Venom: The End #1

By Adam Warren, Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz, Guru – eFX, and VC’s Clayton Cowles

Venom: The End #1 is a very odd book to say the least, interesting, but very odd. Venom comics have been presented in various different ways ranging from anti-hero adventures, to horror. This one-shot takes Venom in a different spin and goes along with a story presenting Venom as an almost immortal being with god-like powers that he has developed over the millennia. Venom must now fight against an oncoming horde of machines in order to protect bio-life from extinction.

As mentioned above, Venom can be presented in all types of different genres. Adam Warren uses Venom: The End #1 as an opportunity to take Venom into a crazy cosmic adventure. Despite a crazy new setting for Venom, Warren has based this world in much of the lore we have learned about Venom over the years. Particularly, much of the basis for Venom’s god-like powers comes from the genetic codexes that was established in the recent Venom series and the Absolute Carnage story arc. Warren also presents this comic with a flare of silliness here and there that will either make the reader chuckle or scratch their head. This aspect of the comic will make it or break for readers and if you want a serious comic with a lot of the darker tones we have seen in Venom comics before, this isn’t the comic for you. Something else that makes Venom: The End #1 very different from most comics is that it has very little dialogue. Throughout the issue, the story is presented by an unknown narrator that fills in the details in a sometimes confusing order. Despite the lack of dialogue, the narrator gives this world what feels like a library of details packed into one issue. There will be times when the reader may need to reread certain pages to get a proper understanding of what is happening.

As with the story, the art is unique with its brights colors and occasional winks towards the reader. Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz and Guru – eFX make a good team for this book and gives it a zany look that matches the tone of the story. Oddly enough, much of the best panels in this issue does not lie in the action scenes but rather the facial expressions given to the characters. Cruz and eFX make great use of Venom’s natural ability to morph and shape himself into whatever form he chooses to give him multiple opportunities to express himself overtly to the reader. There are times when Venom will have a giant smile on his face while doing a “remix” but also tender moments when Venom is dealing with Eddie and the complications that arise from being an almost immortal being tied to a mortal. 

Venom: The End #1 will surely not be for everyone but for those who might like the sillier approach to Venom will certainly enjoy this issue. Much of the issue may not make much sense when first reading it but having some patience to reread certain lengthy sections may do the reader a service to enjoy it better.