Venom #258 (Marvel Comics)
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the 258th issue of Venom from Marvel Comics!
In the aftermath of the Death Spiral storyline, there’s a lot left to be settled for a lot of folks. None more so than Peter Parker & Mary Jane Watson. A lot has changed between them and they haven’t had a chance to have a heart to heart conversation about it all. However they’re not the only ones, so what happens when Spider-Man has a talk with Venom? Let’s jump into it!
Credit: Marvel Comics // Venom #257 by Al Ewing (Writer), Carlos Gomez (Artist), Frank D’Armata (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer), Carlos Gomez & Frank Martin (Cover Artist)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
There is a LOT of unpacking to be done following the events of Death Spiral for Mary Jane Watson, and this issue covers a LOT of ground. Al Ewing took the story in this issue in a direction I didn’t expect but it was one that I think ended up working. There’s also some very memorable moments in this, including one panel that left me going “oh that isn’t good”.
The issue starts off in somber fashion with the funeral of Paul and the interesting conversation Mary Jane has with Eddie’s son Dylan Brock. The Death Spiral story was one that intertwined not just Peter Parker but also Mary Jane, Eddie & those that they loved and that includes Dylan. It feels like Al is doing some long term storytelling with Dylan that could be interesting to see how it plays out. Could the sins of the father follow the son? Only time will tell, but it’s a potential storyline that I would love to see played out.
There’s a very interesting conversation that’s had between Peter & Mary Jane in Central Park. Let’s face it, this was a conversation that needed to be had between the two. There has been a LOT that has happened between the two over the last couple of years and because of outside circumstances they just have not had the time to hash things out. This doesn’t go the way I thought it would, but it works. Peter’s relationship with Mary Jane, no matter how many ups and downs it goes through, is one that results in them being together in some fashion (be it friends or more). So to see it play out the way it did wasn’t the way I necessarily wanted to see it play out, it still worked incredibly well.
I also really enjoyed the last section of the issue and the development it did with the Venom/MJ relationship. Some questions get answered about the ending of Death Spiral. Is it what I expected to be revealed? Honestly, yeah. It makes sense to have it explained in that way plus it advances the storyline about the growing “relationship” between the two. Also there’s a certain part of their conversation that legitimately made be say, “oh that isn’t good!” You’ll know it when you see it, but historically it’s not a good development for the host.
There’s also the matter of the ending, which I found interesting. Is it the ending I expected? Absolutely not! Does it have me very interested to see where things go from here? Absolutely!
The Artwork
Carlos Gomez & Frank D’Armata are back on the artwork for this issue and it’s as good as you would expect. It’s one of the sharpest drawn comics you’ll read this week and the use of color is incredibly vivid. It has such a classic feel to it that long time fans of both Venom & Spider-Man will be sure to enjoy it.
Overall Grade: 8/10
Al Ewing closes the book on the Death Spiral story for Venom/MJ and sets things up for the future in a really great way. Together with artwork that is some of the best you’ll see this week, this is an issue you don’t want to pass up on.
