Review: Venom #11

Gwen Dylan Stacy

6 years ago

Oh man, can I tell you how much I get stoked each and every time that I get to read a new Spider oriented title? Because I do. I love for each and every little interconnecting plot point and storyline, so I was utterly THRILLED when I was give this title. I’m also a huge fan of writer, Donny Cates’ s other Marvel works so diving into these pages, I knew that I’d be reading some quality content and, happily, I was rewarded with some really spectacular stuff.

Couple the writing with the beautiful art from Josh Cassara and Ryan Stegman (the latter of which you know from Amazing Spider-man: Renew Your Vows and Venom Inc.) and you’ve got a wonderful little read. Eddie Brock has always been something of a sad flipside of what Peter Parker was. Something that’s really ingrained in these pages as we start to understand the, at times, darker than we realized relationship between himself and the Venom symbiote as they interact in a place that’s just beyond consciousness.

While a lot of this title takes place under the careful gaze of Maker’s eyes, it really is more about the struggles that Brock faces as a person not truly knowing previous to this who and what in his life is real. Is everything as it seems? Were those around him right to be concerned about his relationship with the parasitic alien organism that he shared such a bond with? How much of what he knew to be true to this point isn’t? These are things that Eddie himself must face head on all while trying to keep Maker and whatever nefarious intentions he might have for both parties at bay.

The twists and turns in this comic weave themselves like a magic spell over us, leaving us breathless at the close of everything with more questions than anything. There’s a beautiful sort of sleight of hand here at work that makes us think that we really understand what might be going on only to end up punching us in the guts with the hard truth of it all when things boil past the edges. For me, this is probably one of my favorite Marvel reads as of late. I know that people have qualms about this issue but at the end of the day, it’s really all subjective tastes and ideas.

I truly believe that no matter what feelings it might stir inside you either way, that Venom is worthy of being read. Comics that test what we previously understand and know and give us a way to grow with a character and their inner workings are truly something that need to be appreciated for the mouthpieces that they are. I give the issue a solid 4 out 5 stars. Do you agree?

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Donny Cates (A) Joshua Cassara (A/CA) Ryan Stegman, J. P. Mayer