Carnage, Vol. 1: The One That Got Away

Carnage (2016)

by Gerry Conway, Mike Del Mundo (Cover Art), Mike Perkins (Artist)

Collects Carnage #1-5 & material from All-New, All-Different Point One #1.

The sickest symbiote of all is back, and the result is gonna be Carnage! Cletus Kasady has renewed his killing spree, and the FBI is following the trail of bodies. They think they're ready: They have the latest sonic tech, and a specialist team including military hero/astronaut John Jameson and a reformed Eddie Brock! And when they pursue Carnage into an abandoned coal mine, the trap is set — but is it for him, or for them? As the walls close in, things get hairy for Jameson, and Brock itches to unleash his own monstrous other half: Toxin! A symbiotic smackdown is on the cards — but who will come out on top? Meanwhile, the Darkhold Cult has its own plans for everybody's favorite psychopath — and that can't mean anything good! All-New! All-Different! All killer no filler!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Horror, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2016

About the author

Gerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he is known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Serial killer, Cletus Kasady + piece of Venom, alien symbiote = Carnage

Jerk face Eddie Brock – Venom, alien symbiote = Toxin

John Jameson, astronaut and son of J. Jonah Jameson + Moon trip + cursed Godstone = Man-Wolf

Carnage + Toxin + Man-Wolf = Good times!

WTF! Nobody said anything about Math!!

Carnage is on the loose and the FBI want to capture him, using one of his almost-victims as bait.



Team Carnage includes John Jameson, who knows how to use some new sonic device, and Eddie Brock, who can be transformed into Toxin. Brock has been known for his violent tendencies and Jameson has that werewolf curse going for him. A stable team, no?

Plus some FBI guys.



The FBI sets up the trap for Carnage near some abandoned mine somewhere in West Virginia, mountain mama, so nothing bad will happen, yet, something goes horribly wrong; otherwise, it would be of very little entertainment value. Throw in the Darkhold book and some sort of Satanic thing and it’s game on, True Believers!



Satanic worshiping dudes + Carnage = Man Wolf/Toxin



The FBI guys?



Holy crap, you need some more.

24 FBI guys – 22 FBI guys = 2 FBI guys

Bottom Line: This could have been terrible, but Gerry Conway, who’s been around for decades and who literally killed Gwen Stacy, summons up the chops to make this one a fun, fast-paced tale. Evocatively creepy artwork helps sell this one. Turn off your sociopathic leaning brain (or better yet leave it on) and enjoy.

Three and a half stars.



I’ll have what he’s having.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storyline: 3 stars
Artwork: 5 stars

Read as single issues (rent by a friend)
Re-read in hardback volume (purchased :D)

Not Gerry Conway's best storyline, but artworks and covers are really awesome!





And for the joy of we old marvel zombies the Darkhold is back and...



John Jameson is Man-Wolf again!!!! Woohooooohhhh!!!!

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cletus Kasady/Carnage discovers there was a sole survivor to his first mass murder so he decides to finish the job - except she’s posing as a mine supervisor in West Virginia as bait for the FBI lying in wait. Will the Feds finally capture Carnage? Of course not but Marvel would like to pretend there’s some tension to this pap!

About the only thing I like about this forgettable load of tosh is the concept of soldiers hunting Carnage in a disused, crumbly old mine - it’s very Alien. That and the covers were awesome. But Gerry Conway doesn’t do anything fun with the setup and the comic is a total snoozefest. Carnage fights the unimaginatively-named Man-Wolf (J. Jonah Jameson’s astronaut son) and Toxin, Eddie Brock’s latest symbiote incarnation.

It’s like the Itchy and Scratchy theme song: they fight, they bite, they bite and fight and bite, bite, bite, bite, fight, fight, fight, the Stupid Symbiote Show! Boring, uninteresting, and a total waste of time, I wouldn’t recommend this comic to anyone. Check out Carnage USA and even Deadpool Vs Carnage for better Carnage reads instead.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was OK. I quite enjoyed the horror movie vibe and the story wasn't awful or anything. It was nothing special, though.

The artwork was competent but lacking any real flair... and I know Gerry Conway can do better than this. By the last issue I was almost hoping for a gratuitous Spider-Man cameo to liven things up.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Spider-Man writers comes in to pen Carnage. This isn't so much a Carnage book as it is about the supporting cast of characters trying to catch him. The story take place in a collapsed mine and gives off an Aliens vibe. Mike Perkins art sets the mood perfectly. Throw in the Marvel version of Cthullu, (The Darkhold) and you've got yourself a winner.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerry Conway for the win!

This is badass. Imagine crazy Lovecraftian lore mixed with Alien, mixed with all the past Carnage shit. It’s awesome.

Mike Perkins’ art is perfect for this book. The story is action packed, scary and dark.

I pretty much always enjoy these Carnage centric books. This one is no different. It’s a horror comic through and through.

Definitely worth reading.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

I enjoyed this one a little better than most readers it seems. This was a pretty cool horror story that reminded me a lot of the film ALIENS, but instead of aliens we had Carnage, and instead of outer space the story was set underground. One victim survived Kletus Casady's first ever massacre, and he wants to change that. So that victim is used as bait in order to capture Carnage, but we find out there's other things going on as well.

We also have a cult that worships the Darkhold (pretty much the Necronomicon of the Marvel Universe) that thinks Carnage is the fabled "Red Slayer" that will bring back the elder god Chthon. Throw in Eddie Brock with the Toxin symbiote,the Man-Wolf (yes, we get Carnage vs. Man-Wolf!) and some really nice artwork and things come together nicely.

Comics with villains as the lead never seem to really catch on, but this was a good start.

[Travis Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little better than i expected but not much. Carnage is Cletus Kasady a deranged killer has the symbiote Carnage now. He is lured to a mine with the attempt to capture him but some old friends show up including Eddie Brock (old venom now toxin). It starts off great, it has a serious tone and almost doesn't feel like a marvel book at all. mid way it slows down a bit and the end just doesn't live up to the start really for me. The art is pretty good it has a grit to it with lots of darker colors used. I will check out volume 2 but not hoping for much

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, how I've missed Carny!

It's good, starts interesting and creepy and all around how Carnage is supposed to be. Real dark at first and it really reminds you of a horror/mystery scifi film along the Alien lines, but instead for an Alien it's Carnage!

Artwork is also great.


Part of my Carnage reading order and my road to King in Black reading order.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gotta hand it to Gerry Conway, the dude still has a knack for taking characters beyond the 2nd dimension they usually inhabit with mediocre writers. I actually find Eddie Brock intriguing here - he’s self-aware, manipulative, motivated, and do-I-trust-him-or-don’t-I is all over the pages.

And damn but I actually don’t hate Kletus Casady in this one - “Bunch of guys in robes ‘round an altar - of course there’s a prophecy.” That like alone is better than all the lines written for Kasady in the past put together!

The continued escalation of symbiote mythology is not completely unwelcome - now we learn they’re prophesied in some ancient texts - but at some point this is going to be too much. Like, what happens when we learn they created the multiverse, are the material from which each universe is composed, and every law of physics is actually the result of symbiotes ducking? What then?

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume of Carnage's solo series delivers exactly what you'd expect: a whole lot of murder. His typical M.O. is on full display as he finds himself trapped in a deep, dark cave, pursued by FBI agents – including Eddie Brock, sporting the Toxin symbiote (the origins of which aren't quite clear, but we'll roll with it).

This volume is a fun, albeit gruesome, read. Carnage often struggles to carry his own serious storylines due to his over-the-top nature, making it hard to take most of his adventures seriously (with Absolute Carnage being a notable exception). That said, you could do far worse than this series. The dynamic between Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady is always entertaining, and the art is quite good. Overall, it's a solid 3 out of 5.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting a bit tired of Marvel's symbiotes lately, but had this on my TBR pile from the public library, so I read it anyway. The art isn't bad and the story has potential, but unfortunately, it's largely unrealized potential.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story doesn't excel at anything, really. It also makes the mistake of feeling like an Aliens story, so the author doesn't take advantage of the originality of the main character. Kasady is a serial killer and a proper madman, but he almost feels tame compared to other instances. Typical of an Aliens story, most of the focus is on the secondary characters, with Carnage getting a lot less screen time if you don't count the battles.

