REVIEW: new ways to live

The Story: Eddie is now with a 'cured' junkie, Jenna. She is helping him take down The Quintas (drug cartel). As Anti-Venom, he must join forces with The Punisher to win this battle.

The Good: Anti-Venom/Punisher Relationship - Right from the start, we find there is no love lost between these two. Punisher still remembers Eddie Brock as the murderous villain, Venom (remember the Funeral Pyre days?) and Anti-Venom keeps trying to prove how he has changed his ways. I loved the scene, in the second book, where they are in the van crossing the Mexican boarder. The Supporting Cast - I'm glad the writers didn't just try to create another super villain for these two heroes to fight. Creating a 'real world villain' made the story a lot more enjoyable (and aside from the alien symbiote part, a lot more believable). Having Jenna help Eddie was a nice addition; however, I don't think she is necessary for future stories.

The Bad: Punisher's gadgets - Wolverine claws? Goblin glider? C'mon! This is The Punisher, he should have GUNS! I don't follow Punisher stories, so maybe he does 'steal' ideas from other heroes (I mean he has a sidekick now!), but I didn't buy the whole gadget gimmick. No real threats - We all know bullets don't harm symbiotes (even a shotgun blast to the back of the head won't keep them down for long), and a sledgehammer to the head won't stop them either. So what was stopping Anti-Venom from cleaning house in these books? Nothing. The only time he was vulnerable was when The Punisher was after Eddie Brock (even then the symbiote came to the rescue).

The Overall - 3.5 outta 5. Remember the old Venom? The Lethal Protector Venom? This series reminds me a lot of that Venom. Sure the backdrop is a little darker than the early 90s adventures, but its still Eddie Brock trying to show the world he is a good guy (while he kills the bad guys). Its kinda nice to have two Venoms out there. The early bad ass version (Mac Gargan) who only lived to kill Spider-Man and the later version (Anti-Venom) who protected the innocent.

spider-man (1994): the alien costume

Venom in the 1994 Spider-Man Cartoon

Venom made his first appearance early on in the 1994 Spider-Man Cartoon. Episode 8 highlights the symbiote's arrival to Earth, episode 9 shows us the epic scene where it bonds with Eddie Brock, and episode 10 features Venom in all his glory. If you have never seen these before, take a look. I think this series is the best comic book cartoon ever made.

Episode 8 - The Alien Costume Pt I

Episode 9 - The Alien Costume Pt II

Episode 10 - The Alien Costume Pt III

CLASSIC REVIEW: venom lethal protector

The Story: Shortly after the event of ASM 375, Venom moves to San Fransisco to start a new life. He tries to prevent a 'lost city' from being discover and is pursued by the father of his first kill. Spider-Man joins in the fun throughout the series.

The Good: Eddie Brock - Eddie's character really starts to develop in this series. He finally stops being just a body builder with an alien costume fighting Spider-Man and starts to establish a personality that will continue to grow through the years. We also get to see how Eddie becomes the man he is through a flashback (we later get the Dark Origin limited series dedicated to this brief flashback). Artwork - I love the covers to each of the six books (especially the first one - CLASSIC!). There are also great full pages of Venom. Can anyone really get tired of the full 'We Are Venom!' pages?

The Bad: 5 symbiotes - This was the start of flooding the Marvel Universe with symbiotes in the 90s. We already had Venom and Carnage, now 5 no-name symbiotes are created. If the writers really felt a need to create another one, I think Scream would of been enough. She is the only one with a little bit of personality, and the only one that is still in existence of the five. Writing - Maybe its because I'm 17 years older, but I do not recall so much cheesy dialog when I first bought/read this series. There were multiple times where the 'bad guy' stops Venom and gives a long winded explanation of what just happen and Venom is able to recover...he also lets the baddie know that he is now healed.

The Overall: 4.5 outta 5. This series is what made a lot of readers into Venom fans. Marvel needs to bring back series like this!

dark avengers annual

Dark Avengers Annual

1. Annual 1 - Venom appears in a half page splash