If you know anything about musician/writer Gerard Way, you're probably aware that he's not exactly a normal human being. We mean that as a compliment: Way marches to a very different drum.

From his days in emo band My Chemical Romance, Way always had a penchant for theatrics, for the odd or abnormal, even the morbid.

All of this comes together perfectly in the DC Comics imprint Young Animal, which Way curates. He's brought together four books, two of which he writes, to create a weird little family.

The first three issues of those titles all landed inside the top 100 comics sold for October, which is impressive for a quirky new series and suggests we'll see more like them. (As for the fourth, we're still waiting to see the November numbers.)

As their tagline says, the Young Animal books are "comics for dangerous humans." What that means isn't exactly clear. But you know it's a little off-kilter, making it on-brand for Way.

Have you got a taste for adventure? Comment with your favorite #DCYoungAnimal book so far! DCComics.com/YoungAnimal A video posted by DC (@dccomics) on Oct 23, 2016 at 10:09am PDT

The four books Way chose – Doom Patrol, Shade the Changing Girl, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye and Mother Panic – are all as off-the-wall as their titles suggest. Which is exactly why they're changing the game when it comes to mainstream comic books.

When you're a comics reader, and especially when you're a DC or Marvel fan, it's easy for things to start to feel a little familiar. We've been seeing the same characters for years; the plot points can get a little tired at times.

So if you're in the market for something drastically different, but still set in a recognizable world, Way's books could be right up your alley.

Image: DC Comics

Doom Patrol

This title is not exactly new. The Doom Patrol has appeared in DC Comics on and off since 1963, and there's been a lot of crossover with other titles (Teen Titans favorite, Beast Boy, spent time as part of Doom Patrol). But Way has brought the crew back in spectacular fashion, and is taking a different tack from his predecessors.

This book follows Casey Brinke, a new character even for the Doom Patrol fans. She's slowly finding out that her ordinary life as a ambulance driver is not exactly what she thinks it is. She seems to be suppressing some knowledge about her past.

Casey's upbeat personality and relentless positivity is a device for her to avoid some truth she doesn't want to admit. But it's kind of hard to convince yourself that you're completely normal when people like Negative Man and Robotman keep crashing into your life.

Drawn with great finesse by Nick Derington, the book is full of vivid and unique images. Derington gives us characters – like that wonderful little creature pictured with Casey above – that are quickly capturing hearts.

There's some wonderful whimsical comedy in each book too. One page in each issue features the Chief (Niles Caulder), has exactly no dialogue, and is always headed with "What are you doing, Niles Caulder?" or "What's going on, Niles Caulder?" It is guaranteed to make you chuckle.

With three issues released so far, this book is the furthest along in the Young Animal family, and it's a great place to jump in. You'll get used to the idea of a universe in a gyro pretty quickly, I promise.

Image: DC Comics

Shade, the Changing Girl

Time for things to get really weird.

Written by Cecil Castellucci and drawn by Marley Zarcone, Shade stars Loma — an alien from the planet Meta who is totally obsessed with a human poet named Rac Shade.

Loma drops out of school, dumps her boyfriend, steals Rac Shade's madness coat from a museum and comes to Earth.

Still with me? Good.

SHADE, THE CHANGING GIRL #2 is in stores today! Have you read the latest from #DCYoungAnimal? DCComics.com/YoungAnimal A video posted by DC (@dccomics) on Nov 3, 2016 at 10:31am PDT

Loma needs a human body in order for her to blend in with the humans. She picks a brain-dead, comatose teenage girl named Megan Boyer, who "miraculously" recovers.

But as Loma assimilates into Megan's old life, she finds that life on Earth is not as simple as she thought it was going to be. Megan was a bit of a bully in her time, and that madness coat has strange effects on everyone around it.

So as if high school wasn't hard enough, Loma has to deal with a bunch of people who weren't exactly distraught when her host body almost died, as well as all the people on her home planet whom she pissed off by taking the madness coat.

The book is smart, thoughtful, cool and, above all, very weird. Including this week's new issue, there are three issues of Shade so far, but already they have me hooked.





Image: DC Comics

Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye

Ready for a story about a sad dad? Strap in for Cave Carson.

Carson was a badass adventurer who explored a whole world underground. He was a big enough deal, we learned in issue #2, that he got to meet Superman. He also found his wife Eileen and started a family, their daughter born below the Earth's surface.

Oh yeah, he also got this insane cybernetic eye down there. He has no idea how that happened.

Prepare for an adventure beyond reality in CAVE CARSON HAS A CYBERNETIC EYE #1! Available now from #DCYoungAnimal wherever fine comic books are sold. #NewDCDay #NCBD DCComics.com/YoungAnimal A video posted by DC (@dccomics) on Oct 20, 2016 at 10:03am PDT

Eileen passed away, and Carson still keeps an underground lab to continue some of their work, but his days of exploring were over. That was until he finds out that his daughter is the rightful heir to the throne of an underground kingdom — and she's being kidnapped.

Cave has to spring back into action, even with his crazy eye acting up and giving him hallucinations.

Way teamed up with Jon Rivera to write the script, and Michael Avon Oeming draws the book. The team has put out two issues of CCHACE out so far, so the plot has yet to really kick off. But so far so good.

Image: DC Comics

Mother Panic

Hey, fans of Gotham City, this one's for you.

Violet Paige is a young celebrity with an attitude problem. She's the type to make headlines by throwing a tantrum or getting into wild antics. But there's more to this heiress than meets the eye.

Violet doesn't approve of the privilege and decadence around her, so she's ready to bring the upper class down a notch.

The final #DCYoungAnimal book is here! Meet Gotham City's new vigilante in MOTHER PANIC #1, available now! DCComics.com/YoungAnimal A video posted by DC (@dccomics) on Nov 10, 2016 at 10:03am PST

She terrorizes her peers as a Gotham City vigilante known as Mother Panic.

Of course, there's another famous, rich vigilante in Gotham already. Mother Panic isn't a fan, but Batman does have one of the most perfect one-panel cameos ever in the premiere issue of the book:

Image: DC comics

Mother Panic also had a hard childhood, and it looks like everyone else is gonna pay for that.

I'm excited to see what writer Jody Houser brings to this character, and how she brings Gotham City to life. The art of Tommy Lee Edwards is gritty and intriguing, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it.

In short, the Young Animal family is looking strong so far, and seems likely to only get stronger. Keep your eye on the industry as these series develop, and watch them make waves.