Venom: Let There Be Carnage

In the bonus scene at the end of the first Venom movie, fans were teased with the special appearance of Cletus Kasady; a deranged serial killer who would one day fuse with the spawn of the symbiote dwelling in Eddie Brock. The fusion would result in the deadly Carnage, whose red body is 10 times more powerful than that of the black alien being, Venom.

In this sequel from 2021, Venom and Eddie Brock are on the outs. Eddie is tired of being bonded to an alien creature that craves human brains. It hasn't been all bad, as Venom has helped Eddie regain some of the prestige he lost when his life spiraled out of control resulting in losing his investigative reporting job and girlfriend at the same time. Venom is growing bored with a diet of chocolate and raw chicken. But above all else, Venom wants to be appreciated for the ways he's changed Eddie's life for the better, despite a very schizophrenic living arrangement that puts Brock just a bit on edge. It all comes to a head when Venom takes off in search of a new host.

Eddie thinks that his life is finally getting back to normal. Maybe he'll even reconcile with his ex, Anne. However, it seems that Eddie and Venom are destined for each other once again when Kasady escapes from death row, bonded to Venom's DNA as the rampaging Carnage, and threatening to kill Anne unless Venom and Eddie sacrifice themselves to him!

Cletus Kasady/Carnage were the big draws for fans to hit the theaters. I admit, I was thrilled about the prospect when Woody Harrelson popped up on screen in the first film. But really what made this such an entertaining movie was the dialogue between Eddie Brock and Venom. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I learned that Venom was voiced not by Jai Michael White or Khary Payton but Eddie Brock himself, Tom Hardy! When a single actor plays 2 roles on screen at the same time, there's always a time lag that ruins the illusion. Yet, here, they've managed to make it work so seamlessly. And the two characters are written so well. I'd subscribe to a podcast of just Brock and Venom going back and forth at it. They're so hysterical together.

Another plus for the sequel is the director. CGI and blue screen icon Andy Serkis. I for one applaud his efforts. Finally, they're was a comic book movie that didn't use slo-mo during the action scenes. Plus, Serkis really seemed to understand the whole dual nature of both Venom and Carnage with their subsequent hosts. Which makes sense considering the troubled nature of Serkis' most iconic starring roll: Gollum/Smeagol!

Take out the credits, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage is 90 minutes of fun. It's also got a heavy true crime vibe to it as Brock tries to uncover where Cletus Kasady hid the bodies of all his victims during his murder spree. Really, it we could have just had Eddie and Venom kicking the crap out of each other and the crime angle, I would have been just fine with it as the movie. Harrelson's character actually was lessened when he fuses into Carnage. 

That's right: I could have done without the Carnage. I'd be a bigger fan of this movie without Kasady becoming Carnage. Though I doubt very many audiences would have shown up for Venom: Let There Be Cletus. 

There remains 1 more Venom film. I honestly can't believe that Let There Be Carnage came out in 2021. I could have sworn this film was from 2023. I didn't go to a lot of comic book films during the height of COVID and in a way I'm glad. So many haven't been all that great. With ticket prices being so freaking expensive, I'd rather wait a while and see it later on for free. I think I would have hated this movie if I paid $12 to see it in the theater. Besides, I obviously didn't wait that long to see it, since I thought it only came out about 18 months ago.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Morbius

I'm not sure why 2022's Morbius got so much hate. The film isn't very long, clocking in at about 1 hour and 40 minutes. An origin story, it doesn't drag things out too badly. The plot is pretty cut and dry.  Jared Leto's acting is way better than his Joker from Suicide Squad. Matt Smith is fantastic. The visual effects are pretty good. With exception of just 1 fight scene, the dreaded slo-mo effects are virtually non-existent in the movie. In fact, it's a pretty fast paced action horror movie that seems more on par to star Wesley Snipe's hybrid vampire hunter, Blade than being a Sony Pictures film set in the Spidey-verse. 

So why am I not singing it's praises? Mainly, because I was so bored with this movie.

