This is the first time in a long time I have so many positive things to say about a Venom title, but first I want to address the future of Venom. Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman are taking over the title. Stegman’s work in Venom Inc was pretty stellar (and the preview pages put it to shame) but lets talk about Cates. Donny Cates is one of the best things to happen to comic books. For Marvel, he also writes Thanos (an older Thanos works with a younger Thanos to find a new challenge after he conquered the entire universe) and Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange tries to take back the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme from Loki). He also has some amazing creator owned stuff such as: Babyteeth (a sixteen year old mother gives birth to the Anti-Christ), God Country (a man suffering from dementia gets a second chance at life after a god selects him as his Champion) and Reactor (humans fighting vampires in giant mechs to reclaim the earth). Everything he touches is gold, you would only be doing yourself a favor if you got any of his titles. 

I might stick around because of this; I haven’t decided yet. It might be worth the endless events and Marvel shenanigans if it means I get Donny Cates on the title. 

You Are Reading Part Three of the Crawlspace Poison X Review. Click the links to find: Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, and Part 5. 

Venom 162: Poison X Part 3

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artists: Edgar Salazar & Ario Anindito 

Colorist: Dono Sanchez-Almara

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

C.Artists: Will Robinson & Edgar Delgado

Editors: Nick Lowe & Devin Lewis & Mark Paniccia & Darren Shan & Christina Harrington & Tom Groneman & Chris Robinson

Editor-In-Chief: CB Cebulski

The X-Men Are Kids, So They Know Everything: This issue sees the Klyn’tar bonded X-Men destroy Haze Mancer’s armada of Klyn’tar sentinels, scaring off his customers. Venom tries to kill Haze Mancer, but Scott stops him for the purpose of getting information. They learn they can track the Klyn’tar of Killer Thrill’s group and Jean has to stop Venom from trying to kill Haze Mancer again. They give him over to the Nova Corps and head after Killer Thrill to save Scott’s dad. Eddie recommends leaving the Klyn’tar behind, but they desire to help the X-Men rescue their family members. 

The issue ends with Haze Mancer in prison, when something begins murdering the Nova Corps. This threat is revealed to be Kraven the Poison, indicating the Poisons have entered the Marvel Prime. 

The Klyn’tar Manifest After Our Emotions And Yours Are Literal Demons Hank: This issue kicks all kinds of ass. It may be my favorite issue of the larger Poison story-line that includes Edge of VenomVerse, VenomVerse, and now Poison X. One of my favorite aspects of Poison X is how Cullen Bunn seems to respond to the criticisms I and many others had about VenomVerse. This issue tackles the complaint that VenomVerse received about how there was nothing truly special about the ways in which the Klyn’tar bond with their hosts; the idea that Doctor Venom is not different than Doctor Strange. Here the X-Men are given some of the best symbiote-based designs yet and they struggle to control their symbiotes; the only one who seems to have a handle on her symbiote is Jean Grey, which makes sense given her telepathic abilities. Not only that, but the symbiotes in turn enhance the traits each of the X-Men feel the most: Bobby is constantly struggling to stay visible, Beast becomes a symbiotic demon, Angel goes from a beacon of light to a beast of shadows, and Scott is able to see through his Klyn’tar in all directions. Between this and making Venom the more vocal partner he always should have been, Poison X is doing an excellent job of improving on the foundation of VenomVerse. Some part of me wishes Angel had not received a Klyn’tar (because of his flaming wings) for comedic effect, but the issue does a lot with the Klyn’tar and their partners. 

Edgar Salazar tackles the fight scene and immediate aftermath, which is the first two thirds of the issue. I had issues with his art in the X-Men Blue Annual (Part One) but he is on fire here. The design of Cyclops’ symbiote is a particular highlight as he becomes an almost living laser that constantly struggles to burst free of its Klyn’tar constraint. The way Salazar illustrates Cyclop’s new optic blasts as an expression of his anger is so great and Dono Sanchez-Alamara colors it beautifully. He also does a great job of coloring Bobby’s ice powers, giving them a much darker palette than previous issues. Angel is a black blur moving through the page, while Beast’s massive demonic frame fills panels. Bobby’s ice tendrils are such a cool take on the usual symbiote tendril design and the way Bobby is barely tangible in several panels really unifies the script and the art. When Jean uses telekinesis, you can see pieces of the symbiote move within the pink boundaries of her powers; it is also implied that her Klyn’tar goes into minds with Jean. Bobby and Beast’s Klyn’tar are siblings, which is something I hope future issues of Poison X or Venomized play up to tragic effect. 

