It’s a great time to be a Venom fan between Ram V and Bryan Hitch tearing it up on the main series and David Michelinie giving us the nostalgic vibes in Lethal Protector. The latest issue in Ram V and Hitch’s run is out this week and Dylan Brock, the new person wearing the Symbiote, has got a lot of fighting to do!
First and foremost, this is a fight comic through and through. Hitch draws Venom kicking ass, making his arms into spikes, and fighting all sorts of motorcycle gang goons. We also get some big monster fights too as Bedlam–seen on the cover–comes calling. As Venom slices and dices to full effect, Hitch makes you feel for Dylan’s semi-father figure Jake. There’s a gang war going on and Jake must face off against another guy one on one. It’s sort of comical that there’s a gang fight loosely related to Venom going on, but the impact is clear as Dylan has already lost a father. Can he lose another one?
Ram V keeps the dialogue going between Venom and Dylan and the focus on Dylan being green as far as fighting and using the Symbiote is apparent. In fact, you can see that through captions as the black and yellow boxes convey dialogue from Venom and Dylan, respectively. As they get pummeled by Bedlam you can see there’s a dialogue and bartering going on between them. Dylan doesn’t want to kill humans, for instance, but he’s fine with giant Klyntar geckos.
The captioning helps convey who is talking inside the costume.
Credit: Marvel
As a fight comic, expect a slower plot progression here. This is a book where you’re meant to soak up the epic action and chaotic destruction behind Venom. Hitch draws every store sign, upturned car, and broken cement road piece to perfection. There’s a lot to soak up if you let your eye linger and take it all in. Props to Hitch for capturing the musculature of a tiny Venom compared to the large Bedlam, too. That’s no easy task.
Hitch is joined by Alex Sinclair on colors and Andrew Currie on inks. Sinclair captures light very well and the inks bring out the muscles of Venom. Depth of field is captured well throughout and the general look is both complex and easy on the eyes. There’s also a slow sunrise going on during the book and it’s nice to see the light get ever more apparent as the story pushes on.
If you dig fight scenes, you’ll love Venom #7. The art is fabulous as it captures every punch, kick, and bladed arm gouging into flesh. The plotting is slower, but that’s in part because it wants to let you soak up the visual details as Dylan may lose another father figure.
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