Venom #30 Review
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Pencils: Thony Silas & Roger Robinson
Inks: Decastro, Mendoza, Bit & Robinson
Venom has just recently ended a crossover with Scarlet Spider where they took on Carnage. Looking for a change of scenery, Venom also relocated to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. That isn’t the only new change occurring with Venom. An evil power has been discovered inside Venom by Daimon Hellstrom, the son of Satan. After Venom is unable to defeate the U-Foes, this evil breaks loose and takes control of the symbiote.
What I Liked
This new evil lurking inside Venom is a recent development. We are used to the symbiote being evil in the past, but now Flash Thompson is using it to do good in the world. Even though the demon could use this opportunity to take control of Venom, it helps Venom defeat the U-Foes. Sure it uses some deadly force, but it is still in the name of good.
The evil entity also uses the symbiote in new ways I have not seen before. Using its tendrils to take control of others as an extension of the symbiote is a smart plan when taking on a large group of enemies.
It is good to see Valkyrie added as a supporting cast member. I’ve read in interviews with Cullen Bunn where he says she will appear from time to time throughout the series, while Venom will also appear in Valkyrie’s Fearless Defenders. Since Bunn is writing both books, it makes sense to show continuity.
What I Didn’t Like
When a book uses two artists, it normally is never a good thing. It tends to mess up the flow of the comic. It doesn’t help that neither artist was noteworthy in their efforts. At the end of the book, if Eddie Brock had not announced himself, I wouldn’t have known that it was him. The action in the first half of the comic was hard to follow at times also. I know neither gentleman is the ongoing artist, so hopefully they were just filling in for one issue.
There was a lot of internal dialogue taking place with Venom. For someone who was supposedly out of it (which aided the demon inside him to take control), he sure was aware of everything taking place. Some of Venom’s internal dialogue seemed like overkill at times too.
It seems when random villains need to be used for a story, the U-Foes are always the ones chosen. They have made a lot of appearances over the last year. I still do not know all of their names or powers, but it really doesn’t matter because they are never a real threat to anyone. I’m surprised they were able to initially defeat Venom and Valkyrie.
Summary
Venom #30 shows Venom succumbing to the demon inside him, while also setting up the new status quo in Philadelphia and a future threat in Eddie Brock/Toxin. I am curious to see what Cullen Bunn does with this demon and how it effects Venom going forward.
This review is written in partnership with Pop Culture Network. They can be found at their website http://www.popculturenetwork.com/
Timdogg
#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE
