Venom #2 – Review

by Rick Remender (writer), Tony Moore (pencils), Crimelab! Studios (inks), John Rauch (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Flash fights for his life as he finds himself hunted by Kraven in the Savage Land.

The Review: It seems that a lot series put out fantastic, promising first issues and then fail to deliver after that.  Well, breathe a sigh of relief Remender/Moore fans, because Venom isn’t one of those titles.  Venom’s second installment is just as good as the first, if not better.

Remender makes a daring creative choice this month, throwing Flash into the Savage Land jungle, hunted by Kraven, with no set-up.  We’re only given information throughout the issue, as the hunt continues.  The result is an issue that is frantic and disorienting, if not desperate.  As you can imagine, that’s absolutely fantastic for a story like this one, as it accurately reflects Flash’s predicament and enhances the theme and tone of the issue.  That’s this issue’s greatest strength really, that sweaty, dirty, desperate jungle horror tone.

Kraven is also put to perfect use and is fantastic under Remender’s hand.  The guy is batshit crazy, and his mental derangement infects the story and environment of the book overall.  His weird love for Venom and his desire to be killed makes for good reading and an awesome villain.  Furthermore, he really does feel like a hunter here.  He truly feels dangerous and it’s as though he’s everywhere, constantly at Flash’s heels.

Remender also does the little things well.  Flash’s narration is sharp as ever.  Remender does a good job of reflecting the effect poisoning on this narration and Flash’s thought patterns.  He also shows just how integral Betty is in Flash’s psyche, providing a sort of anchor for Flash.  Then there’s the ever closing relationship with the symbiote, which is continually creeping and, this month, gets further heightened and all the  more interesting, as it starts to have a personality of its own.  That’s good reading.

Then there’s Remender’s juxtaposition of Betty’s normal life soap-opera-like scenes and Flash’s insane jungle battle.  The two are such opposites that it effectively shows the massive chasm between the characters.

Amazing Spider-Man #635 – Review

The Grim Hunt, Part II by: Joe Kelly (writer), Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano & Matt Southworth (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

Hunting the Hunter back-up story by: J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Max Fiumara (art), Fabio D’Auria (colors) & Caramanga (letters) and additional untitled back-up by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin

The Story: The Kravinoff’s continue their quest to catch Spiders, believing that sacrificing them on the altar of Kraven the Hunter will bring their patriarch back to life.

What’s Good: I’ll ask that you please run out and read this issue before reading this review.   This is the type of issue that deserves to be unspoiled for true fans.

That warning out of the way…  Holy crap!  I didn’t see that coming!  This issue kept me off balance from start to finish!  The Grim Hunt has really evolved at a break-neck pace since getting started in the last issue and I give a lot of credit to Joe Kelly for covering a lot of ground efficiently.  This issue had it all…  Fights, big-time villains, damsels in distress, a major bit of plot misdirection and a very shocking ending that builds for about 3-4 brutal pages.  As comic book fans, we’re trained to see our heroes get into dire circumstances but escape in the nick of time.  In a way, those miraculous escapes make us understand what it must be like to be a superhero: You can just wade into danger and somehow, someway…the good guys will escape.  But, this issue ramps that danger up just a little beyond the comfort zone and leaves us with a big payoff.

There…. Hopefully I’ve extolled this issue enough without spoiling it. Go read it twice!

Of course, you cannot have a spectacular issue without some really sharp art.  The overall style is a bit on the muddy side (which isn’t my favorite), but you cannot beat the storytelling and the expressive faces and body language.

Amazing Spider-Man #630 – Review

By: Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend & Jaime Mendoza (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: The Lizard is back, and Peter Parker has girl troubles.

What’s Good: This is why I love the almost weekly schedule that ASM is on.  Last week’s issue wasn’t so hot, but it’s Wednesday again, and time to turn the page to a good Spider-Man story so I don’t have to think about that unfulfilling Juggernaut/Captain Universe arc any more.  This is really a pretty simple issue: The Lizard re-emerges at the end of the issue and that promises a fun, dark and good story.  I like the Lizard as an enemy because he is truly dangerous, but Spider-Man is very conflicted about really going after him because of the fondness he has for Dr. Connors.  The entire lead-up to the Lizard re-emerging is really well written by Zeb Wells.  I love the little Lizard inner-monologue mixed with Connors’ explanation of the nasty instincts of reptiles.

