Becoming a dad and the king of a symbiotic alien hive-mind, all in one comic run? That’s a lot for anybody. But Eddie Brock can handle it. Or can he? A new darkness is coming—a darkness that maybe even the new King in Black can’t defeat.
Venom #1 hits the shelves this week, penned by Al Ewing and Ram V with art from Bryan Hitch. This issue picks up right where Donny Cates’s King in Black left off, with Eddie taking the symbiote throne while his son Dylan carries the Venom mantle.
You never know what to expect from a new run on a fan favorite. Will the new team grab the baton and keep running? Or will they say “no thanks,” ditch the concepts handed to them, and try something new?
If you’re a fan of Donny Cates, there’s no need to fear. Ewing and V take what Cates started and dig further in, exploring Eddie’s relationship to Dylan and the limits of his new power.
This issue does a remarkable job of being both big and small. The cosmic consequences hinted here rival even those of King in Black, but the story still finds space to breathe. There are universe-bending mysteries to explore, but they never come at the expense of character.
The theme of time resonates throughout this issue–both in the fantastic, timey-wimey sense (not to give too much away) but also in the personal sense. We see Eddie losing track of time between his role as king and his role as dad—a loss amplified by his heightened senses, but also familiar to anyone who has struggled to balance a calling and a family.
It’s hard to imagine what sort of threat could match the world-threatening events of Absolute Carnage and King in Black, but this issue opens the door to some truly terrifying possibilities and the promise of more symbiote lore to unfold.
Hitch’s art pulls a lot of weight in that department. His new character designs bring a fresh, horrifying dimension to the familiar symbiotes (let’s just say “Ringo”—if you know, you know). His pencils manage to unify a broad range of tones in this single issue, from space epic to creature-horror to mystery-thriller.
If you’re a fan of the last few years of Venom storytelling, you don’t want to miss this issue. But this also promises to be a great starting point for new readers. Add Venom #1 to your pull list today.
Venom #1
Credits
- Writers: Al Ewing, Ram V
- Penciler: Bryan Hitch
- Inker: Andrew Currie
- Color Artist: Alex Sinclair
- Letterer: VC's Clayton Cowles
Credits (cont)
- Publisher: Marvel
