Venom (Eddie Brock) Appreciation 2019

[K7P5V]

McFarlane's Venom was my favorite (the most menacing and powerful) and I really liked Bagley's too (very clean) and I like his current artist as well. I never cared for Larsen's because with Larsen's Venom it was all about the tongue and a LOT of subsequent artists over emphasize the tongue as well.

Totally agree. Both McFarlane & Bagley are all-time classics. And, as you said, Larsen's Venom was all about the tongue. But, just to add one more artist to the list, I thought Sam Kieth's Venom was very well done (albeit, in a spooky sort of way).

[nj06]

Mark Bagley is my favorite Venom artist. I think he captures both the power and savagery that is Venom:

[Valcrist]

IMG_1714.jpg

My girlfriend just bought me Venom#1 with the Variant cover. I'm stoked.

[Huntsman Spider]

Speaking of Venom, has anyone read the recently released novelization/prose adaptation of the original Lethal Protector arc/miniseries?

[J. D. Guy]

As someone who felt like Eddie was at his pinnacle as Anti-Venom and that the Venom Symbiote worked best under Flash as Agent Venom, and also as someone who hasn't been able to get passed the writers squandering the cool Toxin Symbiote (and the cool/down to Earth Patrick Mulligan by extension) or having Eddie brutally punk and get away with murdering Scott Washington/Hybrid (like, that last bit is a sore spot that seriously needs to be addressed and corrected, retconned even, quite frankly), I've become quite interested in the current Venom ongoing's story since the introduction of Eddie's brother Dylanspoilers:

or rather Eddie's son Dylan (not sure how well-known this spoiler is now, since it's still relatively recent).

end of spoilers

I'm rather invested in seeing where this story and Eddie and Dylan go. Eddie having something this personal added to his development, not to mention the ancillary development of Eddie and his father's relationship, is probably the best thing that's happened for him personally since his Anti-Venom days. I look forward to what comes next, and hope he and Dylan are together for the long haul. And not sure what became of the Venom Symbiote's most recent spawn, but I seriously want it and Dylan to meet and bond. (Seen some fanart teases of this, I think.)

For me, Dylan might be the breath that Eddie needed as a character.

[Celgress]

@ J.D. Guy

I agree Toxin/Patrick Mulligan and Hybrid/Scott Washington were wasted. Both characters had so much untapped potential, as did Scorn more recently and the Anti-Venom concept.

[Huntsman Spider]

As someone who felt like Eddie was at his pinnacle as Anti-Venom and that the Venom Symbiote worked best under Flash as Agent Venom, and also as someone who hasn't been able to get passed the writers squandering the cool Toxin Symbiote (and the cool/down to Earth Patrick Mulligan by extension) or having Eddie brutally punk and get away with murdering Scott Washington/Hybrid (like, that last bit is a sore spot that seriously needs to be addressed and corrected, retconned even, quite frankly), I've become quite interested in the current Venom ongoing's story since the introduction of Eddie's brother Dylanspoilers:

or rather Eddie's son Dylan (not sure how well-known this spoiler is now, since it's still relatively recent).

end of spoilers

I'm rather invested in seeing where this story and Eddie and Dylan go. Eddie having something this personal added to his development, not to mention the ancillary development of Eddie and his father's relationship, is probably the best thing that's happened for him personally since his Anti-Venom days. I look forward to what comes next, and hope he and Dylan are together for the long haul. And not sure what became of the Venom Symbiote's most recent spawn, but I seriously want it and Dylan to meet and bond. (Seen some fanart teases of this, I think.)

For me, Dylan might be the breath that Eddie needed as a character.

Sleeper went off to explore the galaxy with Tel-Kar's lobotomized corpse after Tel-Kar tried to kill the human race as revenge for Venom foiling his attempt to kill all the Skrulls in the First Host miniseries that served as the belated finale for Mike Costa's Venom run.

That aside, I do agree with you (and Celgress) about a lot of the good/heroic symbiote characters getting thrown under the bus to prop up Eddie Brock. That's something that honestly gets my goat, too.

