Hide your brains, Venom is on the prowl in this week’s installment of Webs Weekly. Why, you ask? Well for starters, he’s a huge fan favorite. That was evidenced by the large outcry from many Spidey fans when the sinister symbiote was not featured in the latest Marvel vs Capcom 3 fighting game. The Venom symbiote has been on a roller coaster ride of highs and lows over the past few years after bonding with the villainous Mac Gargan and leaving his most famous host, Eddie Brock. Now the alien creature is bonded to disabled war hero (and former Peter Parker tormentor/current friend) Flash Thompson, serving the U.S. government as a black ops agent. I can even tie this installment into the two previous Webs Weekly entries. Venom does not set off Spidey’s spider-sense (when he had it) and there is a huge collection of Mary Jane as Venom pictures over at deviant, surprisingly enough. Finally, the former host of the alien symbiote, Eddie Brock, has developed a new persona thanks to Mr. Negative: The Anti-Venom! And we’ll be seeing Anti-Venom return to the pages of Amazing Spider-Man in the next issue due to hit shelves. So enjoy these saliva-dripping, teeth-baring pics of Venom!
*
What The..? MARVEL 01 VENOM by adonihs (left)
If there’s one thing Venom is known for, it’s the long, slimy tongue coming out of a grotesque, unhinged jaw lined with rows of sharp teeth. adonish nails it perfectly here. He also manages to capture a good bit of humor in an otherwise perilous situation for Spidey. I enjoy when you can see some of Spidey’s features through the faceless mask, such as his nose in this piece. The squinting eye is also a nice touch. adonihs has some more awesome paintings on his deviant page, as well as his website which is a great place to check out his project called Last Man Standing. There are some great pieces from the movie Kick-Ass, a scary looking Alien, an intimidating Boba Fett, and some concept art for the movie Your Highness.
*
I said it last week, but I have no problem repeating myself – I like when a background helps frame the character. nathan’s picture of Venom is wonderfully accented by the blue-grey to red gradiant in the background. It compliments the pink, slobbering tongue coming out of Venom’s mouth as well as the red highlights on his body. The tendrils coming off of Venom’s back is another nice touch. nathan does not have too too much on his deviant page but he does have some nice pictures of DC comic’s big guns: Superman, Batman and Green Lantern.
*
Venom vs Spidey by EspenG (left)
What I find really amazing about Espen’s piece is that he says it was created completely in Photoshop. I usually spend at least an hour cropping down scanned pictures for my reviews, so when he says this only took him four hours, I’m blown away. I like how the background is slightly blurred as Venom pushes Spidey towards the ground. Spider-Man’s web splaying wildly, presumably missing his target, is a nice touch, as well. There are a lot of extra cool pieces Espen has done for professional assignments or commissions. There are some great scenes of some of Marvel’s heavy hitters such as Thanos and Doom. And then he appeals to my gamer side with a nice scene from Mass Effect, as well as some more pieces from the Warcraft lore. And I hope I’m not alone in this, but his pissed-off Jazz the Jackrabbit takes me back several years to when I played that game on my older brother’s computer.
*
New Venom by spyder8108 (right)
Like Flash Thompson, spyder is a fan of all things Spider-Man it would appear. The new Flash-Venom doesn’t have that many pieces of fan art out there that I could find, but spyder’s version of the new Venom is a nice take on the character. Flash is striking a very Spidey-like pose, which is appropriate for someone who used to run a Spider-Man fan club. I like the pictures that put Spider-Man or Venom in this type of pose, surrounded by the webbing, so that’s another reason I decided to highlight this piece here. In addition to all the Spidey-inspired pieces, spyder also is honing his craft by making some pieces featuring other comic characters such as Gambit, Rogue and Green Lantern.
*
All this talking and thinking about eating brains has me hankering for something to eat now though. So enjoy this Venom-y goodness, while I myself enjoy some delectable brains …pasta, I mean pasta!
“Remember that one time during the fight when it looked like you might actually win? No? Me neither.” – Marvel vs. Capcom 3
“Did I mention I beat up Firelord once? No, seriously. Firelord.” – Ultimate Alliance 2
I loved McFarlanes venom! I have a request. can we get some Gwen love? Or The Chameleon. Or Mysterio. any one of those would be great
I almost missed this. Great article. Venom is the reason why I started reading comic books. He’s still my favorite Marvel comic book character.
I absolutely hate the drooly,3 feet long tongue, hundred teeth Venom. Give me the 90s show Venom or the original McFarlane design any day.
I loooooooove that Venom drooling on Spidey pic. Awesome stuff.
Pure awesome.