Venom #32
Mike Eakins
Recap
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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Eddie is dead. Rex Strickland is back. Knull has won. Eddie will need to trust and listen to Rex while he learns the ropes in the hive. Rex has a plan to help Eddie but it reads like a suicide mission, and there’s a guest who will join them on said mission. Another chapter in the story of Knull’s destruction is told in brilliance in Venom #32.
Review
Close your eyes…Look deep in your soul
Imagine watching the world burn and all you can do is…nothing. Darkness, sin, and misery have covered the word like a blanket from the deepest levels of hell. All you can do is watch.
Step outside yourself…And let your mind go
Welcome to the world of Eddie Brock and his hopeless desperation to find out how to rid the world of Knull. Easier said than done as able help is just as scares as the heroes that once inhabited the earth now enslaved by the hive mind. In Venom #32, Donny Cates’ latest offering in his monumental Venom saga Eddie Brock finds himself in the hive with an old ally. Rex Strickland is back and appears to be fully ingrained with his symbiote and definitely knows his way around the hive. Rex acts as a tour guide as he breaks down the happenings for Eddie and helps him realize that he is simply just a memory now. Eddie is dead.
Frozen eyes stare deep in your mind as you die
Regardless of Rex’s new role in Eddie’s life, Eddie refuses to accept the fact that he’s dead and must live Knull’s existence. What Eddie doesn’t know is Rex has been around the block once or twice and perhaps has a few tricks up his sleeve that Eddie may or may not know about. Now all that Eddie has to do is find some shred of patience and listen to Rex’s plan, and oh what a plan it is. The cool thing about having Rex by Eddie’s side is he is the only absolute in Eddie’s existence currently. Eddie is going to have to put what is left of his faith in Rex as they are about to embark on a mission so monumental that Rex needed to enlist help and help is what they got. Rex’s new recruit is someone so strong, able, and willing that Eddie and the readers alike will be shocked when this person is revealed.
Close your eyes…And forget your name
The re-telling of Eddie Brock is almost complete. I get a sense his next transformation will take him to another plane and change his outlook completely. Sure, he’s dead now but he could find a way to come back…right? I love this version of Eddie because it reminds us all how to reach so deep into the darkest regions of our soul and conquer our fears in order to live our existence and provide for those that depend on us.
Step outside yourself…And let your thoughts drain
Final Thoughts
Cates, Coello, Aburtov, and Cowles have become the Super Friends when it comes to Venom. I’ve talked about my undying love for this team on numerous occasions and it never gets old. How can it! Issue after issue it is one badass plot after another. Their efforts have become a thrill ride into Venom lore and will be continually talked about in comic circles for decades to come.
VENOM #32: Life In The Abyss (SPOILERS!)
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10