REVIEW: ‘Venom,’ Issue #3

Venom #3 is written by Ram V, penciled by Bryan Hitch, inked by Hitch & Andrew Currie, colored by Alex Sinclair, and lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles. It is published by Marvel Comics. In the previous issue, Dylan Brock came face to face with Archer, who knew his father Eddie back when he was a journalist. Archer has stumbled upon a massive conspiracy surrounding the Life Foundation, and Dylan offers his help as the Foundation is hunting him. But recent events have fractured his bond with the Venom symbiote when their bond is now more important than ever…

Ever since the series began, V has been pushing the Venom mythos forward in bold ways — no mean feat, given the work Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman did with the Lethal Protector. Chief among these choices was the choice to kill off Eddie Brock, and V actually takes the time to explore how this death affects Dylan. Dylan confesses that whenever he looks at the Venom symbiote, he can only think of his dad, and in an inner monologue, the symbiote mourns its longtime host. “God is dead, and so is Eddie Brock,” it laments, as Cowles’ black and white captions add a sense of melancholy to the monologue. The symbiote also calls Dylan out on leaving it abandoned, shifting from form to form; Hitch and Currie draw it as a writhing mass of tentacles with Cowles once again contributing black and white lettering that grows in size as the Symbiote grows frustrated. I like that V is separating Dylan from Eddie by having the younger Brock remain distrustful of the symbiote; this dynamic helps this run stand out from the previous one.

V also digs into the past by bringing back the Life Foundation, who are aiming to accelerate the evolution of symbiotes through various and violent means. The Life Foundation was originally a survivalist group, so what better way to prep for survival than to explore what makes an alien race so resilient? The end of the issue also hints at a new foe for Venom, with Life Foundation head Carlton Drake granting one of his mercenaries a new hi-tech suit; the fourth issue hints at a future showdown between this mercenary and the Lethal Protector.

Though this issue is fairly light on action, Hitch and Currie still draw the reader’s eyes to the page via a series of flashbacks depicting the history of the Venom symbiote, including its battle with the dark god Knull during King in Black. Sinclair shrouds these flashbacks in a hazy red filter as if to hint at the long and bloody road the symbiote took while making its way to Brock. That same red filter reappears when Dylan and the Sleeper symbiote are surrounded by the Life Foundation mercenaries; Sleeper transforms to his human form and begins to wreck shop. Hitch and Currie also clue readers into the fact that the Venom symbiote is suffering; it can’t hold a single form and appears to be literally falling apart as chunks of black goo splatter from its body onto the ground.

Venom #3 redefines the bond between Dylan Brock and his father’s symbiote while reintroducing an enemy from Venom’s past. This book is just starting to pick up steam — I’m more than ready to see where it goes.

Venom #3 is available now wherever comics are sold.