Does an infinite number of Spider-Folks imply an infinite number of Venoms? If the quality of the three stories in Extreme Venomverse #4 is any indicator, I certainly freaking hope so! This review of Extreme Venomverse seeps down to the bones of the stories, so slither on down to the Rapid Rundown if you’d like to avoid SPOILERS, and would prefer spoiler-light blurbs of Captain America #750 and X-Men #24.
What were your thoughts on this week’s fresh Marvel Comics issues? The Beat wants to hear from you! Gives us a shout-out in the comment section and let us know what you’re thinking.
Extreme Venomverse #4
Extreme Venomverse #4Main Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Designers: Gabriel Mata with Carlos Lao
According to Extreme Venomverse #4’s recap page, “Something is hunting Venoms with extreme prejudice.” While I didn’t see much of anything resembling that storyline in this anthology of three Venom variants, I did enjoy all three stories, which offer a trio of very different styles. Even if, like me, you haven’t been following whatever’s going on in the Venomverse, this interesting symbiote anthology issue is highly recommended.
Venom Bloom in “Bloom of Doom”
By Peach Momoko
The arc of this dialogue-free story reminded me a bit of the Creepshow story “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill.” Naturally, this is high praise.
This story offers an interesting variation on the standard Venom symbiote story by selecting a botanical host rather than an animal one. Like the storyline in Demon Days, this narrative begins by depicting a kind of timeless nature. Populating this state of nature are fantastic mythological elements. Innocent-looking fairies fill the woods in this case, and Venom Bloom promptly munches them.
From there, Venom Bloom goes full Fern Gully and ends up raining down on an urban area. As you can imagine, it doesn’t go well for those in the downpour – and by extension, probably anyone else on the planet.
On top of the simple but effective story, the artwork depicts the symbiote in such a way that it appears to be wriggling all over the peaceful watercolors that characterize Momoko’s artwork. This disparity especially comes into play on the final splash page, which compares symbiote growth on a skyline with a foreground of lush and leafy plants. I’m not sure if they’re planning to release these anthologies in one of those oversized editions, but this story (like so many of Momoko’s stories) would look particularly nice in that format.
Finally, I am a fan of no-dialogue stories from Marvel Comics, and this one is no exception. While there are a couple of sound effects (which I assume to be “crunch” – poor fairies), the dearth of word balloons gives Bloom Venom’s wriggling tendrils room for growth.
Venom Noir in “The Teeth of Beasts”
Writer: DJ Bryant
Artist: Alvaro Lopez
Color Artist: Alex Guimares
Letterer: Joe Sabino
In this story, we meet a symbiote who wields one of the most dangerous weapons known to humanity: religion! Set in what I assume is the world of Spider-Man Noir (because otherwise, he obviously should have been called “Father Venom” instead of “Venom Noir”), this variant is a sad-sack priest version of Eddie Brock. Drowning in alcohol (and by extension gambling debt), Father Brock’s ability to continue disseminating his beloved religious propaganda is compromised by the extortion of a money collector.
Motivated by the power of his corrosive Christian convictions, Brock turns to his Bible and begs the Lord to show him the way. Opening the book, he alights upon Deuteronomy 32:24: “And the teeth of beasts I will send against them, with the venom of crawling things of the dust.” This leads to the arrival of what he perceives to be a heaven-sent Venom symbiote.
Next Brock becomes several versions of Venom. After being lured towards an alluring light, he is subsequently consumed by an anglerfish – an apt symbol for Brock’s fate. The anglerfish scurries up the cathedral bell tower, and when it reaches the cross at its apex, Brock transforms into a Venom variant adorned in a cassock, replete with a Venomized cappello romano.
I am curious about the costume design for “Venom Noir” on the main cover. I’m speculating might depict the point at which the symbiote was attached to Spider-Man Noir instead of Brock. But while that Spider-Totem did have a sample of Venom obtained from Earth-8351, I’m not aware of his having been Venomized (but maybe I just missed it). Maybe it’s just an Exorcist riff? Nevertheless, a variant cover by Ken Lashley and Fajardo Jr. captures “Father Venom” slobbering all over his vestments, thus depicting this compelling Venom variant as he appears in the story itself.
However, while I may think the character would best be referred to as “Father Venom,” there is a decidedly noir flavor to the story. One of the hallmarks of the genre is to depict the widespread corruption among the ruling classes, which includes religious leaders. Far from being incongruent, Brock’s justification that the heinous acts he carries out are necessary in order for him to keep on preachin’ on is a plausible depiction of religious authority.
Throughout the story, the artwork meshes incredibly well with the story’s themes. This includes the stylized sequence in which Brock is consumed by the symbiote anglerfish and the more grounded street-and-cathedral scenes alike. Meanwhile, the stark lettering serves well to emphasize the noir nature of the tale.
