Venom has to take on the Savage Six, but is it a fight worth reading?  Read on.

The official description from Marvel:

Flash Thompson and Betty Brant are on the run and there’s nowhere to hide! Venom’s secret identity has been compromised… both to his enemies and his friends! The Savage Six stage their most brutal attack on the people closest to Flash Thompson!

Venom is put through the ringer this issue, as the symbiote and Flash struggle to protect the women in their lives.  To set it up the Savage Six. are each going after someone he loves and yes there is brutality here, some loss and a good deal of thrills that make this issue a solid read for the script alone.  But that being said there are some drawbacks as the art is very pretty, but it doesn’t pack a strong enough punch to properly convey the stress of this situation.

Both the current head writer, Rick Remender and soon to be head writer Cullen Bunn do a masterful job weaving a tale that in a lot of ways feels like a story that’s been building since Venom #1.  The dialogue is solid, the action is great and the script may be a bit thin but it allows everything to flow brilliantly.  It’s the second part in this story arc and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Lan Medina once again lends his talent to offer a sleek and beautiful take on this symbiote infested world.  Sadly the character expressions don’t always properly express the high stake situation that these people are all in and often they come off looking a bit stiff.  The comic would have been better suited with a different artist at the helm.

Overall Venom #19 is a good comic.  It’s has a story that works, beautiful (but misplaced) art and it’s only $2.99 to get in on this fun. With all that in mind this comic comes recommended.

3.5/5