[Valcrist]

Sleeper went off to explore the galaxy with Tel-Kar's lobotomized corpse after Tel-Kar tried to kill the human race as revenge for Venom foiling his attempt to kill all the Skrulls in the First Host miniseries that served as the belated finale for Mike Costa's Venom run.

I can't help but feel a little disappointed in First Host. I like the concept of it but feel like the execution was rather meh.

[Huntsman Spider]

I can't help but feel a little disappointed in First Host. I like the concept of it but feel like the execution was rather meh.

I can see that.

[J. D. Guy]

@ J.D. Guy

I agree Toxin/Patrick Mulligan and Hybrid/Scott Washington were wasted. Both characters had so much untapped potential, as did Scorn more recently and the Anti-Venom concept.

I concur that both had untapped potential. Both also struck a positive chord with me when I finally got around to reading them (a relative comics late-comer), so their inglorious ends were tragic, especially Scott's, who's end was really in poor taste for me. Same goes for Scorn and the entire Anti-Venom concept; teasing hope with Flash becoming the new Anti-Venom only to take it away wasn't fun.

Sleeper went off to explore the galaxy with Tel-Kar's lobotomized corpse after Tel-Kar tried to kill the human race as revenge for Venom foiling his attempt to kill all the Skrulls in the First Host miniseries that served as the belated finale for Mike Costa's Venom run.

That aside, I do agree with you (and Celgress) about a lot of the good/heroic symbiote characters getting thrown under the bus to prop up Eddie Brock. That's something that honestly gets my goat, too.

I see. While it's always nice that a story gets to wrap up (not all stories get that luxury), it would take some crafty story-telling for Sleeper, or a enough of a piece of Sleeper anyway, to "miraculously" bond with Dylan.

I kinda expect Dylan to wear a Symbiote, however briefly, at some point, though. Would be a missed comic book opportunity of fun not to. Sleeper would have just been a logically fitting choice, sorta, for a Symbiote Dylan could call his own.

And while it would be nice to think that Eddie isn't often, if not nearly always, in the middle of these character derailment and destruction situations of heroic/good Symbiotes and their hosts, it does consistently seem to be the case. And that's just sad.

So I hope this current storyline sets up good prospects for Eddie. And I hope, in the 'wish-list' sense in that I don't see anyone having the courage to tackle that, the bad stuff gets addressed, with Eddie made to pay recompense for it (they'd need to straight-up revive Scott and find some way to maneuver him back into being Hybrid, complete with curbstomp-revenge battle, to correct that, though, which is a big 'wish-list').

[Valcrist]

Read issue #12 this morning. Man it was good but too short. Can't wait for more.

[Spider-Ham]

Read issue #12 this morning. Man it was good but too short. Can't wait for more.

Same here. It was perfect. And Dylan is exactly what Eddie needed.

[Valcrist]

Just pre-ordered Web Of Venom Cult Of Carnage & Symbiote Spiderman. Also ordered Carnage Born for the third time since getting a NM copy of this comic seems impossible.

[Venomous Mask]

I can't get over the awesomeness of this cover:



"The inferno of my vengeance fills you! It will burn you, my bearers of the holy word, it will fill your veins with power and fire until Earth is in ashes. As my power flows in you, so too will I see what you see, feel what you feel and know what you know. With each death I will grow stronger. With every fortress burned my reach will stretch further. You will be my army of dark righteousness. You will be the Bloodborn and your name shall strike terror into the hearts of men! Spread throughout the world and take my fire to the superheroes! Burn them from their fastnesses until no trace remains. This is my holy word!"

[Valcrist]

That is indeed cool artwork.

The artwork for this Venom run has been top notch over all.

So I read Web Of Venom : Cult Of Carnage this morning. I like the concept of it, and the direction they took. I feel the deliver was a little stagnate and the artwork wasn't up to par. I seem to prefer what Cates does with the Symbiotes. Also I really hate it whenever John Jameson appears in Carnage comics. I'd give it a 6/10 over all.