Venom by Rick Remender: The Complete Collection, Volume 2

Venom (2011) (Collected Editions) #2-4

by Rick Remender (Writer), Rob Williams (Writer), Jeff Parker (Writer)

When a portal to Hell opens in the middle of Las Vegas, Venom must join Red Hulk, Ghost Rider and X-23 on a crusade to stop the spread of Hell on Earth. Can these tarnished heroes wrestle free of their own personal demons and band together to save the world in its darkest hour? Then, Venom faces a gauntlet of doom as Crime-Master unites Jack O'Lantern, the Human Fly, Toxin and more to destroy him! Crime-Master's diabolical plan brings war to Flash Thompson's family and friends - and in this war, there will be victims! Meanwhile, Venom joins the Secret Avengers, but what's left of Flash to join the team? Even with the symbiote under control, Flash's dark secrets put everything at risk...especially when the original Venom host, Eddie Brock, comes calling!

Collecting: Venom 13.1-13.4, 13-22

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Spider Man, Comic Book, Superheroes, Sequential Art

344 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 2015

About the author

Rick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. He is the writer/co-creator of many independent comic books like Black Science, Deadly Class, LOW, Fear Agent and Seven to Eternity. Previously, he wrote The Punisher, Uncanny X-Force, Captain America and Uncanny Avengers for Marvel Comics.

Reviews

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick Remender continues to give us the Venom goodies. It almost makes me want to continue reading Venom but I just know it won't be as good...is it?

So this volume is the second half of Rick's awesome run of a character you never would normally care about. The first few issues are kind of the over the top cartoony stuff I didn't love. It's Venom teaming up with a few other somewhat heroes like Ghost Rider and fight against some evil demon thingy. I dunno. These issues I kind of just breezed past because I didn't care for it. Once we get to Flash by himself it starts to show why this series is so good. Venom is dealing with the fallout of his father's death from the first volume plus dealing with Betty and then the Savage Six (think sinister six but after venom) come after his family and shit really starts to build up. By the end Venom finishes his mission and you feel it come full circle.

Good: The internal thoughts of Flash really keep this series high. I love hearing his thoughts and mindset with all this crazy shit going on. The fights are epic and sometimes really brutal. This ain't spider-man kids! Also the pacing once the first few issues are out of the way are amazing and really ends on a high note.

Bad: The first few issues are goofy and not a good jump on point. I mean you should read volume 1 first anyway, but the crossover event is something I could have lived without to be honest.

Overall I enjoyed the fuck out of this just like volume 1. Rick Remender actually made me LIKE Venom. How is that possible? Either way I don't think I'll ever love a venom series again so I'll keep this close to me and give it a very high 3.5, almost 4, out of 5.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of the Agent Venom concept.

[Peter Cino · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second part of this run is exciting for the whole book no fluff.

[Ioana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect to enjoy this even more, but I did.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of this volume is the Circle of Four storyline which presents the bizarre team up of Venom, Red Hulk, X-23 and Ghost Rider. The story is just one big battle against Hell, but as these things go, it's pretty fun. The rest of the book provides a little bit more depth as we get into Flash Thompson's mind and backstory in a loose series of issues in which he battles Crime-Master, Jack O'Lantern, and
the disgusting Human Fly as well as his inner turmoil. Love the over-the-top nature of the whole affair here but admire Remender's ability to ground it all in some emotional reality. Surprisingly good.

[Tomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out a bit mediocre but kicked into high gear in the second half. We start with Venom joining up with what is essentially a darker version of the New Fantastic Four. (Remember when Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider became the Fantastic Four? Well here we have Venom, Red Hulk, X-23 and a new Ghost Rider.) It was a fun little story with demons taking over Las Vegas with cameos by Dr. Strange and Hellstrom.
Next half of the book focused on the formation of the Savage Six comprised of a bunch of B list Spider-Man foes. In the extras, Remender describes how he enjoys writing B list characters, and it shows. He's turned Human Fly and Jack O Lantern into truly horrifying villains. The basic plot was nothing too original, nor was the finale, but it was a hell of a ride to get there. As we've seen many times, the villains learn the hero's secret identity so he has to fight like mad to protect his family and friends. What was interesting was seeing how badly Flash would screw up so many times putting the people he loves at risk, but still keep going. He's a deeply damaged character as documented most poignantly in the final issue of Remender's run where we see some of his traumatic and complicated history with his abusive father. Peter Parker may not have had the easiest childhood, but he sure didn't have a dad that would punch him in the nose for talking back. We see a hero in Flash that has every reason to be a villain, but in spite of the trauma and anger inherited from his father, he chooses to be an imperfect hero instead. And that is pretty inspiring.

