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| Photo Courtesy of Marvel Comics |
Venom #27 (written by Donny Cates, art by Juan Gedeon) is the second issue in Marvel’s latest symbiote story, “Venom Beyond” and while #26 presented a decent buildup, #27 is really starting to build the arc in a unique direction. Last issue ended with Eddie Brock, his son Dylan, The Maker (an evil Mr. Fantastic from an alternate dimension), and mysterious symbiote Virus being propelled through a portal to an alternate dimension (a different one than The Maker hails from). The issue plays out like most fish-out-of-water stories, but sets up plenty of interesting dynamics for Venom and his entourage to play around in.
The issue blasts off with a battle between Venom and Virus that is ripped right out of an anime. Hats off to Gedeon, who presents the action in a vibrant, punchy, and fun way. A high sense of kinetic energy in the art helps the fight flow from panel to panel. During the fight, Cates presents Venom’s internal dialogue in a great way that really helps to build the suspense of the unknown location. This location leads to some alterations to Venom’s abilities that really crank up his power levels and present him with new ways to fight.
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| Photo Courtesy of Marvel Comics |
The story moves quickly, hitting several beats and intriguing set-ups. After the opening scene Venom runs into some familiar faces that end up not being as friendly as they first appear, forcing Eddie and his son to go into hiding. Being set in an alternate dimension gives Venom #27 the opportunity to play around with what the audience expects from certain characters and should be exciting to see the implications of as Venom Beyond continues.
It is apparent that Cates understands the psyche of a character like Eddie Brock, as well as the Venom symbiote. The relationships between Eddie, the symbiote, and his son all work and add depth to Brock to make him more than just an anti-hero. With so many different characters now running around this new Venom universe, it will be exciting to see how Cates brings them all back together. Venom Beyond is proving to be one of the best arcs of Cates’ run with the character.
- Neil Hazel
