Writer: Ram V
Artist: Bryan Hitch
Inkers: Andrew Currie & Wade Von Grawbadger
Color Artists: Alex Sinclair & Peter Pantazis
Cover Artist: Bryan Hitch
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Eddie Brock is dead! Again. But his son, Dylan Brock, lives and so does the symbiote, and together they are Venom! Dylan finds himself in the crosshairs of a huge conspiracy spearheaded by the resurgent Life Foundation, and masterminded by the enigmatic villain Meridius. Now, team Venom are on the run and finding their bearings in Venom #6.
Review:
After last issue focused on Meridius, Venom #6 feels more of a cool-down issue as things settle down for Dylan and his trusty symbiotes who are on the run. To get this out of the way, there’s actually not a lot of action in this comic. The comic provides a flashback of action in the comic, as readers can see in the preview images, but that’s the extent of it. Everything else in the comic is more setup for what’s to come in future issues, showing how this conspiracy is unfolding.
You see all of the major pieces in Meridius’ scheme start to move and get into position, but there’s no real action being done, at least when it comes to the big players. Don’t let that synopsis fool you, there is no big action with Spearhead hunting down symbiotes. Instead the comic takes time to focus on Dylan resting in a small town and show what kind of person he wants to be as Venom. As mentioned earlier, the comic shows a flashback of some action that Dylan does as Venom, and with that you Dylan’s desire to be more of a renegade hero shine through.
However, this desire of Dylan’s comes into conflict with the idea that being a hero like that has few perks as contrasted with Jake, the bar owner in the comic. He serves as an example of how being a renegade hero doesn’t seem all it’s cracked up to be. This sets up the emotional conflict for Dylan on whether or not being that type of hero is worth it if amounts to little more than a life of regret, shame, and guilt, lining up nicely with the story arc’s title “Too Late For Heroes”.
SPOILERS:
If you’re wondering if there’s any action with Bedlam since we last saw him in issue 4, the answer is no. Bedlam is hunting Dylan, but you don’t actually see him doing that. In fact, there’s no reason why Bedlam’s even on the cover, he doesn’t have much of a presence in this comic. However, the comic does leave with the promise of Bedlam getting into the action in the next issue, so readers can look forward to that.
I’ll say this, Liz Allan is becoming an unsympathetic character for me in this series, but it’s not really her fault. In a previous review I said that the character should know better than to mess with Venom’s son, especially when he’s best friends with her own son, Normie. But that’s not her fault, it’s the writers’ fault. It doesn’t stop with Liz Allan and extends to the relationship between Dylan and the Venom symbiote, who are written radically different from how they were at the end of Donny Cates’ series. At this point, I’m just going to have to roll with it, but I have this feeling I’ll have to do that with possibly other characters who show up in the series.
Also, the comic keeps saying that the Venom symbiote is “evolving” but it doesn’t seem like it. The only things that changed were the Venom chest logo and they got a new arm-blade. That’s not much. If I want a dark-and-edgy story featuring an anti-hero with cool body-horror superpowers and an arm-blade, I’d play the video game Prototype. And that’s not an insult, it’s a fun game. If this series really wants to push the idea that the Venom symbiote is getting more powerful through this forceful evolution, than it needs to show it with some better powers or something.
Final Thoughts:
Venom #6 is more of a slow, cool down issue as Dylan, Sleeper, and the Venom symbiote go on the run. While they’re lying low, the comic shows some of the bigger conspiracy elements unfold, but it’s mainly setup with little action. While it’s not the most thrilling issue, the comic does a fine job showing where the characters are at, and what’s in store in the next issue.