CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 4/5 – Carnage and the Supernatural Side of Marvel!
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
I love what writer Gerry Conway is doing with this Carnage series. For a series about a serial killer with a symbiote attached, Conway is making this monthly series exciting and fun, but of course in a violent and bloody way. This ninth issue although part of the second storyline, is still running with themes and ideas that began with issue number one. The series started with Carnage going after a woman who got away from one of his first killing sprees and since then, Conway has thrown a little bit of everyone and everything Marvel horror related in along the way!
If you’re a longtime fan of Marvel supernatural/horror then you may remember the Darkhold. It was first introduced back in the pages of Marvel Spotlight back in 1972, also written by Conway, it also played a major role in Marvel’s ‘Midnight Sons’ books in the early 1990s. It’s an ancient book written by an Elder god that contains all sorts of evil and dark magic. Conway has brought it back in this series and has revealed that a few pages within point to a prophecy of the coming and re-powering of Carnage. After Carnage learns of this, he needs a sacrifice upon an altar on an island near Genosha for him to be able to infect and then control others with extensions of his symbiotic suit, giving him powers far beyond what he ever expected. Not only does artist Mike Perkins get to draw the scary cool Carnage, but we’ve also gotten to see members of the Midnight Sons, and although not in this particular issue, Man-Wolf!
Although this issue borrows heavily from the Aliens movie especially towards the end, I still enjoyed it and the way Conway and Perkins are approaching this series. I didn’t expect this series to be so good, but it has exceeded my expectations because I love all the nods to Marvel’s more supernatural past. Not only that but the covers by Mike Del Mundo leave a lasting impression on me, especially the cover to this issue which may be my favorite of the run. If you’re not reading Carnage and like Marvel’s supernatural side, you may want to reconsider your choice not to. Conway has a handle on the character and is taking him places you wouldn’t expect. I can’t wait to see where he takes him next!
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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