Venom #36

I was not sure how Bunn would follow the last two issues, which were heavy on the action but light on the story. Bunn, to me at least, always seemed to be heavy on one but light on the other; as the Toxic arc had plenty of slow, developmental issues as Flash adjusted to life in Philly. Here, he strikes a perfect balance.

Let's go with the good things first. The pacing was great. I never felt a certain page or scene or any part of the book dragged on longer than needed. The energy was great, and the constant narration juxtaposed with Flash's dual life (teacher by day Venom by night) really helped develop him more. For a change, Flash seems a bit happier. He seems to be well adjusted in the wake of Toxin and is doing some real good on the streets of Philly. The introduction of Lord Ogre is done well, giving Flash a mild detective flare as he beats and interrogates his way to the boss. Lord Ogre feels like he's going to be Venom's version of Kingpin. And the end "twist" is satisfying, even though it has been done before. The art is new, with Pepe Larraz taking over for Shalvey. While Shalvey was a fantastic symbiote artist, and definitely had the art to match Flash's depressed and dark mood, Larraz takes over at a perfect point. His art is lighter, and I would even go so far to call it happier. Flash's face isn't constantly overshadowed, the lines are softer and less angular, and he looks younger, or rather, like he's actually slept well for a change. I think Larraz is going to fit well for Venom, and look forward to his future work. Looking at Venom thrash the dregs of Philly's streets was oh-so-satisfying under his work. Oh, and if you like hot-rods, well, enter: the Venom-Mobile. Nuff said.

As evidenced by my 5-star, there wasn't much I didn't like here. There was a particular scene where Venom is shot in the face and it takes two panels (albeit small and fast-paced panels) for him to recover. It only bothered me because he recovered faster from some of the savage hits Toxin landed, and he's never had any issue with bullets before. My biggest grievance was actually the cover, which led me to feel it would be a boring "recovery" issue; essentially re-capping the events with Toxin.

Overall, this is a fantastic jumping on point if you were considering checking out what Venom has to offer. Even for the most die-hard Brock fan, Venom is a great title. Flash continues to grow and is really separating himself from the crowd of established super heroes. He is even stand-out among symbiote users, and is doing things with the suit others never have (again: Venom-Mobile). I recommend this title to anyone and everyone, and I feel it doesn't get the attention it deserves as an ongoing book.