Meanwhile, we get some good, Peter Parker love-life stuff.  I know it’s old and cliché for this series, but I really never get sick of the issues where it looks like Peter is hitting it off with a new girl and Wells writes his budding relationship with Carlie really well. Even us old married guys remember how wonderful it felt to hit it off with a new girl!

X-Men/Spider-Man #1 – Review

By Christos Gage (writer) and Mario Alberti (art)

The story: Kraven the Hunter makes an appearance on national television and claims that Spider-Man is a mutant menace. Concerned for Spider-Man’s welfare, the X-Men track Peter Parker to a local hangout for teenagers, where they are promptly attacked by Kraven and the Blob. After a brief scuffle, Kraven flees the scene only to reveal that he outed Spider-man as a mutant in order to draw out the X-Men and steal their DNA for Mr. Sinister.

What’s Good: All in all this is a pretty good issue for nostalgia buffs. It’s nice to see the founding members of the X-Men together again without the baggage of  recent continuity. It is also good to see Kraven once again since I’ve always felt that he was one of the better Spidey villians. I’m not at all familiar with Mario Alberti’s work, but he seems to be a very competent artist. His version of the Blob was gloriously obese and disgusting, great stuff.

What’s not so good: Whilst I feel that the issue is pretty solid all around, I had to ask myself if it was really necessary. I’m pretty sure that this story could have been told in the pages of X-Men: First Class, saving me the trouble of having to add yet another comic to my pull list.

Conclusion: This is a pretty decent comic at the end of the day. I’m interested in finding out if  the theft of the X-Men’s DNA has any impact on current continuity. I kind of doubt it, but it would make this series all the more worthwhile. Not essential but well worth adding to your collection, if you can afford the cost of yet another comic book.

Grade: B

-Conrad Flanigan

Spider-Man / Human Torch #1-5 – Review

By Dan Slott (writer), Ty Templeton (pencils), Tom Palmer, Nelson, Frank D’Armata, Drew Geraci (inkers), Sotocolor, J. Rauch (colors)

If you love Spider-Man, then this mini-series is a must read. I’m flabbergasted when I talk to people about this series and they’ve never heard of it. I can’t believe how much of a low-profile project this was when it came out. Even to this day, it’s not as widely recognized as it should. Marvel’s never put out a trade (only a hard to find digest), and back issues are tough to find (especially issue #2). But if you manage to hunt these issues down, I promise you a world of enjoyment.

Spider-Man / Human Torch contains the best Spider-Man stories since Kraven’s Last Hunt. It’s also the best Spider-Man mini-series ever produced. Dan Slott is the perfect writer for Spider-Man. He gets it. It’s so obvious that this guy’s read every single issue of Amazing Spider-Man because the way he tells his stories – the references, the nuances, and the dialog – they all harken back to classic Stan Lee storytelling. This series isn’t a story arc either,  instead we’re given five wonderful issues that each tell a different story at different times of the wallcrawler’s (and Human Torch’s) life.

For instance, the first issue’s story is one that could easily be inserted within the first 20 or so issues of Amazing Spider-Man. While the third issue comes in around the 150s. Slott doesn’t mess around either. He takes out all the toys and things we wished were buried (like the Spider Buggy) and shows them off proudly. As silly and cheeseball as it sounds, he makes it all work wonderfully. Reading these books made me feel like a kid again. The kindred essence that makes Spider-Man so attractive to kids (and now grown-ups) is completely captured in this mini-series. And we don’t necessarily see Spidey’s relationship with the Human Torch grow. Instead, Slott opts to show us how the relationship has evolved.

Speaking of evolving, Ty Templeton deserves a lot of accolades for his artwork in this series. He works hard to keep it in-step with the time period he’s working with and he pulls it off. Sotocolor also deserves credit for doing the same with the color work. The faux zippatone effects work well, but in the end, it’s still computer coloring. It’s not perfect, but the sentiment is definitely appreciated.

If you want a comic that embodies all that is fun and good about Spider-Man, this is the series to read. It’s got touching moments, lots of gags that’ll make you laugh out loud, and classic Spidey moments. This is still, by far, Dan Slott’s best work to date. Marvel needs to put this out in a trade like yesterday. (Grade: A+)

– J. Montes