a spooky night hunt scene between Vanya and a T-rex. Marissa Pope’s cover is particularly vibrant and luminescent.

Vanya is in the nude save for some cauldrons and bracers and straps. She has her dreadlock hair in a beehive with dinosaur spikes sticking out from her. She is poised atop a tree root. Behind her a volcano erupts and a flock of pterodactyls fly by.
Vanya #9 with nude, alternate cover done by Hedwin Zaldivar.

The best cover for issue nine goes to Hedwin Zaldivar who captures both the cheesecake style with the battle-hardened cave woman girl style. Zaldivar’s Vanya sports a giant beehive-dreadlock with dinosaur spikes sticking out from it, a cross between midcentury pinup girl and jungle girl. The cover is also action packed, with an exploding volcano and a squadron of pterodactyls flying about. A great, energetic cover all around.

Issue nine also came with an abundance of extra swag, more so than other issues in the series.

Cheesecake style of Vanya, done in a cute/adorable style with bigger eyes and wing/cat eye liner. She stands, holding a long spear in her left hand. She is wearing a jungle girl bikini top and bottom with boots that have a fluffy top.
Vanya #9 art print by Sam Payne.

Firstly, there is the art print done by Sam Payne who has a distinctive “good girl” style, which is evident in the wing-tipped eyes of the women he draws. This is an adorable iteration of Vanya.

Three stickers. One is Vanya on a knee, bracing herself against a spear. The other is a cheese cake Vanya, standing up holding a long spear.
Stickers for Vanya #9.

Next comes not one, not two, but three (!!) stickers! One of the Vanya series logo, the other is of Yum!’s Vanya cover, and the final one is of the aforementioned Sam Payne art piece.

Two tarot cards. The one on the left is "Justice" and shows Vanya hunched over a puddle, bracing herself against a spear while a T-rex looms behind her. The next one is "The Hermit" and shows Vanya crouched on a tree branch holding a vine, spear in hand, ready to leap off.
Two Tarot Cards for Vanya #9.

Stickers are not the only thing in quantity as this issue came with two tarot cards. One is of “Justice” and uses the Yum! cover art, and the other is of “The Hermit” and uses Tony Tzanoukakis cover art.

A print of a lady cosplaying as Vanya. She is wearing a black bikini top and bottom and is laying in a pool of water that has Lilly pads. She has necklaces and a wait chain that has dinosaur teeth on them.
Vanya #9 Sooyoung Cosplay Print.

And finally, as with issue seven, Vanya #9 comes with a cosplay art print. The model in this print is Sooyoung, and shows a Vanya relaxing in a pool of water, something the character is fond of doing (see issue one and the Bruno Sousa and Tommy Shelton alternate cover of issue three). Overall, this issue of Vanya is mighty stacked with loot and those who contributed to the Kickstarter are well rewarded with some great swag.

Conclusion

Issue nine of Vanya was a nice package of both wrapping up story threads and introducing new ones. General Tora is no longer a menace, but it appears that victory may be short lived as interstellar Torridians mobilize. Vanya is back in her element being a neo-jungle girl who technically has an animal companion now. Will that sabretooth tiger align itself with Vanya or is it truly under the control of the Bone Tribe Witch? The Astral Guard received a much needed image makeover after their less than impressive entrance a few issues back. With this issue it feels like the Vanya series is moving into a new phase, one that is more mature, mature in the sense that the story has become wise to itself and knows where it is going and each character has solidified themselves into a specific role with specific stakes/goals: from Serah coping with her new kinda-psychic dinosaur ability (from the prior issue), to the Bone Tribe Witch working her magic and showing frustration at the ritual, to even Relo Quarr, who has only been present in the most recent issues, showcasing himself as a formidable leader. Vanya has elevated itself from a fun, chaotic at times, hypersexual comic to a story driven one that is taking itself seriously.

For more information on Vanya and the comic’s creative team, check out the links below:

Also, consider checking out the reviews I’ve done of other titles published by Bad Bug:

Death Nell Reviews

Vanya Reviews

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Comics

Warpath and Rampage: Vanya 08

The Story So Far

Vanya, Serah, Niya, and Guy are four soldiers from the future trapped in the prehistoric past, surviving against dinosaurs, savage humanoids, the Torridians (a race of warrior aliens hellbent on conquering humanity), and the Astral Guard (elite human warriors who view the heroes as deserters and traitors).