As I mentioned in the introduction, I’m not all that familiar with how the Extreme Venomverse anthology miniseries fits into the larger Venom narrative, and whether these variants are destined for some kind of Spider-Verse event or not. But whatever the case, I specifically hope we get to see more of this Venom variant at work in his own universe. The potential in a Spider-Man Noir story where Father Venom is the villain is immense, especially if it continues the fascinating use of Christian mythology demonstrated in this story.
Necroko in “Sparkle and Shine”
Writer: Alyssa Wong
Artist & Letterer: Ken Niimura
A Magical Girl Venom variant could have gone horribly wrong, but in the capable hands of this creative team, it instead goes horribly, horribly right. The cute and simple aesthetic of this story plays against Necroko’s surprising violence in a supremely satisfying manner. This effect is amplified by the fact that Necroko’s savagely effective weapons are given names like “Pretty Whip of Justice,” which slices and dices antagonist lizards into piles of reptilian stew chunks.
“It’s almost addicting,” confides Ellie Ellison in the narration. It all adds up to an extremely interesting depiction of Venom and one that features a Magical Girl transformation sequence page, to boot. The artwork in this story is very different from the majority of Marvel Comics stories, and that works incredibly well. Furthermore, the friendly and rounded lettering only served to emphasize the story’s overall aesthetic.
Honestly, all of this would already be enough to win me over, but the story further levels up by introducing this Earth’s Spider-Totem, Parker Piper. By adding in a romance angle – Ellie has a big-time crush on Parker – this already interesting story becomes more compelling still. Like “The Teeth of Beasts” before it, I was left wishing I could read a whole extended volume continuing this storyline when I reached the final panel of “Sparkle and Shine.” It could work very well in a portable digest edition…
Extreme Venomverse #1
This issue has three Venom stories that look and feel different from each other. Nevertheless, they all distinctly fall into the Venom archetype, using the very well-established Marvel character in novel and engaging ways.
As an anthology, each of the three stories holds its own. But they also play off each other’s easily distinguishable tones and aesthetics in a way that only serves to amplify all of them.
Verdict: Get yourself subsumed by this excellent symbiote issue post-haste!
Rapid Rundown!
- Captain America #750
- In a perfect alignment of the stars this issue of Cap #750 drops the week of July 4th. And Marvel has put together a touching celebration of the legacy, necessity, and weight of being a Captain America with several short stories that highlight the two current Caps Steve and Sam. These stories give us an insight into the relationship each man has with the title and how the world sees them, from a bunch of kids who find Steve’s shield, to how Jarvis takes care of our man out of time, to a fun and thoughtful training session of Steve and Sam training with their shields. But for the big money, it’s the powerful flashback of how Sam got his new shield and the reason he took the mantle back up. Joining the regular Cap teams of Tochi Onyebuchi (w), R.B. Silva (a), and Jesus Aburtov (c) from Symbol of Truth, and Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly (w), Carmen Carnero (a), and Nolan Woodard (c) from Sentinel of Liberty to celebrate our favorites shield slingers are stellar creatives are writers: Stephanie Williams, J.M. DeMatteis, Dan Jurgens, Cody Ziglar, Gail Simone, artists: Rachael Stott, Sara Pichelli, Dan Jurgens, Brett Breeding, Marcus Williams, Daniel Acuña, color artists: Matt Milla, Matthew Wilson, Alex Sinclair, letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna, with gorgeous covers by Gary Frank & Brad Anderson, Ernanda Souza, John Cassaday, Alex Sinclair, Carmen Carnero, George Pérez, C.F. Villa & Matt Milla, Javier Garrón & Edgar Delgado, John Romita Sr., and Adi Granov. — GC3
- X-Men #24
- I’m tempted to describe this as a quiet issue for how much setup there is for the impending Hellfire Gala, but I think this deserves a bit more credit than that. Between Cables and Pogg-Ur-Poggs and the return of Redroot, Gerry Duggan has a whole lot going on here, though the breadcrumbs and teasers are on pretty much every page. There’s a massive fight with Pogg-Ur-Pogg and co. in the middle of the issue, which allows for some fun hijinks to close out this iteration of the team before the new one is announced. Speaking of, though this issue had some great interpersonal dynamics, I feel like we could’ve used just a bit more time with this team. It definitely seems like we’ve spent a lot of time with them, but there wasn’t as much in-depth exploration of their bond as I might’ve liked. Joshua Cassara has been killing it on this title, and there are some fantastic pages that showcase exactly why he’s become so prolific in the X-Office over the last few years. These panels pop, especially with Frank Martin’s superb colors, with a highlight sequence toward the end of the issue showcasing their shared strengths in a cosmic, psychic mindscape. VC’s Clayton Cowles is on letters and is, as always, totally on top of his game. The last few issues have all felt like this slow build to the Gala, and it puts us in the worst place to be as weekly fans: we’ve got most of the clues, but none of the answers. I’m interested to reread these in sequence once we have the whole story, but for now, it’s just a waiting game… — CB
Next week: Sigh… Fallen Friend: The Death of Ms. Marvel #1. Catch up on past entries in The Beat’s Marvel Rundown archive.
