Minimum Carnage: Alpha #1 Review


Scarlet Spider and Venom take on Carnage in this latest crossover event, but is it worth your time and money?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

• CARNAGE IS BACK – AND BIGGER AIN’T NECESSARILY BETTER!

• Scarlet Spider and Venom collide as the hunt for Carnage begins, taking both heroes to a place you’ll never believe.

I’ll be honest when I started following both the Scarlet Spider and Venom individual comic book series’, I didn’t really envision them crossing over in the foreseeable future.  I thought perhaps there’d be a Spider-book event that forced everyone into some mammoth Web of Life nightmare scenario but to unite these two characters without Peter Parker being there is simply a stroke of genius.  I absolutely cannot contain my glee at this zany but enjoyable concept and how well this team executes it in this first outting.

Cullen Bunn and Chris Yost are a true dynamic duo, as they effortlessly weave both of their ongoing series into a combined narrative.  The fact that both of the authors played on the history of Scarlet Spider and the symbiotes was a beautiful touch that brought an air of authenticity to this outlandish romp.  My only minor gripe is that there were a few scenes where the text seemed overly wordy but beyond that this was a rousing success.

Lan Medina handles the art and he turns in some of his best work yet.  His renditions of both the Scarlet Spider and Venom are top-notch as their now converging worlds yield a fluid atmosphere that honestly seemed to be destined to eventually meet.  Perhaps the strongest point about the comic is the action, as delicate but deliberate pencil strokes create characters that get some truly shinning moments as they display their unique skills.

Minimum Carnage: Alpha #1 is solid start to this six-part event and it comes recommended.

4/5

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