I DVR'd Morbius last Thanksgiving. I had passed on going to see it in theaters because of how much hate the movie was getting in the reviews as well as my social media feeds. Going to the movies has gotten so expensive, if it's not something I'm thrilled to watch, I'm not going to suggest my godson and I go out to see it. I tried watching it during the holiday break. Then again at Christmas until finally finishing it yesterday. I just couldn't get into it.

The story of Morbius is fairly simple. Guy with a rare and crippling blood disorder becomes a doctor in hopes of curing himself. Using vampire bat DNA, Dr. Michael Morbius develops a cure. Only, it turns him into a living vampire. One who must consume blood in order to live; with all of the powers and none of the weaknesses of the traditional vampire. 

It all sounds a lot like the story of the Batman nemesis Man-Bat. It also sounds very similar to the origin story of another Spider-Man villain, the Lizard, who's work with iguana DNA in hopes of restoring his missing arm instead transforms the scientist into a rampaging reptile! While all 3 of these characters are certainly tragic figures, what separates Morbius from the others is that as far as I know, he's never been cured of his secondary affliction. To this day, Morbius struggles with the endless blood lust that boils inside of him, preventing him from becoming full vampire. 

If I had my choice to be able to affordably own the first comic book appearance of the Lizard, Man-Bat or Morbius, I'd choose Morbius every time. His role in the Legion of Monsters and Midnight Sons has made him such a bad ass character. Plus, he's got such a freaking awesome appearance and super cool looking costume design by legendary Gil Kane. For some reason, that level of excitement just didn't transfer very well onto the screen for me.

There's 2 extra scenes. I had to search for them on YouTube as the channel I recorded the movie from omitted them. Those 2 scenes piqued my interest into the potential of a Secret Six movie finally coming to fruition. However, I'm starting to think that if you can't use your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the film, there's really no point for these movies. A good villain can sell tickets. But if he doesn't have a greater hero to battle, it won't be entertaining. 

In other words, despite being a fan favorite character, not every Marvel based friend or foe deserves their own movie. Maybe it's time for Sony to let Spider-Man remain at the House of Mouse along with all his amazing friends...

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Darkhawk Annual #3 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The character of Darkhawk is very similar to Captain Marvel, when he was bonded to Rick Jones. 

In Captain Marvel #17, Rick Jones finds the Nega-Bands, which are used by Mar-vell to increase his super strength and other heightened abilities. When activated, Jones would switch places with Mar-vell who was for a time trapped in the Negative Zone. Thankfully, a protective bubble would prevent Rick from getting annihilated from Annihilus and the scores of other fiends that occupy the Negative Zone during these switcheroos. Meanwhile, both Mar-vell and Rick Jones share a telepathic link during their interconnected period.

Jump ahead to March, 1991 for the first issue of Darkhawk. New York teen Chris Powell discovers a magical amulet. When used, the bauble allows Chris to switch places with the android Darkhawk, who normally resides in an advanced starship located in a dimension known as Null Space. When switching places, Chris could control Darkhawk, even summoning an arsenal of weapons and gadgets housed on Darkhawk vessel. 

When the third annual of Darkhawk hits stands in August, 1994, Chris Powell and Darkhawk have discovered a way for the two to operate as one as well as separately without either having to be stuck in the other dimension. Just like Rick Jones and Captain Marvel were able to do permanently after aiding the Avengers in a battle with the Super-Adaptoid.

In the title story ' Future Shock', Darkhawk is fighting with arch -enemy, Dreamkiller while Chris Powell is mending his strained relationships with family and friends. At one point, Chris is sent to the store for ice cream when a descendant of Dreamkiller known as Damek is sent from the future to avenge the humiliations both Powell and Darkhawk have imposed on his ancestor. Eventually Damek teams with his very distant relative, after freeing him from jail. But when Damek sees the sadistic way Dreamkiller treats innocents, the descendant learns the truth and teams with Darkhawk and Powell to bring the real evil one down.

Three other stories comprise this annual.

Story number 2 teams Chris operating as Darkhawk with the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. This team up is a cyberpunk supernatural thriller in which Darkhawk must enter the internet to repair a breach computer researchers accidentally formed with the realm of the dread Dormammu! 

Chris Powell uses his Darkhawk abilities to solve the drive-by killing of a former high school classmate in the third tale.

