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The Venomverse Reborn poses the question of “What If?” in different universes and realities through a series of short stories and cautionary tales from different creative teams. Think of it as “The Twilight Zone: Venom Edition”. In issue #1 “Five Questions” begins the trip down the rabbit hole of eventualities that concern the Venom symbiote.
“Five Questions”
- Written by Al Ewing
- Illustrated by Danilo S. Beyruth
- Colors by Ceci De La Cruz
- Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
“Kiss the Ring”
- Written by Christos Gage
- Pencils by Greg Land
- Inks by Jay Leisten
- Colors by Frank D’Armata
- Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
“Host”
- Written by Benjamin Percy
- Illustrated by Brian Level
- Colors by Ruth Redmond
- Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
Venomverse Reborn is More Than Just Another “What If?” Tale
Issue #1 kicks things off with the “Eventuality” AKA The King in Black addressing the reader and offering them 5 questions. The Eventuality is simply a hand engulfed in flames, remarkably similar to that of Venoms hand, and explains what it is to the reader. In essence, it is the ultimate result of every single Eddie Brock that bonds with a Venom symbiote. It is an all knowing, multiversal presence. “What if Eddie Brock isn’t Venom?” it proposes, and we lead into our first tale title “Kiss The Ring”.
Did You Know? Venom’s Origins!
Venomverse Merges The King in Black Series With Insomniac Games
“Kiss The Ring” flashes back to the invasion of Knull on Earth. Venom of Earth-1048, the universe of the Insomniac Games, is pulled to the invasion on 616 and commanded by The King in Black to assist him in conquering the universe. This Venom, Harry Osborn, declines and fights back, proving to be a match from Knull’s forces. It’s revealed that Knull can’t physically command symbiotes from other universes, which makes me question why it was brought here in the first place. Ultimately, Harry is sent back to his Earth complimented by veiled threats from The King in Black.
The artwork from Greg Land, Jay Leisten, and Frank D’armata wasn’t bad, but certain panels felt odd and out of place. The action was great though, and Venom looked better than ever. At times Knull looked off putting and out of place, but that may have been an artistic decision. Colors were great. Black and red dominated the pages, and proper highlights were used to differentiate between Venom and the symbiote dragons.
“The Host” of the Venomverse
The second story in this issue is “The Host”. This story takes us on a wild trip of the Venom symbiote landing on Earth and being unable to find a suitable host, so it just feeds on the being and then moves on to the next. Benjamin Percy and Brian Level are cooking in this fantastic story. It is 100% horror inspired and pulls no punches in telling a gruesome murder mystery tale that reminds me so much of John Carpenter’s “The Thing”.
The story opens with the dead body of Steve Rodgers in a Quinjet, his eyes bulging out of their sockets in a pool of his own blood. Bruce Banner, Black Widow, and Hawkeye are in the midst of investigating his murder. There is some fantastic dialogue throughout this story, and some amazing plot work as they search for answers, turning up more dead Avengers along the way. I kept getting more and more engaged and excited with each new mysterious death. Eventually “The Host” is revealed and things get crazy, and I loved every moment.
The artwork in this short is nothing short of awesome. Bruce Banner is depicted as this Noir detective, chasing answers alongside Natasha and Clint. The panel layouts are superb and the gore is out of this world gruesome. Blood, guts, eyeballs, bones; all depicted in their horrific glory. Brian Level really understood the assignment, and Ruth Redmond was perfectly complimentary with her colors. This is a creative team that I’d like to see work together on a long term project.
Everything Points to 8/10
Venomverse Reborn seemed like another shot at making symbiotes fresh and relevant again. Al Ewing sets the stage for the overarching narravtive in “The Five Questions”. Christos Gage capitalized on the popularity of the Insomniac Games Spider-Man universe in “Kiss the Ring” (great title btw). Benjamin Percy took Venom back to the beginning, as a murderous, parasitic alien. Each was unique and fun to read, but my bias lies with the tale of horror crafted by Percy, and the gruesome artwork of Brian Level. That second story really lifted the appeal of this issue, and actually got me excited about what’s to possibly come. There are going to be some diamonds in the rough in this series for sure.