Manuela Calderon is the only survivor of Kasady's first massacre. She offers to help the FBI capture him. They intend to use army-grade sonic cannons to separate the symbiote from its host. They also have John Jameson, secretly Man-Wolf, on the team and Eddie Brock, the former host for Venom and the current one for Toxin.

Plan A is a bust when the ground under Kasady collapses under him because of the sonic cannon blast, plunging him into the deeper tunnels. Calderon's team must follow him down. Unknown to them is Gleason's obession with a prophecy that involves Carnage.

Carnage cuts through the FBI agents like a hot knife through butter until John Jameson turns into Man-Wolf and joins the fray. Later on Manny resorts to releasing Toxin to continue the mission. Neither are able to stop Carnage.

Carnage is told about the prophecy from Gleason and a group of cultists. The cultists believe his sacrifice will awake a creature named Chthon. Instead of dying from their assault, Carnage infects the cultists and gains control of their actions. He also develops an immunity to strong sound waves and gets away from his pursuers.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

W zasadzie nie spodziewałem się po Carnage'u niczego innego niż morderstw i innych symbiontów, co tu de facto dostaje w punkt, bo czego się można spodziewać po zapatrzonym narcyzie-psychopacie, który zabija hurtowo ludzi spotkanych na drodze. Szkopuł w tym, że Carnage traci na "ugładzeniu", bo nie jest to tak brutalny komiks, jak na tę postać. Co prawda dzieje się sporo, ale raczej poza kadrem lub jest to urywane.

Uważam, że przy takiej postaci można sobie pozwolić na nieco dosadniejsze podejście, ale głównym wektorem świadczącym o jakości w tym przypadku jest fabuła i kreska. Fabularnie bywa naprawdę głupio, bo nie wyobrażam sobie, aby nie przetestować sprzętu przed użyciem, zwłaszcza gdy ma się do czynienia z takim okazem, jakim jest Cletus Kassady. Zresztą to nie koniec absurdów, choć konwent wyznawców starego bóstwa na dnie pewnej jaskini (wygodne) to akurat mały pikuś...

Jestem ciekaw co będzie dalej. Udział Eddiego Brocka w innym "wdzianku", czy młodszego Jamesona, który cierpi na pewną przypadłość uważam akurat za udany. Co do kreski to mam mieszane odczucie, bo raz postacie wyglądają fajnie, a raz twarze wyglądają jak na obrazach Salvadora Dali'ego.

Nowy Carnage to niby nowe otwarcie, ale stare sztuczki. Dla fanów różnorodności w ofercie Marvela to pozycja idealna, zwłaszcza gdy już wymiotuję się na widok nazw Avengers itp. Szkoda tylko, że autorzy nie pokusili się o nieco mocniejszy przekaz.

[Trevor · Rating 2 out of 5]

An F.B.I. task force has been formed to hunt the alien serial killer Carnage. Using one of his escaped victims as bait, they intend to trap Carnage in an abandoned mine and kill him with sonic weapons. In case things go wrong, they have brought along two monsters of their own: John Jameson, the Man-Wolf, and Eddie Brock, bearer of the muzzled symbiote Toxin.

Unfortunately, things are going to go wrong. This mine was not chosen by accident. Down at the bottom of it, there is an ancient ornate door, that leads to a dark forgotten temple, the resting place of the Darkhold. This blasphemous tome speaks of a red slayer whose blood will wake the old god Chthon from his slumber. The cultists of Chthon have infiltrated the F.B.I. task force. They believe Carnage is this red slayer.

This started really good. It does the horror thing pretty well, landing somewhere between Aliens and Joe Hill's Locke & Key. Unfortunately, it doesn't know how to carry this into its climax and it ends with a big stupid brawl between Carnage and Toxin. Disappointing.

[Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

​​У 2015 році, Marvel вирішили, що пора дати Карнажу власний онґоїнґ. Сценаристом серії став Ґері Конвей, а художником Майк Перкінс. Тож давайте дізнаємося чи вийшло у них видати, щось хороше в сюжеті "The One That Got Away" який відбувався в перших п'яти номерах.

Зав'язка полягає в тому, що Клетус дізнається, що одна з його найперших жертв жива й вирішує виправити це непорозуміння. Однак виявляється, що це є пасткою агентів ФБР, які думають, що зможуть його з легкістю впіймати та нейтралізувати, але неочікувано все йде не по плану.

Сама арка, як на мене вийшла досить окейним середнячком. Мені сподобався місцевий сюжетний поворот з культом і Даркголдом, плюс було декілька прикольних сцен. Щодо самого Карнажа то він тут вийшов таким маніяком зі слешерів, й основний фокус тут більшу частину історії був не на ньому, а на групі яка на нього полює, в яку також входять Джона Джеймсон молодший та Едді Брок, який на момент виходу цієї серії був Токсином (окрема дяка Конвею за жарти про те, що Брок по суті був батьком та сином Карнажа одночасно). До речі про Брока, він тут як персонаж мені найбільше сподобалася, сцена з тим як він намагається вмовити Мануелу дати йому перетворитися в Токсина є моїм улюбленим моментом у цій арці. Щодо малюнку Перкінса то він загалом непоганий, плюс колоринґ Енді Троя задає горорну атмосферу.

Загалом перша арка Карнажа нехай і відчувається місцями трохи затягнутою, але у ній було декілька моментів які зуміли зацікавити й мені справді хочеться дізнатися, що ж буде далі.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carnage does his best imitation of a Xenomorph in this series, as he stalks a team in an abandoned coal mine.

The first few issues are actually really enjoyable just based on that premise. The "Alien" vibe works and Carnage's outbursts and speech are a good juxtaposition. It almost makes it more unnerving that this guy can be a silent killer like a Xenomorph, but instead tends to loudly and obnoxiously taunt you once you are caught.

However the book goes a bit off the rails for me in the final few issues as the pace gets really fragmented by a "ancient cult" sub plot that forces its way into the narrative. This book was doing great on its own without adding the extra twist, and whenever its "ancient cult" stuff.. its one of those things where, its been done so much, so if you are going to do it, make sure its something different and worth tossing the first half of the story out for.

But it isn't. Instead it kind of takes over the book and takes it in a different direction.

Hopefully the next volume can stay on course a bit more.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carnage is one of those weirder results of the 90s efforts to escalate things in the Spider titles, and he'll always feel like an artifact of that time period. This book was a weird effort to kick off a continuing series and I'm not quite sure what the goal was.

Conway had a vision, clearly, and he assembled an unusual crew to try to take Carnage down - one that included Eddie Brock (Toxin at the time) and the Jameson that sometimes turns into a "Man Wolf", which is the alien version of a werewolf.

The story had a bit more of a horror tone to it, including the oppressive nature of fighting the likes of Carnage in an underground mine system. There were times that maybe it wanted to become the Descent but couldn't quite go that far, but it still sorta worked.

It wasn't the worst Carnage story I've ever read but one that still felt rather narratively messy and impulsive at the same time.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am hit-or-miss when it comes to Carnage stories. He can be an excuse for writers to play in the somewhat rarified sandbox of extreme violence in the Marvel world outside of the Max imprint, so it can be easy to let that be the center of the story. Conway doesn't shy away from that at all here, but there's a definite classic horror/gothic horror vibe that I'm really enjoying (which is definitely helped by Jameson's inclusion in the story). I love the abandoned mine setting (again, classic horror) and what they discover at the bottom and its implications for the character as well as the humor of Brock constantly chomping at the bit to get into the fight. Conway does a good job of releasing Toxin at just the right time in the story, after a decent buildup of anticipation for the reader.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story. First off, I would have figured that this series would be deemed Parental Advisory due to the fact that Carnage is pretty violent. It was not but that did not stop the story from being more violent than one would have expected. Me personally, I do not know how long the Darkholm book has been around in the Marvel Universe but it was interesting to see it in play during this story. I am just ashamed that I am only now just reading this series compared to when I should have over one year ago. Carnage is definitely one insane and violent character and I am glad that this series start was able to reflect that.