Venom is also so well utilized here. His narration opens the issue, describing the unpleasant process of bonding with Venom for the first time, which lies over the panels of the X-Men bonding with their Klyn’tar. Afterwards, he is basically there to call the X-Men out on their hypocritical methods, bringing him into conflict with Cyclops, even as Cyclops continues to abandon his morals. The tense relationship between Eddie and Scott is really well done and I am excited to see where it goes as this story continues.

I  appreciate how Cullen Bunn continues to check in on Corsair and Killer Thrill. I remain convinced Corsair is heading towards a grave, so it is important to keep him in focus as the story progresses. Killer Thrill is such a hammy villain I kind of love her, but it makes Haze Mancer seem like a lesser character because he also tries to walk the line of comedic antagonism. However, Bunn uses Haze Mancer to set up a convenient way for the Poisons to quickly find the X-Men, due to the tracking systems in their Klyn’tar. This shows Bunn is aware that he has spent a lot of time getting to the actual conflict around Corsair and the larger story around the Poisons, so I am willing to cut him some slack. The reveal of the Poison on the last page is pretty damn great and I think it is awesome they have sent Kraven to hunt Venom in the Marvel Prime. 

Ario Anindito handles the scenes after Haze Mancer is given over to the Nova Corps and he does a really good job as well. His art style is more cartoony than Salazar’s, as if someone smashed Edgar Salazar and Nick Bradshaw together. I find it enhances the hammy nature of Killer Thrill, but when characters are being impaled it falls a little flat. Still, his Klyn’tar work is really solid, especially when it comes to the eyes. Anindito’s eyes seem more fluid that Salazar’s, the pupils pouring out in different directions. Both artists have sketchy faces, but Dono Sanchez-Almara uses the Klyn’tars to fill in the sketchy lines and give them dimension. 

Dono Sanchez-Almara does some really incredible work this issue, especially with his backgrounds. There is not a single monotone background in the issue and often there are several different colors swirling together to create visually stimulating backdrops; he makes the Blackbird flying through space an absolutely stunning panel. He also adds the same level of complexity to his effects, which often blend together with the backgrounds to create all kinds of complex color schemes. This is top notch coloring and I can not get enough of it. Letterer Clayton Cowles also does some really strong work with color. While there is no one-to-one color coding done with his sound effects, each member of the main cast has a few colors relegated to them so there is no confusion about who is responsible for the sound effect, even if the character is off panel. He also uses lettering to literally split characters apart in battle and it is really cool to see. 

Finally bringing this back. Italicized characters are important to the current story. 

List of Known Venoms: Eddie Brock, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Warren Worthington III, Robert Drake, Hank McCoy, Mary Jane Watson, X-23, Black Panther (Ngozi), Mania, Rocket Raccoon, Logan (deceased?), Doctor Strange (deceased[Self-Sacrifice]), Ant-Man (Scott Lang) (Poisoned), Deadpool (Poisoned), Robbie Reyes (Poisoned), Flash Thompson (deceased[Hulk]), Peter Parker (Poisoned), Captain America (Poisoned)

List of known Poisons: Kraven The Hunter, Doctor Doom, Thanos, Thane, Gladiator, Warbird, Super-Skrull, Groot, Starlord, Gamora, Rhino (deceased[Rocket]), Hawkeye (deceased[Rocket]), Bullseye (deceased[Rocket]), Storm (deceased[Rocket]), Polaris (deceased[Rocket]), Silver Samurai (deceased[Rocket]), Spiral (deceased[Rocket]), Gorgon (deceased[Rocket]), Scarlet Witch (deceased[Rocket]), Silver Surfer (deceased[Rocket]), Hulk (deceased [Rocket]), Spider-Man (deceased[Eddie Brock]), Daimon Hellstrom (deceased[Eddie Brock]), Doctor Octopus (deceased[Eddie Brock]), Host-Rider (deceased[Carnage]) Iron Fist (deceased[Carnage]), , Green Goblin (deceased[Carnage]), Daredevil (deceased[Panther]), Enchantress (deceased[Black Panther]), Nico Minrou (deceased[X-23]), Ant-Man (Scott Lang) (deceased[X-23]), Captain America (deceased[Deadpool]), Gwenpool (deceased[Deadpool]) Sabertooth (deceased[Old Man Logan])

Verdict: Poison X took some time to get going, but this issue delivers on pretty much everything I want from this event. It also establishes some plot devices that will allow future issues to move at a brisk pace, so hopefully we do not have too much downtime on our hands in the back half of the event. This is getting my second highest grade yet for the Poison story-line over three series which I have been reviewing on a bi-weekly basis since July 2017. It takes my event fatigue and tosses it aside for symbiotic based character driven storytelling. Check it out. 

Pros:  

• Character redesigns
• Redesigns based on character
• Poisons and other well used villains 
• Setting up plot devices to compress the timeline
• Exceptional coloring

Cons: 

• A couple disconnects between script and art

A