Spider-Man fans like to pretend the sky is falling all the time – ever since 2007’s “One More Day” ended Peter and MJ’s marriage – but lately things have honestly been pretty good. The Amazing Spider-Man is in the capable hands of Joe Kelly, giving readers some cool stories that blow anything from the Wells run out of the water. Venom has been better than it had any right to be, giving readers fun Mary Jane as a superhero stories, as well as loads of Paul slander. There have been some great miniseries and the latest Spider-event Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral has been a cool little yarn, even finally killing off Paul, Mary Jane’s husband and one of the most hated Marvel characters ever. However, all things must end and Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral – Body Count #1 puts the bow on the event.
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This one-shot from Charles Soule and Kev Walker gives us the final moments of the story, digging into the origin of new villain Torment. This issue is honestly a pretty great way to end this story. I walked into it expecting something mid at best, but got a pretty awesome villain-centric issue that just felt like the right way to end this story.
Rating: 5 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
| Soule reveals one of the formative events of a great new villain | |
| Walker’s art brings this story to life perfectly, capturing the chilling emotion of the story | |
| A well-paced page turner that keeps you completely interested the whole time |
Soule Digs Into the End of Torment
Charles Soule superhero books have never been my bag, so I was nervous about this one. While Soule’s indie and Star Wars work is pretty good to great, his DC and Marvel superhero books have been very hit or miss. His Daredevil and She-Hulk were good, but he was also was responsible for bungling the death and return of Wolverine and was the driving force behind the Inhumans books from 2016 to 2017. All of that said, Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral – Body Count #1 is a fantastic comic that surprised me with how invested in it I got. Giving the origin of a villain in the final part of their opening story is a bold choice and it pays off very well.
The issue starts out in the most eye-catching way possible, then goes back in time to give us a better day for Torment, talking to his latest victim. Soule nails this flashback sequence; I didn’t predict that it was going the way it did, which was a nice little surprise. I think another thing this story has working in its favor is that someone can actually just pick this book up because they think the cover is cool, read it, and get a complete story. It’s definitely a weird place to start, but it does work just as a single issue story. The ending works, too, because of the way the issue – and this story in general – builds up who Torment is and why he does what he does, teasing readers with what the future of the character could be. This is one of those rare flawless comics and it surprised to me no end.
Walker’s Art Shouldn’t Work for This Story but It Turns Out to Be Perfect for It
Kev Walker is an artist I do like, so I was excited to see his name in the credits, but after the first page, I wasn’t sure he’d be the right artist for the book. However, the rest of the issue showed me how wrong I was. Walker has been getting a lot of work lately with Marvel, and this issue shows why. His style doesn’t really seem like it should fit a story as grim as this one, but the pages quickly disabuse you of that notion. His expressive pencils and strong figure work end up fitting this story to a tee.
This isn’t a big fight comic, so you’re not going to get anything like that from it. What you will get is a well-rendered character piece and the art does so much heavy-lifting. The story hinges on the emotions of the moments within, and Walker does a fantastic job with that. His character acting is astounding and it really sells every scene to the reader. His rendition of Torment is gorgeously horrific; a lot of great artists have drawn him in this story, but Walker’s version really captures the kind of monster he is.
Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral – Body Count #1 was a surprising comic for me in the best possible way. It’s both a great way to end a cool event story and a spectacular single issue story. Soule and Walker could have turned in something a bit more standard and it would have been fine; instead, they knocked it out of the park.
Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral – Body Count #1 is on sale now.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics -
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