REVIEW: ‘Venom,’ Issue #28

Venom is back in Part 3 of “Venom Beyond”! Published by Marvel Comics, written by Donny Cates, with art by Juan Gedeon, colors by Jesus Aburtov, and letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles, Venom #28 offers a plethora of action, wit, and surprise.

In the last issue, after getting sucked into an alternate universe, specifically Earth-1610, Virus is detained by the symbiote-infected Avengers while Brock and his son, Dylan, flee into the sewers and stumble upon Annie and her mysterious band of misfits.

Now, in Venom #28, Brock and Dylan learn from Annie, Brock’s ex-wife, that this universe’s Brock is dead. Instead of attaching to Brock, Venom infected Annie. In this world, the symbiotes have taken over, ruled by a cryptic man who goes by the name of Codex. This new world order has spurred Annie to create a small team of symbiote heroes and she hopes that Brock will join them.

If it wasn’t clear from the introduction of the symbiote Avengers, this arc, “Venom Beyond,” isn’t done introducing symbiote characters just yet. There’s another gaggle of characters introduced on both sides of the fight that will likely be both surprising and exciting for readers. There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason as to which side of the fight characters are on, but in this crazy new world Brock has been jettisoned into, it’s best to just throw all your expectation out the door.

Although plenty of pages are taken up by action scenes and the sort of violence that comes with the Venom title, the plot doesn’t fail to surge forward. Readers will learn some surprising facts about not only characters in this new world but also characters from Brock’s universe. I won’t say much more about the revelations in this issue, but the ending will be a shock to your system and have you impatiently waiting for the next issue.

Overall, the dialogue was great, especially given the large number of characters to contend with. However, there were a few dialogue choices that struck me as odd. Codex at one point states that Stark is dead. However, we saw someone in an iron man suit in the last issue. The orange and red suit is usually typical of Tony Stark but I suppose there might be someone else in the suit. Or perhaps Codex is referring to death as just the loss of humanity. I will fully admit that it has been a while since I’ve read anything from the Ultimate Marvel imprint so I could be missing something here. But it nonetheless struck me as strange. There is another awkward moment in dialogue where Annie repeats the same statement twice. This is probably done to show just how tumultuous her thoughts are, but it just made for an awkward moment of: “didn’t I just read that a few panels back?”

Gedeon has wonderful talent when it comes to drawing violence and action. The action choreography is fun but the real joy is in how Gedeon effectively emulates movement. The fight scenes are fluid and dynamic; you can feel the power behind every punch and impact. Beyond the action, the characters themselves are wonderfully emotive, from their facial expressions to their energetic gestures. The art was a real treat in this issue.

The color palette of this issue is particularly dark when compared to the last issue which was inundated by neon lights and colors. But this change in the palette is only reflective of the change in scenery. After all, a lot of this issue takes place in a sewer. However, Aburtov still manages to bring life to the panels with the use of deep shadows and highlights.

Cowles doesn’t hold back on the lettering. There are all sorts of different colored and shaped speech bubbles used to indicate everything from dialogue in flashbacks to symbiote speech. But despite the diversity, this variety in speech bubbles helps keep the dialogue simple and easy to follow from one panel to the next.

Overall, despite having a couple stumbles with the dialogue, the creative team has done a wonderful job with this issue. The plot is surging forward and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the revelations in this issue.

Venom #28 is available now wherever comic books are sold.