[Juushika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Circle of Four is a boring arc--I appreciate the diversity in the new generation of superheroes, but that's not who I signed up to read about when I picked up a Venom comic and the ensemble cast leaves little time for more than the most basic distillation of each character's personal conflict. The second half of this omnibus follows up on the first volume's setup of Venom's arc, and it's as boring a resolution as possible for that predictable setup. It leans hard on the damsel in distress trope except for one unremarkable twist; Venom fails to grow, which is a statement in itself, but doesn't make for much of a narrative. In full transparency, I'm definitely burned out on American comics--but this failed to revive my interest.

[Ta0paipai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol 1 hooked me and I couldn't help but buy Vol 2. But at first I regretted it. The first arc, though fun, lacked depth and dragged. Venom teams up with other heroes to battle the forces of hell. This over-the-top story is a big departure from Vol 1's serious, low-key tone. Luckily, the next arc returns to form and squashed any regrets I had. It's unfortunate the arc was put at the end of the Vol instead of the start, it would be more enjoyable in that order. But anyone who loved the previous volume need not fear, sit back and enjoy the opening craziness (for its craziness), you'll get the to the comic you hoped for soon!

[Crazyjamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Circle of Four is certainly the weakest part of the entire run, but once that is over this just clicks back into the classic standard of the first half of the run. The character of Flash is fantastically complex, and the second half is about him as much as, if not more than Venom, but the interplay with Crime Master, Jack O Lantern and even some of the peripheral villains is really very good. The Savage Six storyline feels like a very good and satisfying conclusion to this run. Save for Circle of Four, which is fine even if it isn’t great, this is the definitive modern Venom run for me.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this series went out a little weakly. While the first volume started building up the character, this second half made Venom get a little too involved in crossovers and team-ups and lost some of what the character interesting. The finale partly redeems the series, but it's a shame Remender didn't let the character carve out a pocket of Marvel's huge world for himself.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remender created small stories hat are relatable, key to any arc in the Spider-Man world. He Arcs themselves are mostly forgettable in this volume, but the characters stick with you. There is more than any arc’s fair share of drama and angst, but that is the character, his life has been a series of steep ups and downs. Agent Venom had to win me over, and it did…

[Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great run all around. It's nice to see a series that focuses on the character just as much as the costume. Art was great all around. The crossovers were handled perfectly, managing to balance character development and juggling of older threads in the mix.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 4.5

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collects Venom (2011) issues #13, #13.1-#13.4 and #14-22

I thought this was a little better than some of the stuff that came before it in this series, but it still isn't a favorite of mine.

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really my cup of Tea :/

[Enigmaticblue · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half was fairly incoherent, and I really didn't care for it. The second half more than made up for it, though. I think the ending is going to stick with me for a long time to come.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Circle of four story at the start was terrible but the rest of the book is awesome what a great conclusion to Remenders run.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venom

Vol. 2 was even better than the first. The stories are great, artwork too. I can even relate to having a father like Flash.

[Tom Watkins]

My favourite venom run so far.

[Gosha The Consumer of Comics · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really liked Agent Venom design, that’s it. And Eddie Brock arc was just bad.

[Reed Benson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the Agent Venom I was looking for. He was way too much of a pushover, always on the ropes against goofy villains like Jack O'Lantern. He's a soldier in a super alien symbiote. He should be systematically taking villains apart. Sure, he's got conflicts with the symbiote, but those should really have only come up after at least some cool super black-ops soldier stuff.

Also, why is Flash lying to the Avengers? That doesn't seem wise or practical.

Meanwhile, Flash Thompson's love life is a little too similar to Peter Parker's was before Mary Jane discovered his secret identity. He's constantly lying to Betty Brant to "keep her safe," yet he never commits to breaking up with her because he's still pining for her. I'm personally tired of superheroes trying to balance double lives in this manner.

Now, I found Flash's strained relationship with his abusive drunk father a little more compelling, so I'll give points for that. And the art was good. But overall, I was disappointed in this character and these stories.

DISCLAIMER: I read this in between catching up on several DC Rebirth books, so I may not have been in much of a "Marvel mood." Also, I skipped the first story arc of this volume (dealing with Venom, Red Hulk,

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the first volume, this one seemed to drag on. I guess since I read these comics for Venom the symbiote and not the person, this one was a little lame in that department. Stupid secret Avengers doping up the symbiote. Boring. Plus the beginning arc with Hell in Las Vegas went on for way too long. Sigh, oh well. Maybe I'll turn to the older Venom comics for wicked, symbiote, antics.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dug Remender's run. He did some cool stuff with character. Especially liked the Jack-o'-Lamtern rivalry he built up.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brutal. So brutal it's hard to say I was genuinely fond of the read but it's compelling.