Venom War: Carnage #1 gives itself a new satirical-anti-capitalist touch à la American Psychoan homage that is directly mentioned in the text of the issue. Since previous entries in this series have used elements from director David Fincher’s serial killer films, the comic seems fully committed to presenting itself as a psychological crime thriller. And while this ambition certainly gives the comic a consistent tone and direction, it doesn’t save it from its lackluster execution.
The story begins with Carnage conducting gruesome experiments in the dank depths of an abandoned New York subway tunnel after stealing and dismantling the weapon that nearly killed him at the end of issue #7. He exposes numerous hostages to the weapon’s corrosive energy source, of course not caring that it burns right through the skulls of his guinea pigs. It becomes the symbiotes’ mission to uncover the mysterious origins of this deadly substance, and he knows the exact Alchemax employees he must track down to get answers.
Where this sequence of events really falters is in the sheer repetition of Carnage’s actions. The last volume of his solo series found a steady rhythm some time ago: Carnage hunts down his next victim, subjects them to a horrific, violent fate, then moves on to the next step in his quest for invincible power. The events here play out the same way, and that makes the comic as a whole seem like a pretty quick read. Since he’s an unstoppable force going up against puny humans, he gets the information he needs easily, and the carnage that follows isn’t particularly spectacular or memorable.
That’s not to say the narrative doesn’t have its good points, though, as there’s something compelling about the Patrick Bateman/Joe Goldberg-esque attitude with which Carnage deconstructs the superficial emptiness of his victims’ lifestyles. It’s fascinating to see how the civilians of the Marvel Universe, often reduced to all good or all evil, are portrayed with a realistic moral grey area. This quality is further enhanced by the outstanding art of Pere Perez, who fully exploits the individuality of the two human characters through appearance and body language, making it seem as though they have lived full lives outside of this one comic.