[James Rodrigues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cletus Kasady discovers there was a sole-survivor from his first killing spree, and seeks to rectify that. Little does he know this is bait from the FBI, who want to capture the symbiotic serial-killer with the help of Colonel John Jameson as Man-Wolf and Eddie Brock as Toxin. There's great potential here for an atmospheric tale in a confined location, as the characters try to take down this villain, although it throws in some big-swings involving a third-party working for cultists. Less is more, and I think a more focused tale on people trying to bring down this monster would've been more effective.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carnage is definitely not a character that I think deserves his own solo title but this book centered more on the team gathered to take him down. Comics' legend, Gerry Conway, does a good job building that team. The book starts off more like a horror movie as Carnage is up to his evil best. The book then takes a turn and time will tell if its for the best or not. I enjoyed John Jameson here and what he was going through but Eddie Brock seems overly cliched and regressed from what I've seen of him. The new characters created were decent. Mike Perkins' art was really good. Creepy, violent, and dark. Overall, some dumb fun.

[Jake · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was terrible, almost a book version of the worst aspects of a Micheal Bay movie.

There is absolutely no plot, everytime you think something deeper is going to happen, or character development will happen, you will be disappointed.

Random characters, events, and happenings occur, seemingly just to create more absurd action sequences.

The cover of this drew me in, I thought maybe it would be a cool horror style volume focused on Carnage. Instead its a mish mash of bad action with no consequences because you care about literally no one in the story.

Huge disappointment

[Adan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do people still care about Carnage? He seems very much like a one-note character. The supporting cast includes John “Man-Wolf” Jameson and Eddie “Venom-no-wait-I-mean-Toxin” Brock, as well as FBI Special Agent Claire Dixon and private security expert Manuela Calderon, all of whom are trying to capture Carnage. But then there’s some cult stuff with the Darkhold and everything gets a little supernatural. But it was all pretty ho-hum, and I’m not really sure why I’m supposed to care.

[Eggs Benedictis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not Gerry Conway’s best work, but the comic had its moments. I really enjoyed the covers in this series. They remind me of 60s and 70s Italian horror movies or covers to pulp magazines. I also enjoyed the appearance made by man-wolf, that was fun. Overall though, this story lacked depth and failed to resonate with me. Don’t buy it, but if your library has it give it a try. Don’t have high expectations though.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts as ye olde villain book which is really about the people trying to catch the villain. The FBI are trying to catch Carnage and they use a survivor from one of Cletus Kasady's early murder sprees as bait. But, through a bit of questionable logic and coincidence, it turns out the foreman of the mining site where they set their trap has other plans for Carnage. Guest starring John Jameson and Eddie Brock.

The art is solid, a more realistic style. Carnage as a character is pretty flat.

[Bryan Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one, particularly the set up/first 2 issues. There’s a handful of plot twists in this, some worked and some didn’t. I thought the writing was generally well done, although they may have tried to do a bit too much with this story.
The art was great throughout. Would’ve liked a bit more close ups/detail in the faces since there were a lot of characters and some were dressed very similar.
I’m hoping what happened in the last issue has some impact on future stories.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carnage is a fairly polarizing villain, seen as either truly terrifying and a match for both Spider-Man and/or Venom or a reject born of the Extreme-addled '90s. Either way, this comic does have its fun moments and its coal mine setting does help evoke an atmosphere similar to Alien where the cannon fodder gun-toting soldiers are walking into the creature's lair.

[Menoedh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time Carnage story is filled with some nice plot twist for someone who's basically a noob in marvel comic like me. And then the hunt feels like a combo element of Xenomorph story and Dead Space cultism. Enjoying this arc a lot.

[Nicole Westen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was wondering if this was going to be more of an 'anti-hero' kind of story, but nope. Straight up crazy bad guy here. And it's kind of refreshing. Nothing against redemption story arcs, I actually really like them, but every now and then it's nice to see an unabashedly evil villain.