Venom #24: Latverian Tourism

This month’s issue of Venom boasts an eye-catching surprise on its front cover. Amongst the list of regular contributors, the surname of writer Jonathan Hickman sticks out like a sore thumb. Well known for his work on Fantastic Four, Avengers and, most recently, the bold new Krakoan era of X-men that has spanned the past five years, Hickman has a penchant for helming non-linear grandscale sagas.

This made the prospect of him hopping aboard the Venom promising, but in this case, everything is not what it seems. Hickman’s writing credit is owed to the one page teaser for G.O.D.S., his upcoming series with artist Valerio Schiti, which is slapped onto the issue’s end as a non sequitur. This is not a collaboration between the two exceptional writers, but that’s just fine, as Al Ewing continues to be a powerhouse in his own right.

Venom #24 sees Eddie Brock following up on his plan to pay his old Latverian friend a visit. This venture to Eastern Europe sets the stage for Victor Von Doom to make an appearance, which seems to be an unspoken rule for nearly all of Marvel’s ongoing books. Not to complain though, as Doom is a rare example of a character who’s mere presence elevates the quality of any story. He is endearingly straightforward and self-absorbed in a way that makes it difficult for writers to mischaracterize him, and Ewing has had plenty of practice with Doom’s sporadic cameos in X-Men: Red.

Seeking a way to time travel and knowing that Victor would never willingly give one up, Eddie wastes no time instigating violence, and the ensuing tussles ends with both of them careening through history on a busted machine. It’s a neat issue for action enthusiasts as well as fans of minute worldbuilding. It’s so commonplace for superheroes to infiltrate, crash land, or teleport into Latveria that seeing Brock arrive there on a domestic flight is amusing. Even more amusing is the sight of customs being entirely managed by doombots.

Sergio Davila, Sean Parsons and Frank D’Armata bring kinetic energy to the duel between these two powerhouses, relishing the opportunity to show off Eddie’s new symbiote form in action. It’s a true battle of brains versus brawn as Doom throws out every resource at his disposal. Brock leaps and swings with a surprising amount of elegance for a 7-foot hulking beast, and the pencils have enough flow and grace to make it believable. He’s now sporting four tree-trunk thick arms, and Davila excels at drawing poses that seem natural for that anatomy. Never do the arms clunkily intersect with each other or obscure too much of the surrounding environments. The fight is easy to follow, and it does its job well by sending the unlikely duo off to the next stage of their adventure.