A Spider-Man Podcast

Venom: Space Knight #1 – REVIEW

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Venom: Space Knight has the potential to be one of Marvel’s most fascinating books. Ariel Olivetti’s art is stunning and reminiscent of Heavy Metal, and Robbie Thompsons’s effort to build something out of the place that Brian Michael Bendis left Venom at the end of his first Guardians of the Galaxy volume are admirable, though the baggage from his complicated recent history risks weighing down what could be a fun, interesting showcase for outer space adventures and Olivetti’s exciting alien designs.

VENOMSK2015001-int2-2-7bfd1From what I understand, Venom is still in Bendis’s new volume of Guardians, but this series—much like Rocket Raccoon & Groot, Drax, Star-Lord, Angela, and the supposedly upcoming Gamora—lets us know what Venom is up to while not, well, guarding the galaxy. This is an approach that we’ve seen for decades with the Avengers and most recently with Cyclops as he ditched his fellow X-Men for some father/son time. Marvel’s Guardians push makes sense with the immense success of that film (certainly more than their Inhumans effort), but I’m more concerned about how the oversaturation of these series. On the other hand, we may never get anything as unique as Venom: Space Knight (or my other favorite new Marvel book, The Vision) without this system.

I hope I’m wrong, because more innovation is absolutely vital to the continuing success of Marvel’s books. Very few of Marvel’s “All New, All Different” books have felt new or different to me (which is fine in some cases, but irritatingly stagnant in others), but Venom: Space Knight finally does something with the character that I had hoped for since he was announced to join the Guardians last year, which is: anything. Robbie Thompson lets Flash do anything other than sitting around from one set piece to another, dancing through crossovers while Star Lord and Kitty and Rocket and Groot and the other, more visible Guardians took the spotlight.

Flash Thompson’s tenure as Venom has been considerably varied, in both occupation and quality. He started his life as a superhero in one of Rick Remender’s better series, which was later taken over by Cullen Bunn for a divisive run. He spent some time in the Secret Avengers before he was jettisoned into space to serve with the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was during the “Planet Venom” arc where Flash and his symbiote returned to the alien suit’s home planet and underwent a regeneration process, healing the suit and illuminating the readers with the “true purpose” of the symbiotes as “agents of the cosmos,” a concept we see Venom struggling with in this very issue.

If you didn’t get some of that, it’s okay. The important parts are explained in the story: Venom is now an “Agent of the Cosmos,” and the ever-upbeat Flash Thompson is set to find out what that means and do his best to be the hero he thinks the cosmos needs. For better or worse, this issue is very routine. Venom’s adventure begins in medias res, catching the reader up through exposition thought VENOMSK2015001-int2-3-c8c2eboxes while Olivetti’s art follows Venom through a chase on an alien planet. Olivetti’s strengths are in his character design and expressions: there are a number of rough backgrounds amidst the lush characters and aliens, but they do little to detract from the experience. Last week I was organizing some old books and I found a box replete with dozens of my dad’s Heavy Metal comics, and I can’t believe how much Olivetti’s art looks like it would fit in with that style. He is perfectly equipped for this book, which gives him the opportunity to design a nearly endless amount of alien races as Venom moves around the universe.

Venom’s introductory adventure includes a chase, an infiltration, a rescue, and a silent battle in space. Robbie Thompson’s take on Flash Thompson (this could get difficult) shows that he has a good handle on the character, as Flash’s rather chipper attitude and sense of humor come out in the story. Flash is a very nuanced character, and I have faith in Thompson (Robbie) to tackle him with appropriate attention to his past. His work on Silk has been very strong, as he gave a sincere voice to Cindy that I found lacking in her other appearances.

Venom: Space Knight could be one of Marvel’s best new series. It has a wonderful artist, an interesting (if standard) plot hook, and a strong writer. However, Thompson and Olivetti have a lot of obstacles to overcome from Venom’s tepid time with the Guardians of the Galaxy that led to this series. Despite my trepidation, I have faith in the creative team to use this as an opportunity to explore Flash’s character and develop some rollicking, swashbuckling space adventures!

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