The last story involves Savage Steel, an armored antihero who has had run ins with both Darkhawk and the Punisher. In his solo short story, Savage Steel tries to bust up the operations of a small time drug dealer by using the very teens that the thug tried to violently recruit as drug mules as Savage Steel's neighborhood watch.

Darkhawk and Chris Powell were created by Tom Defalco and Mike Manley. Neither of which contributed to this 64-page annual. 4 separate teams worked on the quartet of stories within, including Danny Fingeroth, Eric Fein and Jim Novak. Cover art by Andy Lanning.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #39 (An Annual) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 4

Ornaments representing Marvel Comics is next on our Advent. I start off with my favorite decoration. From Hallmark, this 2011 release is part ornament and part comic book. Some of the ornaments I adore most was a set of Little Golden Book ornaments from the mid-80s. These books were exact 2in x 2in replicas of some classic kids books that I adored as a kid. Well, the same thing kinda happens here.

The ornament boasts a replica to the cover of Avengers #4, which marked the resurrection of the character into the Silver Age of comics. I just love how Hallmark has Cap. literally leaping off the page. Then inside there are several pages that reprint Earth's Mightest Heroes and their first encounter with the revived World War II hero.

After Captain America, my next favorite Marvel property is the Fantastic Four, Marvel's First Family. Unfortunately, a quick Google search doesn't seem to uncover any ornaments starring the whole team. There's a couple made of the Human Torch. But they just look hokey. So I chose this early 2000s miniature set from Hallmark. Spider-Man, The Thing, The Hulk and Wolverine at one time or another were members of the FF. I guess technically this counts. One of the cool things about this ornament is that you hang the 6 heroes individually or you can combine the bases for one deluxe ornament. 

Spider-Man is another favorite of mine. If my wife didn't hate spiders so darn much, I would have tons of Spidey stuff all over my house. One of my favorite ornaments is of Spider-Man hanging upside with his webs. It's such a beautiful piece. But then I saw an ornament that looked just like it only instead of webs, the wallcrawler is using Christmas lights. Well, I had to pick that one instead! It's also from Hallmark, dated 2019.

Hallmark doesn't have the monopoly on great Marvel tree decor. Pottery Barn has an adorable set of hand stitched felt replicas of Black Panther and Spider-Man. Disney offers a resin ornament of Nick Fury. While this is of Nick Fury Jr and not of his dad, the former WWII Sargent, I like this one because he's decked out in the classic blue and white SHIELD uniform. Lastly, I really dig this painted wooden ornament for sale on musicdope80s.com. It's of the Hulk's head, adorned with a Santa hat. I think the image is taken from a classic work by John Romita or Sal Buscema. 

Marvel Comics Presents #143

After wrapping up several multi-part stories, MCP #143 is poised to introduce 4 all new tales. But things are a bit different in this issue. Instead of 3 multi-part stories and a one-shot tale, all 4 segments in this issue are supplemental chapters to the Marvel cross-company story arc 'Siege of Darkness.'

Lilith, the mother of Demons is launching an all-out attack on the Marvel Universe. In order to take over the world, she must first rid the world of its supernatural defenders. In order to do this, Lilith summons the Lilin, her satanic spawn of super-powered demons!

A lot of action has already transpired in the pages of titles such as Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider. I don't have those issues, nor have I read them prior. So forgive me if I don't have all the details 100% accurate.  

Johnny Blaze is alive! Along with Danny Ketch and the new Spirit of Vengeance, aptly named Vengeance, Blaze is separated from the forces mustered by Doctor Strange. It's kinda fortuitous as the trio of hellraisers learn that there's a traitor in the midst of heroes referred to as the Midnight Sons.

Elsewhere, Jack Russell attempts to rescue a group of trick-or-treaters who have been kidnapped by Lilin. The Scarlet Witch learns that demons can also exist in digital form. Rounding things out, the Devil-Slayer, Eric Payne, fights a duo of demons- baby Lilin called Infinks as well as the damning call of the bottle.

