Venom #19: All That Glitters Is Not Gold

Venom has maintained a surprisingly tight continuity in spite of the time-bending odyssey it has sent its protagonist on. Even the event tie-ins managed to keep the narrative moving in a manageable direction. This consistency makes the contents of issue #19 slightly jarring, as it contains the biggest detour so far and its placement in the comic’s greater chronology isn’t firmly established. Dylan Brock is still present, playing the role of deuteragonist, but the spotlight shines on Norman Osborne this time around.

Dylan Brock pays a visit to his friend Normie Osborne and winds up staying for dinner with the family’s disgruntled patriarch. If Venom #19’s true objective is to serve as a crash course in the recent developments of the Spider-Man franchise, it does a splendid job. Norman has long since discarded his purple tunic and cap, turning over a new leaf by adopting the heroic alias Gold Goblin. 

He’s like Iron Man or Batman without the self-made charm; every gadget up his sleeve is a product made by his company, and every action he takes is backed up by a team of lawyers. The Gold Goblin is less of a superhero and more a cynical PR campaign. Dylan Brock poses the question of whether Norman’s heroic turn stems from a genuine desire to do good, or a selfish desire to clear his conscience. Ewing does a great job at not swaying the reader either way, writing Norman with the same cold, condescending tone while also working in brief glimpses of the humanity underneath. 

Dinner goes about as well as expected; it must not be easy to recreate the discomfort of an awkward silence through illustrations alone, but Roge Antonio makes it seem effortless with a few close-up panels of his characters’ subtle yet emotive faces. Antonio captures the three characters’ distinct personalities in his drawings. Dylan Brock slouches and scowls with gruffness that implies wisdom being his years, being a child who was forced to mature fast. Little Normie has a deer-in-the-headlights stare, looking naive and pitiful to reflect how the burden of his family’s reputation weighs on him.The more intimidating aspects of Norman’s design have been softened, but his furrowed brow still doesn’t seem trustworthy.

Tensions escalate into a full-on brawl where Dylan nearly kills Norman in a vengeful rage before deciding against it, punctuating the issue’s poignant theme of past actions and their unforeseen consequences.