Cover depicts Vanya, crouched in foliage, drawing back on a bow. It is kind of dark, with a little beam of light coming through the leaves. Her red hair is in a pony tail.
Vanya #08 standard cover by Zoran Jovicic and Zork Marinero.

Vanya and her lover Serah make their way to Terran Base Alpha, and Serah is taken in for treatment for the cerebral implant put into her by the Bone Tribe Witch. Concurrently, Niya and Guy make off to hide a batch of Torridian Dragon Eggs from the Witch. Their efforts are in vain as they are apprehended by the Astral Guard, and in turn, everyone is captured by the Witch who has the eggs back in her possession as she needs them to fulfill a prophecy to make her a powerful god-queen.

Issue 08 Plot
 
At Terran Base Alpha, Relo Quarr reveals to Vanya that the Federation has their own Torridian Dragon, one that is to be released in an emergency should the Torridians overcome their defenses. Quarr recalls to Vanya how the Torridian planet was destroyed by the Galactic Federation when they set the dragons free on their world. Nearly conquered, the Torridians surrendered to the Federation, but asked for a new home world, which turns out to be the human’s planet Terra.

Vanya has her red hair in a long pony tail behind her back and is wearing a white shirt. She is pointing forward. NExt to her is the alien Relo Quarr. He has a grey, angular face with a green jacket that has big shoulder pads and collar.
Vanya and Relo Quarr gaze upon a Torridian Dragon.

Serah awakes from a nightmare with more visions of the Bone Tribe Witch. Sensing the situation as dire, Quarr gives Vanya the clearance to arm herself and to go and destroy the eggs that Niya and Guy hid.
At that moment the Torridian army, led by the ruthless Geneal Tora, launch a massive attack on the Terran base. With their numbers already decimated by a plague, the Torridians take a suicide approach of fight or die, sending their spaceships crashing into the base’s shields followed by waves of cybernetic dinosaurs. Quarr and his men take to the battlefield in their tanks and mechs to ward off the Torridians as the base is given an evacuation order.

Meanwhile at the Bone Tribe’s cave, a captured Niya, Guy, and Astral Guard Elah watch as the Witch leads her tribe in a giant orgy to imprint their pheromones on the hatching eggs.

Commentary

Issue eight of Vanya is the Battle of Helm’s Deep of the series so far. The fervor attitude of the Torridians under Tora’s command is depicted in their hail Mary attack on the Federation base. Knowing that the plague that has decimated them has put them in a dire, inescapable position, the Torridians send their spaceships, their only way off the planet, to Kamikaze the base. The army of cybernetically enhanced dinosaurs the Torridians command is epic to behold, and the Federation responds in kind by sending in giant tanks and ED-209/AT-ST looking mechs to intercept the attackers.

A booming battlefield filled with explosions and laser cannons. In the background moving forward is a fleet of tanks. Behind it are burning building and mountains. In the foreground, advancing toward the tanks, are cybernetic ally enhanced triceratops, stegosauruses, Tyrannosaurus Rexes, and more. The color of the page is all shades of red due to all the fires going on.
Epic battle between the Torridians and their dinosaurs and the Galactic Federation with lots of tanks.

In a traditional story, at a scene like this, the grunts would be sent in to do the dirty work as their commanders and leaders sit safely back at their command center. Not so in Vanya as Quarr and his other commanders join in the fray as well. Both sides of the skirmish are depicted as equally brave among panels that show tanks blowing up dinosaurs while T-Rexes with sharp metal claws rip apart mechs. Overall, the battle is a blast (pun intended) to see unfold in the issue, from the large-scale fighting to the minutia in the commanders planning in their war room.

The panel shows the backs of six commanders, looking at a green screen on the wall. The screen is a computer display, with coordinates and lattitude/longitude, and shows the gathering torridian forces.
Terran Base Alpha War Room.