Everything that transpires in this issue as well the couple of issues is all going to refer to the 'Siege of Darkness' story line that introduces Marvel's Midnight Sons imprint. As mentioned previously in other reviews, I read these issues months prior and am just now getting caught up. As the Midnight Sons thing hasn't been something to pique my interest, my forthcoming reviews will probably be less than stellar. It's a lot harder to explain a bunch of vignettes that may or may not offer anything to the story than a quartet of stories that are split up into multiple chapters.

I think the overall concept is intriguing. And there's a bunch of differing characters being used. No Wolverine! No Iron Fist! But 3 times as many Ghost Riders! But this issue of MCP is what comic fans would consider a supplemental money grab as the segments don't really do anything to move the overall plot along. Well, maybe that Spirits of Vengeance chapter does with its revelation of a rat in the midst of Doctor Strange's group of heroes. But it's such an insignificant bit of information that otherwise could have been included elsewhere.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #53

I've really not been a fan of the Billy Mumy/Miguel Ferrer Comet Man story. Maybe the domestic violence storyline that runs through the plot hits too close to home. Maybe it's just not that good. Well, I can't dog on the finale. There's a satisfying but eerie twist that was thrilling, unforgettable and unsettling. 

The B-lister aqua-hero Stingray debuts in this book with the opening chapter of a 4-parter. I did not know that the character had ties to the Sub-Mariner arch-villain, Tiger Shark. They're brother-in-laws! It's definitely got promise!

There's also a one-and-done starring Black Widow and Silver Sable. The two femme fatales battle it out on the Eiffel Tower in order to lay claim to a former Nazi war criminal. Widow's working for SHIELD. Sable is working in the employ for some other international law enforcement agent. A flip of the could decide who claims the prize.

Plus, Wolverine attempt to reform his fallen protege Wild Child comes to an end. The ending is far from unexpected. But I did not expect to be such a fan of it. 

4 superb segments in an anthology series that has had more misses than hits.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #15

The Colossus saga 'God's Country' comes is just about to come to an end. This is a story that I've read several times. And it's like a roller coaster. First time I read it, I hated it. Time #2 was great. This go round, it was just meh...

The Black Panther story seems to be dragging on. This is only chapter 3 of a 25-parter! It's gonna be a long trip in South Africa is things don't pick up soon.

Jean Grey, The Morlocks and the Native American hero Red Wolf star in the other two stories in this issue. Both are forgettable. Meh, again...

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Arrgh! #2

Day 2 of my Halloween countdown reads is a 1975 humor book from Marvel. During the 70s, the House of Ideas had the idea to publish several comedy related titles. Crazy, perhaps the most famous of the releases, was a magazine kin to MAD and Cracked. Not quite 70s Not Brand Ecch spoofed the company's super heroes. Aptly titled Spoof was designed to poke fun at TV and movies. And then there was Arrgh!

Arrgh! took on horror. Dracula. Frankenstein and his monster. King Kong. The Wolfman and the Mummy. Nobody in the realm of the creepy and crawly was safe from the likes of Roy Thomas, Marie Severin, Tom Sutton, Mike Sekowsky, Don Glut and others. When it came to this issue, unfortunately, the readers weren't safe either.

I own 3 issues of this series which lasted only 5 issues. I chose the beautifully silly cover penciled by EC Comics legend Marie Severin. It shows a trio of Universal Studios icons poking through the fourth wall into a theater of goofballs. I really thought I was in for a Bronze Age treat.

Once you open the pages, that great treat turns out to be a trick. The first story has a guy obsessed with late night horror movies on TV getting literally sucked into the action. It's a predictable story with bad jokes and lame parodies. For some reason, all of the characters have spoofed names which for characters in the public domain just doesn't make sense.

The middle tale had the most promise. A man living in a slum has a major roach problem. In the man's fervor to get rid of the bugs, he turns to a late night exterminator for help. Only there's a twist to just who this Orkin Man is there to get rid of. 

Lastly, in a very silly modern retelling of Frankenstein, the monster's criminal brain is replaced with a childlike brain. The prose was disjointed and the over-sexualized young girl that Frank becomes friends with was off-putting. 

