CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 4/5 – Venom and Flash’s Symbiotic Relationship is Fracturing.
By ComicsSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
Since Venom first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man back in the late 1980s, his popularity has grown and grown. Unlike most villains, he’s definitely had his share of series starting in 1993 with the Lethal Protector and continuing on throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s as an antihero. I will say that I loved the introduction of Venom when Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie created him as a villain who was out to kill Peter Parker. His overall appearance and the ability to stay hidden from Peter’s spider-sense made him a formidable threat both in looks and abilities. For the most part, that Venom is gone. Now we have a Venom that is not only acting the hero, but is also being worn/controlled by former Spider-Man bully Flash Thompson.
Because of my dislike for the idea as Venom as a hero (as well as it being Flash Thompson), I avoided most of the series from 2011, although some writers that I truly enjoy like Rick Remender and Cullen Bunn worked on the title. When Marvel announced a new Venom series, it was a couple things that made me pick up the title. One being that “Space Knight” was in the title and anything related to ROM is a must buy for me, and second was that artist Ariel Olivetti would be drawing it. Although I can’t say I love this interpretation of the character, I’ve liked this series and this transitional seventh issue.
After wrapping up the first major storyline last issue, this one is more of a a setup for what’s to come. Venom has a crew now that consists of a robot named 803, a large and violent female Panda-like creature and her toddler daughter, and a warrior alien who looks like a pink Medusa to help him serve as Agents of the Cosmos. Here we see Venom meet an ally from Cosmos who also happens to be a Skrull, and this encounter leads Venom to drift further apart from Flash’s control. We’ve seen the symbiote in previous issues have more of a personality and maintain himself without Flash’s body serving as a host. That goes one step further here and Venom and Flash’s symbiotic relationship is divided even more.
Olivetti’s art is a joy to look at this issue and I love when his Venom looks similar to the way he first appeared all those years ago. Olivetti draws him with an enormous musculature frame and the supporting cast looks cool despite how ridiculous they sound. Unfortunately this is Olivetti’s last issue on the title so I’m a bit worried for this book and my overall interest it without Olivetti visually defining the characters. I’ll be back for at least a couple more issues since writer Robbie Thompson is writing a pretty fun book despite my dislike for “Venom as hero”.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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