[Read as single issues]
After a good few years of highly successful stories featuring Flash Thompson as Agent Venom, first on Earth and then as a member of the Guardians Of The Galaxy and his own series as a Space Knight, the Powers That Be have decided that Venom will now be back on Earth and rebond with Eddie Brock. But first, we get a six issue story featuring one of the least likeable characters I've ever met, Lee Price.
Lee is a damaged man; after spending time as an Army Ranger and suffering injuries that make 'normal' jobs difficult now that he has returned from service, he finds himself both part of the Black Cat's criminal underworld and the newest host of the Venom symbiote. In an interesting twist, Lee is the one exerting his influence over the symbiote, much to the symbiote's chagrin. The transition from Space Knight to this series is shaky (even with a bridging story in the recently released Venom #150), but at least the symbiote's new state of mind as a hero remains intact, even if Lee does his darnedest to break it.
The story is up and down for the most part, and the eventual reunion of Eddie Brock and Venom is a means to an end, but it's not particularly bad. The artwork is the real saving grace, as Gerardo Sandoval continues on from Space Knight as the ongoing artist here, his dark, sketchy, anime-like proportions a perfect fit for Venom's world.
Not the best, but a decent story that moves the Venom symbiote away from one familiar status quo to another. I do wonder if writer Mike Costa had more plans for Lee Price, but for now, I guess we'll never know.