Marvel’s What If…? has come and gone with different iterations. This week, it returns, and it’s all about Venom. Headlining the series is Jeremy Holt, with a different artist each time. Judging by how good the first issue is, it’s clear we’re in good hands.
What If…?: Venom #1 is all about She-Hulk with a few clever plot elements that make this more than just a typical one-shot. The issue opens with She-Hulk working a desk job in an office and getting no respect. Leaving work later than anyone, she stumbles upon a church where Eddie Brock considers suicide. Soon, a conflict arises that convinces the Symbiote that maybe She-Hulk is a better host, and away the narrative goes.
Holt utilizes the somewhat evil nature of the Symbiote to show that She-Hulk is losing the battle for control of her own body. Through captions, they argue back and forth, which adds a nice layer of conflict. Along the way, she fights crime, stops it from outright murdering innocent people, and even stumbles across a familiar Wolverine villain. There’s a decent amount of seeding going on for where this story goes next issue. One can see there may be some pinballing for the Symbiote as it keeps meeting superheroes.
Venom is hungry.
Credit: Marvel
My only gripe is it doesn’t go too deeply into She-Hulk’s personal life. As a What If tale, it shows us what she’d do with the power, but it doesn’t probe the character too deeply save for her struggle to take control. There’s also a considerable number of pages devoted to setting up the next hero, which may have worked nicely to show a bit more of She-Hulk.
The art by Jesus Hervas is strong and steeped in dark shadows. It gives the book an evil take on the process of being taken over by a Symbiote. The style here reminded me of Daniel Acuña’s work as it’s colorful yet highly realistic when it needs to be. Color artist Ceci De La Cruz adds a lot of realism to the scenes, punching up the dark corners. Together, they pull off a visual feast for the eyes.
Ariana Maher letters the book well, with a good mix of different word balloons as needed. A growl from She-Hulk turning into the Symbiote or the yelp from a character getting slashed have nice variances in look and feel. There’s something so appealing with a scream that’s formed to each letter rather than a circular balloon.
The What If…? line of comics is alive and well in What If…?: Venom #1. The fact that it’ll naturally spin into different characters taking on the Symbiote is exciting and this issue is proof enough Holt and the art team are making sure we have a blast.
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