Comic Reviews

Venom #1

Writer: Rick Remender

Artist: Tony Moore

Publisher: Marvel

Having the Venom suit back is a good thing, period. Of course, fans are going to argue over whether or not Venom having its own series without Eddie Brock is worth the time. I am in the category of ‘pro’. I think the take with Flash Thompson is going to work well; he’s got ties to Parker & Spidey (in fact he idolizes him), he’s tortured from the war, both physically and mentally, AND he’s got stuff to lose, a girlfriend and his war veteran reputation. What better character is suited for the... suit? Better question: how many issues before it all goes to hell in a hand basket for Flash? Because that’s what the alien symbiote does to people: it ruins them.

This issue is a great #1; it sets the building blocks to show how conflicted Flash is going to be with the suit, and how it is already making him feel. The plot itself is a tad forgettable, with a standard black-ops army run on a terrorist, but we get to see Flash in action and get a glimpse of what he is capable of. The suit has been tampered with by the army, and Flash has got a whole new arsenal of utilities at his disposal. Moore's art gives a good feel for the variation.

Flash's good-natured human spirit is eventually going to clash with the evil machinations of the suit, and it’s going to be interesting to see how or if he is able to fight it internally for any length of time.

It’s a good issue to get the ball rolling on the new Venom, and I’m excited for who the first long-arc villain will be.

Pros:

-Flash as the new host for the suit: tortured & physically handicapped, but compassionate and great spirit; will be a great dichotomy with the suit

Cons:

-None as of yet

Sigil #1

Writer: Mike Carey

Artist: Leonard Kirk

Publisher: CrossGen via Marvel

If you google CrossGen comics you’ll find that it was once a prestigious but very flawed comic company. They had a few major titles and seemed to be doing well for themselves before they imploded. Marvel has bought them out and have decided (thus far) to bring back Sigil & Ruse as 4-issue minis.

Carey is helming this remake of Sigil, which given his background is definitely a positive thing for a new title. While I say remake, that might not necessarily be the case; re-imagining might be the better term. Sigil’s original 42-issue run for Crossgen was considered a “sci-fi space opera”, while this new issuing is considered a “war across time”.

Issue one begins with an adolescent girl’s strange dream and some obvious foreshadowing that she’ll be the carrier of an odd new power. Kirk’s art is going to fit well with the “across time” part of this book, I can tell already. Crisp and detailed, we’re probably going to be getting a lot of great costume pieces. Carey does a fine job of giving us (practically) nothing in the way of groundwork, while still keeping it very interesting. It’s fresh ground in a new series and is so far panning out well.

Pros:

-Carey behind a new title is always a good thing

-Time-spanning epics often involve something to excite everyone

Cons:

-Completely new universe could fail to grab some readers’ interests right off the bat