The Creators – Al Ewing & Ram V – Writers, Bryan Hitch – Artist, Andrew Currie – Inker, Alex Sinclair – Colours, Clayton Cowles – Letters

The Players – Venom (Dylan Brock), Eddie Brock (King in Black), Meridius

The Story – The status quo has changed – as has the creative team and it comes with a warning.

The Take – After the epic that was the Immortal Hulk, Al Ewing tackles another monster with the help of Ram V and Bryan Hitch in the form of Venom, a character with a long and storied history as of this point now but they do not look back, instead forging ahead with a new tale that finds their future uncertain. With this issue, Venom is now Dylan Brock, son of Eddie and still a kid and a kid with a lot of power at his fingertips now. Eddie Brock is now the King in Black, god of the Symbiotes and he uses his newfound status to aid the galaxy in any way he can, partially to make up for the damage that the previous monster who held his mantle had caused. It is while discharging this duty that he receives a warning, a message from the future bathed in blood telling him that he will not hold his crown long and those he cares about are in danger – including his son on Earth. As for Dylan, Ewing and V paint him as a troubled child, getting into fights at school and missing his dad which is where most of his behaviour can probably be traced back to. Good to see is that the rest of the symbiotes that were present during the King in Black event, at least Seeker that is, have not been forgotten and will play a part in the book, though as to how big remains to be seen, this being the first issue and all. The artwork by Hitch is solid, Andrew Currie’s inks adding a bit of refinement to the lines Hitch puts down and the book looks great. Factor in this story which hooks the reader in immediately and it turns out to be a very solid start to this latest run. It would not be a bad thing if the book went a touch darker in terms of content but overall, there is nothing that could be considered a negative and moving forward with a second issue should be an easy decision for readers.

Worth It? – Yes.