A new development in this issue of Vanya is Serah’s cerebral implant allows her to communicate with the cyberdinos. As she is fleeing the base, she encounters a raptor with blades protruding from its back, but Serah is able to convince the reptile she is friendly and the beast scoots away. Possible foreshadowing here: if Serah can do this to one dinosaur, she can probably do it to more. Say, an army of dinosaurs

There is a certain irony that Vanya is sent back out to destroy the Torridian eggs as they were all in her possession not a few days ago. If Guy and Niya had not split off to hide the eggs, they would instead be in the Federation hand’s and not the Bone Tribe Witch’s, where they would be destroyed (or, more likely, made into additional weapons). Regardless, the orders from Quarr get Vanya back into her natural habitat, the jungles primeval. A missile blast from a robo-pterodactyl (yes, only with Vanya can one say that sentence with a straight face) knocks Vanya out, disintegrating her clothes. It is only a matter of time in a subsequent issue that she will not doubt be back to wearing her normal neo-jungle girl garb (or nothing at all).

Covers and Swag Impressions

Issue #8 of Vanya was successfully Kickstarted in early February 2025, with digital editions being fulfilled in June and physical editions later that summer. This issue was released in numerous covers by a variety of different artists, in normal and nude incarnations. The standard cover was done by Zoran Jovicic (who has been the illustrator of the series since its beginning) and Zork Marinero.

Vanya is nude save for her bracers, spikey shoulder pads, and boots. She is leaning against a tree branch. Her hair is in dreadlocks. She is hiding behind her a serrated halberd. She is biting on her finger seductively. Behind her it is a sunny day, with a canyon wall and a sky with a faint, fluffy cloud.
Personal copy of Vanya #08, nude variant, done by Brian Miroglio.

The best alternative cover for issue eight is the one done by Brian Miroglio. A vibrant and seductive cover (nude or not), it shows a battle-ready Vanya against a rather serene jungle scene. Whose blood in on the spear she holds behind her in an assuming fashion to how Negan (Walking Dead) holds his baseball bat Lucille?  Did she slay a dinosaur? Or perhaps a violent caveman? Aside from the attractive pinup vibes of the cover, it invites readers to hypothesis their own Vanya story, and it probably would not be too far off base.

The Tarot Card is of "The Hanged Man" and it is from the issue 8 cover done by Luca Strait. It shows Vanya, sitting on her knees, holding a spear in her right hand. Behind her is a giant snake. The sticker is done in 16 bit era style graphics. It shows Vanya holding a bow and stepping backwards.
Vanya #8 Tarot Card and pixel art style sticker.

For additional Kickstarter loot, Vanya #8 came with three additional goodies: a tarot card, a sticker, and a PDF story. The tarot card continues the tradition Bad Bug has been doing with their other comics, and these are always fun to see. The best tarot cards have unique artwork, though the card for issue 8, The Hanged Man, uses the Luca Strati #8 alternate cover.

The sticker realizes Vanya in a 16-bit, pixel/retro style and it is awesome. It fuels the imagination that a retro game based on the Vanya IP, perhaps done by a company like WayForward, would be entirely plausible. There are a plethora of vintage cartoonish caveman game out there, such as Chuck Rock, Bonk, and Caveman Ninja, why not instead go the serious route and make a Vanya platformer or Metroidvania?

And finally, a first for the Vanya series, there is a short story with some black and white comicbook style illustrations (though it is not a comic) titled “First Encounter”. The story is about Vanya’s first week upon arriving in the prehistoric past and encountering both a raptor and a sabre tooth tiger. This is a great way to add more story, character development, and “Vanya-ness”, to the series.

Conclusion

How far Vanya has come in scale in eight issues! Initially a more singularly focused on Vanya and surviving the hostile dinosaur world, the stakes have been upped many times in the issues since: large scare battles between humans and purple-skinned warrior aliens, a tribe of cave people wanting to rule the world, fleets of cyber dinosaurs, almost mystical dragons. It all seems over the top, and, well, maybe it is, but it works. There is a dead-seriousness vibe with Vanya that grounds it. Issue eight contains all these elements (an epic war, a jungle girl tale, etc.) and then some, such as romance and a little political intrigue on a galactic scale. With four more issues to go (the series is already 2/3s of the way complete?!), it will be fantastic to see where this escalating action goes. 

For more information on Vanya and the comic’s creative team, check out the links below:

Also, consider checking out the reviews I’ve done of other titles published by Bad Bug:

Death Nell Reviews

Vanya Reviews