The black symbiote is drawn into Malekith’s campaign to take over the Ten Kingdoms. However, the leader of the Dark Elves also has plans for Venom… Plus, evil is rampant in the depths of space, and as if that wasn’t enough, on Earth, a twisted cult takes life after life, making sacrifices in the name of the madman known as Carnage!
To choose from, to color
The Venom series from Egmont’s Marvel Fresh is back with a second volume that is packed to the brim with several different stories to prepare readers for the big upcoming event as well as introduce them to the history of several symbiotes.
So we’re going back to the Vietnam War, following the story of a soldier named Rex Strickland. He was introduced as a mentor of sorts to Eddie Brock, who revealed that he and four other men had been symbiote-fused and sent to Vietnam on Nick Fury’s orders. Of course, something had to go wrong and we got a rerun of 1987’s Predator (although that’s probably not the only movie Cates drew inspiration from).
However, this is only a brief episode, after which we return to Eddie Brock and his young son Dylan, wandering the streets of New York City after being attacked by the forces of the Dark Elf Malekith. Normally Eddie wouldn’t be too worried about this, but unfortunately he is no longer bonded to his symbiote. Does that mean we have a defenseless Eddie? None of those things, because there is still magic. This is one of the most interesting changes that stuck in my memory, i.e. the new appearance of the main character. The former reporter received something like a suit, or overalls, which is surprisingly a pretty good replacement for black, space slime.
As the story progresses, the new outfit turns out to be a cool concept, because the dreamstone received from the witch allows the owner to bring what he thinks to life, and since Eddie’s imagination is not very vivid, well … he took on the appearance of a symbiote. Fortunately, there was room for a certain dose of creativity in the script, which resulted in a fantasy atmosphere and interesting-looking “Nordic” armor.
Thanks to this, the mythical creatures that abound throughout the city have become suitable opponents for the Venom character. The hero fights for those who cannot defend themselves, which causes incredible chaos in two-thirds of this part of the comic. Okay, what about this cult? The second volume takes readers to Doverton, Colorado, where many years ago the evil symbiote Carnage took control of the town’s inhabitants. Evil doesn’t stay dormant for long though, so we get a cult that worships the red symbiote. Moreover, this dark brotherhood is in possession of Cletus’ body and intends to bring him back to life.
It’s a good reason to show more of the symbiote mythology. We learn that each person with whom this peculiar cosmic being merged left a kind of code, i.e. a memento in the form of a hidden part of itself in the host’s DNA. Carnage learned that he could become much more powerful if he reconnected with each of these codexes. The hunt for former Venom hosts or people somehow connected to him begins.
Thus, we move quite smoothly into the story of Andi Benton, who, since the loss of the symbiote that turns her into Mania, finally lives like an ordinary teenager. There are still traces of space slime in it, and that’s what Carnage is looking for. But Andi is not completely defenseless. She bears the infernal mark that gives her control over a horde of demonic monsters. The only question is, will it be enough to stop a rampaging serial killer?
Color madness
The second volume of Venom as a whole is dark and twisted, as befits a comic book with such crazy heroes. From the very first pages, thanks to Juanan Ramirez, the essence of war was perfectly captured, without being overly cartoonish or cheesy. The jungle looks mysterious, the faces of the characters express real fear and emotion, and the styling used for the symbiotes reminds you that they are a force to be reckoned with. The story being told is exactly what it should be. It gives us the answers we’ve been asking for, but also introduces a few extra questions to keep our interest.
The rest of the comic is kept at an ever-increasing pace by showing what Brock is capable of without the help of a symbiote. The visuals created by Iban Coello and Andres Mossa are distinguished by brighter colors and sharper contours, which seems to fit perfectly with the invasion of multicolored creatures that the reader is witnessing. The use of color makes the scenes more brutal, crazy and destructive.
The opening pages devoted to the character of Cletus build suspense as the events unfold. Mossy’s dark and moody color palette sets the tone so that even during the day the sun shines sickly yellow, as if it can’t break through what plagues the city. Small spots of red stand out against the gray surroundings, suggesting Carnage’s shadow hanging over Doverton. Kasady’s revival, on the other hand, is spectacular. Much of this credit goes to Danilo Beyruth, who has created an even more wicked and sinister setting. Dark shadows and twisted contours create a disturbing environment. Particular emphasis is placed here on the color red, which is always vibrant and captivating.
The end of the second volume is already a whole palette of colors. Hotz’s Gothic-inspired graphics capture this disgusting, dingy environment perfectly. The brutal scenes drip with blood, and the horrible, nightmare-inducing Venom dog, with its seemingly endless amount of sharp teeth and hideous tentacles, is truly terrifying. Also, possessed intruders look correspondingly dingy and dirty. This scenery, however, undergoes a quick metamorphosis when we learn about a day in the life of Andi. The sun is shining, casting a pleasant glow on the streets as she visits the coffee shop before work. Jay David Ramos combines the changing tone of the story with a gradual, unsettling shift towards darker shades. At the beginning, the graphics have a bright, natural color scheme, showing what the world around Andi is like. While it bothers her, she is not inherently sinister or dangerous.
God is coming…
The stories written by Cates add plenty of context to the parasitic alien characters and their powers. The first part created by Juanan Ramirez with colors by Felipe Sobreiro is bold and reveals that the symbiotes have been on Earth much longer than we thought. Familiar faces such as Nick Fury and Wolverine add credibility to the story and confirm the fact that Knull is a threat not to be underestimated. The next part is more of a psychological thriller. We have the opportunity to dive into Brock’s mind. Cullen Bunn and Donny Cates try to show all the imperfections of our hero, including his inner weaknesses, fears and emotional dilemmas. After all, he had to face not only his former nemesis, but also the god of madness and chaos himself. However, this is not the hardest part of all this.
Returning to the nemesis, over time the reader finds out what Carnage has been doing for the last few years. It’s full of detail, and Cates does a great job of making you want to believe in a cult that explains it all. The followers are very convincing in their madness and love for the psychopathic Kasady. By contrast, Stegman’s story with art by Kyle Hotz and Juan Gideon is essentially dialogueless as it focuses on the black symbiote now taking the form of a dog and not talking to Eddie. It helps to add some context to the rising powers of the main antagonist of the second volume.
Last, but not least, is the story in which Joshua Cassara and Alberto Alburquerque tell us about what Mania was up to and their growing uneasiness about Carnage’s rising power. The plot is heavily based on blood and shocking horror full of unbridled brutality that the red symbiote is capable of. I dare say that this is probably the prettiest part of all the comics.
