Carnage #2: A Murderous Conspiracy

Cletus Kasady’s string of brutal murders continues in the pages of Carnage #2, cementing this brand new ongoing as a grounded crime thriller in the style of Zodiac or Seven. Speaking of the latter, Cletus seems to have taken a page from the film’s heinous serial killer John Doe, patterning his list of victims after a concept taken from Christian theology. Rather than the seven deadly sins, Kasady is hunting down individuals who share names with the twelve apostles of the New Testament. On top of that, most of the targeted individuals have taken lives themselves, sparking various conspiracies about the remainder.

This is where writer Torunn Gronbekk flips the script on a traditional and predictable serial killer convention, which is a very welcome surprise. Since the first issue, the Cletus/Carnage hybrid being has demonstrated a humbling level of self-awareness and cynicism, questioning their own identity and the reasoning behind why they kill. Despite being more powerful than ever before, he has no delusions about serving some higher purpose. There is no true significance behind his actions; the biblical theme is simply bait meant to reel in the world’s communities of conspiracy theorists. Carnage knows that the best way to make the world burn is by sparking mass hysteria and paranoia.

The only individual smart enough to realize this is Flash Thompson a.k.a. Anti-Venom, who seeks out investigative help from his old high school friend Liz Allen. The sequence does much to reassert Flash as a suitable heroic foil to Carnage. Not only is his symbiote possibly the one remaining weakness capable of defeating Carnage, but he also has the perceptive mind necessary to keep up with the sociopath’s twisted game.

When the sparse but effectively paced violence occurs, penciler Pere Perez ensures that it hits hard. The gorey imagery is detailed to a level that mainstream comics don’t often approach, making for extremely memorable pages. The bulk of the issue is dialogue-driven drama, and the subtle, organic body-language that Perez packs into a singular conversation between Flash and Liz (along with a dynamic range of facial expressions) is an artistic triumph. Also impressive is the way that Erick Arciniega maintains Carnage’s grim and moody atmosphere without resorting to a dull, muted color palette.

Carnage #2 caps off with the Cletus/Carnage hybrid confronting the original Cletus. This final page cliffhanger is meant to be shocking, as the real Cletus was thought to be dead after a battle against Iron Man and Miles Morales. However, that comic was so transparently hinting at Kasady’s eventual return that the reveal is undermined. Still, the promise of seeing two equally deranged individuals either team up or go for each other’s throats is incredibly intriguing.