Venom Annual #1 Review

Acts of Evil continues to be the surprise hit of the summer.

July 31, 2019

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I had no idea it’d be so good, but “Acts of Evil” has been quite an effective month of annual stories from Marvel Comics. Each one pits a villain up against a hero in a done in one fashion with great results. This week we have Venom fighting Lady Hellbender who is a super new villain from 2016.

So what’s it about?

Read the preview.

Why does this matter?

This issue not only features a knockout fight between Venom and Lady Hellbender, but we also get an origin story of sorts for the villain. Spoiler, she’s not so villainous!

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

Check out that tongue!
Credit: Marvel Comics

There is a more in-depth story here between the two that Cady explores, which reveals Lady Hellbender isn’t all that bad. The character writing ties into the main Venom title’s current story very well too. It’s an exploration of whether Eddie is the real brawn in the symbiotic relationship with the Symbiote. We also get a bit of Lady Hellbender’s character, who seems far less evil as we might expect. This leads to the backup origin story.

The backup story is by Emily Ryan Lerner with art by Victor Ibanez and colors by Triona Farrell. Running eight pages long, this story cuts between Lady Hellbender’s youth and her attempt to subdue a three-headed beast in Texas today. The story is equal parts tragic and exciting thanks to the excellent monster renderings by Ibanez. Color choices are quite good too separating the flashbacks from the rest of the story. It’s a simple sort of origin, but it suits a monster hunter well.

Target in sight.
Credit: Marvel Comics

It can’t be perfect, can it?

This is another solid “Acts of Evil” issue with very few complaints on my part. I will say Lady Hellbender’s breasts are a bit too prominently part of her rendering in the origin backup story, but that’s comics, right?

Is it good?

“Acts of Evil” is turning out to be the biggest surprise hit of the summer. Each issue focuses on the character while also supplying good fight scenes. It’s the best of both worlds: good fight comics and good character writing.