Rating: 3.5/5 – A satisfying conclusion to a surprisingly enjoyable series.
Superior Carnage number five wraps up the mini series with a nice conclusion in what I felt has been a surprisingly fun and enjoyable series. Writer Kevin Shinick wraps up the story of Carnage, but for the most part this series has been a story about the Wizard. It was an interesting take on the Wizard character utilizing Carnage as the “villain” throughout. Although at times this issue had some missteps with the visual storytelling, I felt that it was a satisfying conclusion.
As the story opens the alien symbiote has taken over the Wizard and the Superior Spider-Man is attempting to stop him. Not only is the Wizard suffering from dementia, but he’s also being influenced by the will of the symbiote. You almost feel bad for him, as does Klaw who narrates the story. There’s some nice insight into the symbiote itself during Klaw’s narration that dives a bit more into it’s motivation, and why he’s had so many different hosts. Shinick provides some explanation to Carnage’s at times convoluted past.
In regards to the art it didn’t have the same look as previous issues and that’s because there’s a co-penciller and three different inkers. Stephen Segovia continues to be the main penciller on this final issue, but you notice the difference in certain pages. For example, there’s a two-page splash that looks different from the rest of the book. It breaks up the flow, not providing that consistency. As mentioned above there were a couple scenes that were visually confusing, like a scene where you weren’t sure who Carnage had taken over. Overall though, Segovia’s art though has really been a nice surprise on this series. His Carnage is violent, alien looking and menacing. I’m curious to see what he’ll be working on next.
The series wraps up nicely while at the same time sets the stage for the next step in Carnage’s journey in 2014. Now that the series is over, I’d recommend giving this series a try. Although it has Carnage in the title, it’s not necessarily all about him and that’s a good thing.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas – shawn@comicspectrum.com
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