Queen In Black: Venom Unchained #2 (Marvel Comics)

Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the 2nd issue of Queen In Black: Venom Unchained from Marvel Comics!

Both Hela AND Knull have their sights set on Earth and it’s going to take everyone to stop them. However one person who think’s they can put a stop to all this is none other than Eddie Brock! So just what does he have planned? Let’s jump into it!

Credit: Marvel Comics // Queen In Black: Venom Unchained #2 by Charles Soule (Writer), Juanan Ramirez (Artist), Erick Arciniega (Color Artist), VC’s Travis Lanham (Letterer), Leinil Francis Yu & Guru e-FX (Cover)

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

The Story

The issue picks up right where the first one left off, with Sleeper (yes, THAT Sleeper…the symbiote) coming face to face with Eddie Brock. It’s a match made in….somewhere, because it leads to a result you’d expect and should know if you’ve been keeping up with the Queen In Black story to this point. Eddie Brock is back in control of a symbiote, and the symbiote is ready and willing to help him if he helps it. “You help me, I’ll help you…” is the promise made, with some caveats attached of course, but the caveats don’t matter to Sleeper who agrees.

Things from there lead to all out chaos, because let’s not forget we’re in The Raft. And Eddie being in control of a symbiote inside of The Raft is not going to go unnoticed. I really liked the way Charles was able to lay the story out and provide some context of how exactly Eddie was able to escape. The action sequences in the issue are great and the conversation between Eddie & Sleeper is particularly interesting to read given what Eddie’s been through lately. Could this lead to a change for him? Maybe, but time will tell.

The Artwork

Juanan Ramirez & Erick Arciniega are in charge of the artwork for the issue and they did an incredible job. They really do a great job conveying the overall dark tone of the issue in a very effective way with the artwork. They did a great job making it feel like you’re actually there and feeling what Eddie feels with the artwork. I also loved how the visceral the artwork was and wasn’t afraid to pull punches. When you’re dealing with a symbiote, it isn’t going to be a clean experience and the artwork did a great job showing that.

Overall Grade: 9/10

A fantastic follow up from Charles Soule together with spectacular artwork make this an issue you can’t miss out on!