There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Venom #28
Written by Torunn Grønbekk
Illustrated by Julius Ohta with Rafael Pimentel
Colored by Frank D’Armata
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
Marvel’s latest “Venom” comic book series continually switches up the protagonists in the narrative to keep the comic book fresh. Currently Eddie Brock’s son known as Dylan is teaming up with Natasha Romanoff with her new symbiote in order to save Dylan’s friend Bren. Creators Torunn Grønbekk, Julius Ohta and Rafael Pimentel have delivered a noir-centric storyline involving Marvel’s alien-infused heroes. Natasha has been chasing the villainous Noname which led her path to cross with the symbiotes and “Venom.” Will “Venom” be able to depict the subversive narrative in the series while making the new status quo approachable to new readers?
Grønbekk opens the issue with chaotic delight. Natasha, Ozkar and Dylan are in the middle of a conversation before a bullet interrupts the tense meeting. The way Dylan as Venom calls out Ozkar is incredibly well-paced from Torunn Grønbekk, Julius Ohta and Rafael Pimentel. Grønbekk doesn’t let readers off easy and immediately switches the scene to explore Bren’s situation in the storyline. Grønbek paces the issue with a resolution to the story with Natasha, Dylan and Bren. The tease of the next issue introducing another symbiote character gives “Venom” a reason to line up with “Carnage.”
Julius Ohta and Rafael Pimentel deliver bold visuals that emphasize strong facial expressions for these characters. While Ohta and Pimentel deliver so much detail and great body language, Frank D’Armata’s muted color scheme can detract from the rest of the title. Sequences with lots of symbiotes and red color hues weigh the art down. Thankfully, there’s many strong fight scenes and twisted facial expressions from Dylan as Venom in the storyline. The last page spotlights an epic explosion that makes the shiny hues on Venom’s symbiote look synthetic. Ohta and Pimentel are phenomenal at rendering massive expressions from Bren throughout the issue.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – ”Venom” #28 expands the scope of the series while telling an endearing storyline.
