Now that the War of the Realms has taken over most of Marvel, it’s time for Venom to have a little fun. Creators Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello pick up where Donny Cates left off and empower this character in a hell of a way. It’s the kind of book that seems to be asking the question, “When it’s war why not let Venom cut loose?”
So what’s it about?
Read the preview.
Why does this matter?
If you dig Venom murdering, committing great violence, and looking great doing it, you’ve come to the right place.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Magic powers!
Credit: Marvel Comics
Right off the bat, this issue does something many of the War of the Realms tie-ins haven’t, which shows some truly horrific things in the streets. A flaming beast that looks a bit like a giant insect is roaming the streets and it might just haunt my nightmares. It’s just one of a couple of great designs by Coello that stuck with me, the other being a cool slight change to the Venom look. As the story progresses Bunn does a good job getting Dylan out of the picture so Eddie can do his dirty work but also gives Venom a suit of sorts for this battle. As you may know the Symbiote is no longer with Venom, but the suit he does get is an adequate replacement for the battle at hand.
The villains in play with this tie-in are suitable for a hero like Venom. They’re elves who basically want to play with their food and have a little sport. Venom, of course, fights for those who can’t fight for themselves, which equals some incredible mayhem two thirds through this book. One could argue his new suit is a bit of a janky introduction, but it lines up well with a cool cliffhanger that should get fans of Spider-Man books all the more hype.
The art as a whole is dark, twisted, and suitable for a war comic like this. Venom knocks a guy’s head off in a graphic gory scene and the cliffhanger full-page splash is gorgeous in its twisted horror way. The designs of the elves is quite cool too.
Nice!
Credit: Marvel Comics
It can’t be perfect, can it?
The way Venom gets his new suit is a bit silly and even the character who helps him admits it was dumb of them to do so. I guess it’s part of the games these elves are playing, but it comes off as convenient to the plot to have it happen as it does.
Is it good?
A good tie-in if you’re looking for violence, horror undertones, and a Venom that’s all about killing. It’s classic Venom built for war.
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