Writer: Torunn Grønbekk

Artist: Ken Lashley

Color Artist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Cover Artist: Cafu

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Reviewer: StoryBabbler

Eddie Brock, Dylan, and the Venom symbiote have been through a lot and have been under threat from numerous threats. But now a familiar face rears his terrifying head back into their lives: Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage is back! What’s more, he’s looking for Venom specifically and that only means Dylan is on a collision course with danger. Read the new Venom #31 to see what bloody madness Carnage has in store for Dylan and Venom.

Review:

Alright, one thing I’ll say about this comic is that it doesn’t waste time beating around the bush and gets right to what people are here for, and so will I. Fair warning, there will be some SPOLERs in this review, but not too much.

Ok, the comic has a solid start with a single page of a young police officer called Jack Jr. leaving his home and about to head off to work when he’s stopped by a mysterious man talking about his father. And this man is none other than Cletus Kasady in the flesh, and the comic just gets right to it. From there, we see Dylan applying for a new job working in a warehouse and just as he’s on his first day, two pages in and we get murder, death, and mayhem as Dylan and the Venom symbiote realize one simple terrifying fact: Carnage is back and he’s looking for Eddie Brock. What’s worse, Dylan doesn’t know where Eddie is.

As usual, I’ll start with the strengths of the comic then transition into the flaws it has. Now, considering how the previous issue directly ties the new God Carnage with everything that’s been going on with the Death of the Venomverse mini-event, this issue does the complete opposite. You don’t need to do all of that homework to understand how Carnage came back or why he’s here, all you need to know is that he’s back and he’s looking for trouble. That makes this comic mainly accessible and allows for most readers to just jump into the story. And that gives the comic clear direction as to what kind of villainy Carnage commits to get to Dylan and the Venom symbiote. Have to give props to Torunn Grønbekk for improving in her pacing, dialogue, and the overall plot of this comic. Granted, some of her previous issues have been boring if not serviceable, but here she shows solid improvement.

On top of that, Ken Lashley does an excellent job on the interior art. My goodness, Lashley’s art feels like a perfect fit for telling a Venom story, let alone a story with symbiotes whether it’s Venom and Carnage or more. Lashley does a general good job with depicting characters’ facial expressions, body movement, and the dynamic action when the fighting gets started. The depictions of Venom and Carnage here look great, they both appear similar yet distinct in body proportions, and combined with Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s colors, the comic book just comes alive.

Now, the flaws. There aren’t too many in the eyes of this reviewer. One is simply that we didn’t get enough action between Venom and Carnage here, but we do get some brutal blows from both characters and a cool double-page spread. However, the second issue is that the comic has to tie into all of the cosmic babble that Al Ewing has been doing in the Eddie Brock storyline, and by the end of this comic Dylan ends up visiting the big Venom hand Eddie met, that’s called “The Unbeyond”. Man, that name stinks. But as it stands, these are mainly small criticisms and they don’t compromise my enjoyment of the book.

Final Thoughts:

Venom #31 starts off the next chapter strong with the return of Carnage, which only means trouble for Dylan and the Venom symbiote. Despite the big reveal last issue, this story is an excellent jumping-on point for readers new and old without needing to do homework to understand what’s happening. It also helps that the story doesn’t waste any time and gets right to the meat of what people are here for: Carnage stalking and fighting Dylan & Venom. Ken Lashley’s art and Romulo Fajardo Jr.’s colors make Venom, Carnage, and the whole comic look great to read.

9/10