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.

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Thunderbolts #156 – This is such a fun and awesome series right now.  There is always something neat going on as Jeff Parker keeps the action hopping from one plot-point to the next and never get’s bogged down in boring stuff.  The main attraction this issue is the Thunderbolts first mission out with a new member (Satana) who makes all the other team members nervous (including groping Moonstone).  As if that isn’t enough, we also get the selection of a new B-team, the “Underbolts”.  Fun, fun, fun….  Runner-up: Wolverine #8

Most Anticipated: The Walking Dead #84 – Goodness is this a STACKED week of new releases, but I know that TWD is the comic that I’ll be reading in parking lot outside the comic shop on Wednesday around lunchtime.  Last issue showed us some pretty bloody action and I must know who lives and who dies!

Other Picks: American Vampire #14, Detective Comics #876, Scalped #48, Haunt #15, Velocity #4, Amazing Spider-Man #659, FF#2, Uncanny X-Men #536

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Uncanny X-Force #8 – An easy pick for me.  Rick Remender continues to put together possibly the finest team book on the stands.  Great character work, great action, and everything you could as for a comic in a done-in-one package that does more than enough to earn your money.  Great stuff that even the most X-tired comic reader should give a shot.

Most Anticipated: Action Comics #900 – Ouch.  This week hurts, as seems to be the case with nearly every final Wednesday of the month.  The sheer number of quality comics coming out this week is mind-boggling and I was tempted just to say “I don’t know” when it comes to picking a most anticipated.

In the end, I’ll go with Action Comics #900.  Not only is it a super-sized anniversary issue, it’s also the grand finale of Paul Cornell’s Lex Luthor book, which has been among the finest superhero comics month in and month out.  It also features the return of Superman to Action, and with Superman still wandering around in Grounded in his own book, it also means that Action will be the first book to go back to giving us real Superman adventures.  I’m super interested to see how Cornell, one of my favourite writers, takes on the man of the steel.

Other Picks: American Vampire #14, Avengers #12.1, Secret Avengers #12, Detective Comics #876, Brightest Day #24, Captain America #617, FF #2, The Flash #11, Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #9, Morning Glories #9, Scalped #48, Amazing Spider-Man #659, Mighty Thor #1, Venom #2, The Walking Dead #84, Uncanny X-Men #536