Venom Modern Era Epic Collection: Shiver was a fun trade to read on a rainy afternoon in Seattle, but sadly, it was a mostly forgettable experience from the moment I put the book down. To be clear, the art from Francisco Herrera, Paco Medina, and Skottie Young is all engaging, exciting, and terrifying, and Daniel Way’s writing is solid. Beyond the fun art, however, this collection is incredibly convoluted and confusing. Shiver at its core is a book about humans who are experiencing the otherworldly horror of symbiotes from Klyntar, but it never truly features Venom or Mania as thinking, complex characters.
To be fair, I think older Venom stories – this trade collects Venom #1 – 18 from 2003 – have been wrecked in many ways by the expansive lore, character development, and emotional stories that are currently being told in the world of Venom. Ever since Eddie Brock became a galactic hero in King in Black, eventually defeating the dark god Knull and becoming a King in Black himself, Venom tales have been so larger-than-life – especially when written by the talented Al Ewing – that many past Venom stories (particularly when Venom isn’t acting as the antiheroic Lethal Protector) feel dull in comparison. Daniel Way’s writing is really lovely, I just did not connect with the plot and its complicated nature, and disconnect from the greater Marvel Universe. It made me feel detached from the story.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
I feel like I sound like such a hater, but ahhh… this collection just felt like it wasn’t even a Venom story. It mainly focused on Mania, a clone of Venom, and didn’t feature Venom being a “Lethal Protector,” or anywhere close. The beginning felt like a massive homage to John Carpenter’s The Thing (it takes place in Alaska and follows scientists being possessed by an alien), and if you’re a fan of that film and Marvel Comics, then this tale is certainly for you. The whole plot with Bob of the Ararat Corporation, and the robot-spider aliens was just very confusing, and Ararat has not shown up in comics since, even though Bob was meant to be a vastly powerful and connected variable (it was cool to see him shut Nick Fury up, though). Suit, who worked with the Fantastic Four in an attempt to capture Mania, was basically an amalgam of the Terminator and The Matrix’s Agent Smith, and just wasn’t a very compelling character for playing such a pivotal role.
I really liked the art by Herrera, Medina, and Young particularly because all three artists illustrate distinctly, but they all have the same cartoonish, over-the-top, highly expressive style. Sometimes Marvel’s trade paperback collections have multiple artists and it makes the story feel disjointed or glued together, but this run of Venom did a really great job of keeping cohesive art while giving different artists the opportunity to take part in the series. The colors from Studio F and GURU-eFX are vibrant and effective, and the lettering from Sharpe, Wooton, and Petite works exceptionally well for the fast-paced and explosive storylines. I also enjoyed Wolverine’s cameos in several issues, especially because Daniel Way, the writer, also wrote Wolverine: Origins, so Logan’s appearances felt like a perfect representation of the iconic hero to me.
I think that if you’re a big fan of all of Venom’s eras, love a good Wolverine cameo, or just really love collecting Marvel trades, then the Venom Modern Era Epic Collection: Shiver would be a reasonable investment. It is certainly fun to read, and the art is lovely, and it sets up some future Venom tales, like Flash getting the Mania symbiote as Agent Venom and Patricia Robertson eventually becoming Scream in Absolute Carnage. However, if you’re a major fan of truly modern day Venom stories, taking place from King in Black onwards, you might not resonate with this collection as much, so keep that in mind.
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