Venom #28 Review

by Nick Devonald on September 23, 2020

Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Juan Gedeon
Colours: Jesus Aburtov
Letters: VC’s Clayton Cowles

There is so much going on in this latest issue of Venom. Donny Cates is really letting readers explore this alternate version of Earth, and he even offers readers an explanation as to why it’s so different to the Earth we’re used to. There’s a sliding doors style twist, and everything else that’s happened follows on from one change early on in Eddie Brocks life which has a profound effect on the entire world. Alternate realities stories are always fun, but the twist that this is all down to this universes Eddie makes everything more impactful, and it’s always fun to see heroes and villains we know so well twisted into barely recognisable versions of those characters. And of course there are the inevitable battles between characters who’d normally be fighting on the same team. And if that was all that was going on in this issue it’s plenty to recommend it to the reader. But it isn’t.

There is so much more going on in this issue. The reader finally gets the reveal to not only Virus’ identity, but also Codex’s. No spoilers here, but you want to make sure you read this issue before accidently reading it online. And both characters and their history are tied incredibly closely to Brock, not only that but the reveal is going to take most readers by surprise and be incredibly satisfying. The reveals are handled in such an excellent why I cannot emphasise enough how much you want to read this issue before finding out either of their identities.

Also a fun part of the story is the reveal of who is in the symbiote resistance. We get to see vastly different versions of certain characters, although that’s more a bit of fun than anything which will have meaningful consequences for the Venom storyline going forward.

The seeds have been planted much earlier on in Donny Cates’ run on Venom for everything unfolding here, and it makes you wonder just how far in advance he’s plotted Venom. This run is, without a doubt, the best Venom run there is. Cates’ has really made the character his own and is taking him and the entire symbiote mythology in new and exciting directions.

Juan Gedeon continues to carry on the art duties for this arc, and he does a fantastic job of capturing the characters expressions, especially shock and anger, as well as bringing fan favourites to life, albeit in a new and twisted way for most of these characters. He does a great job with showing the readers what happened with this universes Eddie, which really has an emotional impact for the reader. Jesus Arbutov’s colours are a great match for Gedeon’s art, a couple of panels involving red silhouettes are particularly impactful.

Seeds planted much earlier in the Venom run are beginning to blossom, an excellent alternate reality story is reason enough to recommend this story but all of the reveals in this issue make it an excellent story. DO NOT READ ANY SPOILERS FOR THIS ISSUE. Make sure you buy and read it as soon as possible.

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside