Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral - Body Count #1 (Marvel Comics)
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the FIRST issue of Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral - Body Count from Marvel Comics!
In the wake of the events of Death Spiral, there is a lot of questions left to be answered. Who was Torment? Where did they come from? Are they truly dead? Who dropped them off that building? So will we get those questions answered? Let’s jump into it!
Credit: Marvel Comics // Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral - Body Count #1 by Charles Soule (Writer), Kev Walker (Artist), Matt Hollingsworth (Color Artist), VC’s Joe Caramanga (Letterer), Cafu (Cover Artist)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
This story is coming at an interesting time, and admittedly I wasn’t quite sure why it was being done now. After all, the Death Spiral story is wrapped up and over with. Spider-Man is moving on to his next adventure, and while we don’t yet know the status of Venom & Carnage (time will tell) they’re likely moving on. However once I read through this story it made all the sense, and it had me excited to see what happens next.
The story starts out where the Death Spiral story left off, and that’s with Torment getting tossed off the roof of a building by Venom (or was it Mary Jane?) and going through the thoughts one probably has when you get tossed off a roof. Torment starts reminiscing on his past and we get a glimpse into just what made Torment into the monster he became. It’s an intriguing backstory and not one I would’ve expected if you asked me to give my guess before this issue.
We also get a reveal of who exactly set Torment on Peter Parker, and I won’t spoil who it was but it’s probably the least surprising reveal. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all but rather once you see who it is, it’s a “yeah…that makes sense” kind of reveal. There’s also the ending, and the hint that perhaps we haven’t seen the last of Torment.
The Artwork
Kev Walker & Matt Hollingsworth did a great job with the artwork on this issue. The use of color was simply spectacular and the way it progressively got darker and darker was just masterful. I love the horror feel it also gives, because while it’s not a full blown horror comic it does borrow the look & feel of one.
Overall Grade: 8/10
An incredibly well written story that offers an intriguing look into not only Torment’s past, but also their future. Charles Soule does it again with a villain’s origin in the Marvel universe, and together with artwork that is sure to amaze this is an issue you do not want to miss!
