Reviewed by Marc Mason

Some new stuff from alt-cartoonist Joey Weiser…

CAVEMEN IN SPACE is a full-length graphic novel (self-published, but distributed by AdHouse), and it’s a bit of a hoot. The setting is the far-flung future, where we find that scientist Albert Casimir has started one of the strangest experiments in human history: using a time machine, he snatched seven early humans from their era and transplanted them to his space station. There he has begun the process of studying them and educating them to the ways of modernity with varying results.

Sound like a recipe for disaster? You might think so, but the seven are doing reasonably well, thanks to their easy acceptance of such amenities as art, makeup, comic books, and robots. Unfortunately, their domestic tranquility is disrupted when an alien invasion force arrives and wants to make off with the Earth’s resources… and the professor’s time machine.

That’s your recipe for disaster right there.

There’s an elegant charm at the heart of the book, as Weiser explores what happens when someone finds themselves taken from a more innocent time… and dropped in a warped version of that innocent time. The characters are funny, the pace is zippy, and the ending is wonderfully emotionally resonant. If you’re in the mood for something fun, this book would do the trick.

I’m a huge fan of minicomics, so I was delighted to see MERMIN #1-2 in the package with CAVEMEN. In this kid-friendly tale, a merman named Mermin arrives on a local beach while some kids are playing in the sand, and they take him in and befriend him. Of course, passing someone off as human when they have gills isn’t quite as easy as you think, but they give it their level best when it comes to taking Mermin to school. Unfortunately, such things as playing tetherball and swimming in the pool during gym class have unintended consequences when they involve a merman, and that’s where the real fun kicks in during these first two issues. I really dug MERMIN, and the all-ages vibe bodes well for it finding a wider audience once Weiser has finished the tale and he goes to collect it.