Venom #37: Doctor’s Visit

Venom #37 kicks off with a classic bait-and-switch as the much-advertised fight between Dylan and Spider-Man turns out to be the appetizer rather than the main course. The two do engage in fisticuffs for a quick three pages to fulfill the cover’s promise, but the tension is ultimately cut quickly and peacefully. While possibly disappointing to some readers, it is a moment that efficiently establishes how mature this elderly variant of Dylan Brock has grown to be.

With Peter Parker swinging off to stop the rampaging Molten Man, Dylan is left triumphant with the first component he needs to build an apocalypse-canceling weapon. He then packs up and walks a few blocks down to his next destination, the Sanctum Sanctorum of Dr. Stephen Strange. Writer Torunn Gronbekk writes Strange’s introduction with the imposing confidence of a true professional, granting him the reassuring aura of someone who holds the answers to most of, if not all, Dylan’s problems. Stephen indeed proves his expertise, surmising in a few minutes how and why this time-displaced intruder is in his home.

With a partnership quickly established, Gronbekk and artist Cafu fully embrace the surrealism of Doctor Strange’s portion of the Marvel universe, having him traverse dimensions and communicate with his future self through Brock’s memories. All familiar tricks in the Sorcerer Supreme’s playbook, but executed with the refreshing style of Cafu’s pencils. And while details are left vague as to why Strange and Dylan must confront the demon lord Chthon, the chaotic visuals presented in their trip to his hell dimension provoke enough intrigue to keep the mystery captivating.