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Venom’s confrontation with the Savage Six is heading towards it’s conclusion as Rick Remender and Cullen Bunn pit him against both Death Adder and the Human Fly. In short, it’s an action packed issue, but how does it hold up? 

Read on for my review!

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I have to say that overall, the series has suffered, if only just a little bit, from Cullen Bunn coming on as co-writer. Add to that the fact that I’d prefer to have a previously used artist like Kev Walker or Tony Moore covering the interiors rather than Lan Medina, and I can already say that my expectations are a tad lower. However, this issue did well to stand out to me as it read how I’d want this story too; violent and action packed. And when I say violent, I do mean violent. 

The first section of this issue features an all-out bout between Death Adder and Venom that ends pretty gruesomely, and I think it’s a bit of straight action that was missing from the first two installments of this current story. The best part is that it doesn’t read too quickly as we get plenty of internal monologue from Flash as he pieces together what’s going on around him so he can save his loved ones before the Six gets to them. 

A lot of what has built up for Flash in this series has many parallels as Venom with Spider-Man, but it’s always welcome when we get an issue that shows us how he isn’t. He’s a hero, but he’s one that does things that Peter Parker never would, and this series gets many strengths from that fact. This helps detach a story about Flash trying to defeat a group of villains before they kill his loved ones from one about Spidey doing the same. 

The problematic issues with this comic essentially boil down to the fact that I feel it ended too abruptly, and that the big cliffhanger at the end didn’t really do anything for me. I don’t know how it affected other readers who are more familiar with Betty Brant and her family members, but it just didn’t give me the big shock that I’m sure it was aiming for. Luckily, this is only part three of this story and there are two more issues after this for which Rick Remender to lay down the goods and give us a grand conclusion to his run on Venom, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt because I always have hope in Remender. Otherwise, this issue was an improvement over the last that I welcomed with open arms, and I’m really anticipating what’ll be in store next time. Even Lan Medina’s artwork seemed better in this issue than it was last time, especially in all the gruesome action sequences, making it a good read both visually and from the story. 

GO Rating: 4/5