Review: Venom: First Host #1, the place where it all began
Before Eddie Brock bonded with an alien that turned him into a horrific creature with amazing abilities, the symbiote needed a different and powerful host. But has the creature escaped its dark past? Read our spoiler-free review of Venom: First Host below!
Dark, gory and violent are all words that can be used to describe someone as menacing as Venom. But before the alien had the chance to bond with Eddie Brock and start their life as anti-heroes, the symbiote had a very different (and violent) past (even before Spider-Man came into the equation).
If you have been paying attention, Venom has been gaining a lot of popularity lately. Not only he will have his own movie set to release on October, but he’s been stealing the spotlight in the comic book world too. Donny Cates’ Venom gave the character a fresh start and the symbiote also has its own annual series. So how does Venom: First Host differentiate itself from the rest of the Lethal Protector’s stories? Well, fortunately, by telling something new.
The story
This first issue has a lot of exposition as it spends much of its time giving us a look into the symbiote’s past, but also showing up what he has been up to lately. The bad? There isn’t to much Venom in here.
Look at this issue as the first movie of a superhero saga, where the filmmakers have to tell the origin of the character and explain its motivations, its background, and many more things. It can even be fun, sure, but there’s more freedom of storytelling when you get past those things. Even so, the beginning of this story is really promising and gives the symbiote a really special and powerful personality, which is always welcome. Mike Costa did a great job in this regard!
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The art
When Venom does appear, it looks awesome. It’s exactly as you would imagine it. Big, scary and cool-looking. It almost reminds me of the graphic style Venom had in the Ultimate series (which is one of my favorite looks for the character). Not only that but every other character here looks great. As you can expect with a comic titled Venom: First Host there are some aliens involved, and it is a pleasure to see them be so well designed. Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy and Dono Sánchez all do a good job with the illustrations and colors. Of course, this is great considering the illustrations are the one thing that will accompany the reader through the whole issue.
The action
Something else that might be a bit underwhelming for some readers is the action. As I said earlier, this issue is more about setting things up for the series than anything else. That means there isn’t too much action in here. But not everything is bad. When Venom comes into frame and starts fighting the bad guys, he’s violent and relentless. So even if Venom fights in only five or six panels, it really stands out and keeps things interesting for the issue.
Related Story. What we know about Web of Venom: Carnage Born. light
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Venom: First Host is a good starting point for the series, even if it works more as a prelude issue for something even better to come. The illustrations will surely please fans, as well as the answer to the question: Who was the symbiote’s first victim?
. Venom: First Host #1. B-. . Mike Costa, Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, Dono Sánchez, VC's Clayton Cowles
Let us know what do you think about Venom: First Host #1 in the comments below! And stick around with Whatever A Spider Can for everything Spider-Man related.