Venom #1 – Review

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

The Story: Flash goes on a mission to stop an arms-dealer, and the doctor behind his weapons, amidst genocide.

The Review: Venom #1 is a very interesting issue insofar as it shows, truly, what a great creative team can do and how one such team can mine greatness from what looks, at first, to be a tapped reservoir.

Certainly, at it’s base level, Venom #1 has a lot that could make for a very mediocre comic.  There’s the fact that it’s about Venom, already a ho-hum franchise.  Then there’s the fact that it’s yet another superhero spec-ops book.  Meanwhile, having a faceless arms-dealer as a villain?  It doesn’t get much blander than that.  Yet, Venom #1 is a tremendous comic book that sees Rick Remender succeeding once again with the odds stacked against him.

One of the reasons is Remender’s outstanding character-work.  Flash Thompson, for instance, is an absolute star and, within pages, instantly recognizable as an incredibly compelling and sympathetic main character well worth his own ongoing series.  He’s a fully three dimensional human being and in 22 pages, Remender touches upon so much of what makes him tick: his devotion to his country in the face of political naysayers, his courage and natural heroism, his struggles with alcoholism and his own flaws and vulnerabilities, his constant conflict with the old high school jock football hero inside of him, and the toll his military career and heroism takes on his personal sphere.  There is just so much about Remender’s Flash that intrigues, and placed in such a balancing act as this one, where absolute emotional equilibrium is required to control the beast that is the symbiote only heightens everything that makes Flash interesting.

Remender also does great work when it comes to Flash’s narration.  It feels personal, heroic yet human, and fully captures Flash’s unique voice.  It’s not over the top in any way, but it’s great to see Flash having a distinct tone.  Remender also does ingenious work in manipulating these narrative textboxes to show Flash’s loss of control to the symbiote.

Cackling villain Jack O’ Lantern is a joy.  He’s maniacal and a hyperactive, exaggerated bit of murderous black comedy.  He’s a lot of fun and reminds me of something Grant Morrison would write, albeit a bit more comprehensible.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 – What a great and refreshing comic this was!  I love that a comic that has such outlandish ideas as an actual Axe Cop Academy, a talking hammer extolling his now brainless warrior companion (the cup) and a hero named Handcuff Man who has to be put to bed at night is told with 100% seriousness.  Lest we get lost in all the accolades this comic is getting for its zany story, let’s not forget that artist Ethan Nicolle is doing a wonderful job illustrating this comic.  I’d gladly take an ongoing Axe Cop comic!

Most Anticipated: The Walking Dead #82 – Ya know….because the zombies are going to eat some people.  The shit got REAL last issue as a quasi-main character got chewed, and I’m sure it’ll just get worse/better this month.  I do know one thing……  If I were trapped in a locked-up facility with a horde of zombies, I’d feel pretty good that Andrea was “safe” on the outside.  Do you think she’d run away or do something to help?  Me too….

Other Picks: I, Zombie #11, 27 #4, Lil Depressed Boy #2, X-Men Legacy #246, Batman Inc #3

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Powers #7 – It was a real dog-fight between this and Sweet Tooth #19, but in the end powers gets the nod, if only because I love Thor and this issue of Powers’ approach to the more problematic aspect of mythologically based superheroes really rung true to me.  This book may have taken half a year to come out, but it was smart, funny, and and pretty to look at.  It also had Deena Pilgrim in it, while Sweet Tooth did not.

Most Anticipated: Venom #1 – When this was first solicited, I yawned.  I haven’t cared about Venom since I was ten and Eddie Brock was under the symbiote.  Also, another covert-ops book?  Worse still, I have yet to totally forgive Rick Remender for Frankencastle.

But then I read Slott’s back-up introducing the new Venom.  Then I got tricked into buying Amazing Spider-Man #654.1 and really enjoyed it.  Then I read the preview for this issue, and liked what I saw, especially given that I’m always a sucker for gritty narration.  Hell, I even went and checked out a little Fear Agent just to wash the stink of Frankencastle a bit off of Remender.

Now I’m excited.  And Tony Moore?  That man and has fantastic art are always in my good graces, even with Frankencastle on his resume.

Other Picks: PunisherMAX #11, New Avengers #10, Batman Incorporated #3, Superboy #5, Wonder Woman #608