Written by Rick Remender
Illustrated by Tony MooreAmerica…meet your newest Hero! The lethal alien symbiote known as Venom is in the custody of the U.S. military…and with a familiar face from Spider-Man’s world inside the suit, the government’s own personal Spidey is going into action as one of the nation’s top covert agents in hostile territory!
It’s without a doubt in my mind that I unabashedly note that I am this site’s biggest Venom fan. Well (and as I noted in this week’s CSBC), at least in the case of Eddie Brock. When I read comics as a kid, the first stories I ever remember reading were Spider-Man fighting Venom, so the character has always held a special place in my heart. However, I didn’t really care about Mac Gargan as Venom unfortunately. The idea never really gripped me, and my previous edict of “buy every comic Venom appears in” suddenly became less true.
However, with this new title – featuring the fantastic Fear Agent team of Tony Moore and Rick Remender – I can’t help but get a tad fanboy-ish again, hoping that this new story will appeal to me in the same way that the stories of Eddie Brock used to when I was younger. Did the first issue of the new Venom worm it’s way into my heart as effectively as the comics of almost twenty years ago did?
Find out after the cut.
Rick Remender and Tony Moore together brought Heath Huston to life at Image Comics in 2005, forever marking the duo as a team to watch when they collaborate. Then again in 2009, the duo (still making Fear Agent together) released Frankencastle, a comic that confused fans and was praised by critics which sought to truly take the Punisher in a different direction than he had previously been taken. Now the duo is back, this time working with a character loved by many with a brand new spin. And with Remender fresh off a hot streak of excessive praise due to his work in Uncanny X-Force, all things look golden for the first issue of Venom.
It’s then with great pleasure that I get to note that as good as you may think the issue is just from knowledge of the creative team, the actual reward of the issue matches expectations. For a first issue, there are a lot of expectations riding on the title, but it does manage to deliver on everything a first issue ostensibly promises. Thrusting our new militarized Venom straight into the heat of combat, we watch as Flash Thompson battles a new Jack O’ Lantern and attempts to carry out a black ops operation in the midst of an uprising. The first issue is essentially an action packed slamfest of explosions, death and mayhem as only Rick Remender and Tony Moore can bring you, full of dark humor and depressing character moments. The drawback is that this issue essentially retreads a lot of what Spider-Man’s .1 issue did, albeit to a smaller extent. While .1 set the rules for the way the character would be used, this issue seeks to refine those ideas a bit more with a “one and done” story that brings us into the chaotic and dark world Flash Thompson now live sin.
If there’s one thing that Remender has established throughout his career, it’s that he refuses to play it safe. It’s nice to see a writer who is so willing to stab any of his favorite characters in the chest with a knife and twist, as has been evidenced so many times in Fear Agent. With the first issue of Venom, Remender once again establishes that life will not be easy for Venom, ending with a colossal (and shockingly referential) screw up, as well as a rather depressing scene revolving Flash and his love life/personal demons. Remender has a very dark sense of humor, and the issue certainly reflects this to a degree. For everyone who has enjoyed Uncanny X-Force so far, the new Venom certainly seems up your alley, and with a nice single issue story to begin with, Remender sets a nice pace for the series. Of course, one of the “rules” about the new Venom does seem like it could possibly turn into a drawback for the story as a whole, as the tour of duty only allows Venom to go on 20 missions and we’ve now seen 2. However, knowing Remender – and Slott, for that matter – this should certainly end up being a more complex tale of super spy espionage and warfare further down the line.
Continued belowTony Moore definitely uses a different art style with this issue, and it ends up rather interesting in comparison with some of his other work (such as, oh I dunno.. Fear Agent!). For the most part, Moore has shown to have very defined characters, especially in the facial regions for a style that ends up rather easily recognizable. This issue doesn’t exactly use that, in a style that is less rigid and more fluid. While Moore’s art is still rather recognizable, the rounder edges and use of color to the issue give the book almost a new look in comparison with Moore’s previous art. It’s a tad jarring at first, but the more you read into the issue the more your eyes will assumedly acclimate. The other main difference to note is when comparing Moore’s art to Humberto Ramos’ art from Spider-Man .1, as the two of radically different styles. However, with Moore being the main artist for the new character, he rather hits the ball out of the park with the dark overtones of the comic, delivering a massive action epic of an issue that revels in the same dark and dirty universe as we’ve seen from his previous collaborations with Remender. It’s also worth nothing here that when Moore illustrates Venom going ballistic, it’s arguably the best sequence in the entire issue, perhaps only eclipsed by (spoiler alert) Venom throwing a live grenade in Jack O’ Lantern’s pumpkin head and blowing off his jaw. Dynamite!
Long story short, as someone who is a Venom/Eddie Brock purist, I’m entirely ready to start picking up this title on the ready. Easily one of my most anticipated titles of the month – let alone the year – the first issue of Venom is a dark and action fueled adventure with all the types of hits (both literal and figurative) that you’d expect from the team of Remender and Moore. It’s a one and done issue, so if you like what you see be sure to come back for more. While the future of the Venom title is extremely up in the air plot-wise at the moment, one thing is for certain: in Remender and Moore we trust.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – Buy