Like I said, the middle story was the best one. It reminded me a lot of that story in Creepshow where the mean old man with a fear of roaches seals himself off in a hermetically sealed bunker. I wouldn't be surprised if known comic book lover Stephen King maybe read this Marvel story and was inspired by it. 

I wonder if that bug story with it's lack of humor was the reason that piece was the best. Tom Sutton (Vampirella) wrote all 3 stories here. And his just doesn't seem to have that right sense of humor. But his true horror take is quite good. I think if I hadn't accidentally spoiled the ending with a over thumb of the next to last page, that story would have been all that much better. Having the twist ending on the right and not on the left really harmed the reveal. You'd think EC vet Severin would've advised on that. But maybe the cover artist was only relegated to the cover.

An interesting look at an almost forgotten piece of Marvel Comics history that just fails at it's main premise: comedic horror.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Defenders of the Earth #1

Defenders of the Earth- it was the crossover I never thought possible. I had grown up reading the adventures of Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. But I wasn't aware that those heroes knew each other.  

Then in 1985, Marvel Comics teamed with King Features Syndicate to create a 65-episode cartoon that teamed these legends together again for the first time as the Defenders of the Earth. The cartoon wasn't easy to find in my area of the country. But the occasional Saturday or Sunday that I was able to watch it, I was hooked. 

I never did purchase the action figures, mostly because Galoob's bulky sculpts just didn't appeal to me. But I really loved the comic book! Published by Marvel's Star Comics imprint, the series was a continuation of the series. 

This first issue was written by Stan the Man. It's entirely based on the pilot episode. In it, Ming the Merciless has kidnapped Flash Gordon's wife Dale and son Rick. Ming sends some of his robot sentries to capture Flash, who has sought refuge in the mansion home of renowned magician Mandrake. Along with his bodyguard Lothar and his son LJ and young apprentice Kshin, Mandrake agrees to help Flash recover his family. 

To do this, the heroes need a master tracker. So, they go to deepest, darkest Africa where they recruit the Phantom and his daughter Jedda to assist them in locating Ming's base on the planet Mongo. 

Needless to say, the heroes find Ming and manage to destroy his fortress. But the rescue of Dale and Rick takes a dark turn that I wasn't expecting, especially for kids' cartoons in the mid-80s. But the ending sets everything up for Flash, Mandrake, Lothar, the Phantom and their progeny to form the Defenders of the Earth as Ming now has his eyes set on conquering our planet for his newest throne world.

This was an enjoyable blast from the past. Having Stan Lee as writer for the first issue was a pleasant surprise. The artwork by Alex Suviuk was beautiful and the story itself was very good. 

The Phantom seems a bit of an afterthought though. He's not really needed in the story. I'm wondering if King Features demanded that the Phantom be added to the team as by 1985, his comic strip was the only one of the three characters in high rotation nationwide. Compared to Mandrake and Lothar, you must admit that the Phantom has better name recognition. Still, the purple clad hero feels more like an bit player in this book instead of star player that he really was.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Uncanny Origins #3 (Family Comic Friday)

 

  The third issue of this 1996-97 series features yet another mutant! Big surprise there... 

   The star this time around is one Warren Worthington III- AKA the Angel. Though at the time of this issue's publication, Warren's going around as Archangel, a sort of Angel 2.0, after he is upgraded by the villain Apocalypse. 

   There was lots of new and exciting stuff included in this origin story, including Warren's time as the Avenging Angel prior to becoming an X-Man, along with his first encounter with the group. Of the three issues I have read so far, this is the only one that features to some degree a character's early and later life history. 

   I'm sure that has a lot to do with Angel becoming Archangel as I mentioned prior. However, there was one problem I had with this story. It's explained how Warren's feathery wings were destroyed by fire. Despondent, the mutant hero goes to Apocalypse in an attempt to regain the ability to fly. The evil scientist bonds new metallic wings to Warren's body and the former X-Men became, albeit briefly, an enforcer for Apocalypse. 

   Yet, by the end of this issue, Archangel is again a good guy but while still genetically enhanced, he no longer has the metal wings. They are once more wings made of feathers. But it's never mentioned how Archangel underwent this change! If you are going to present us with a characters history and you make important changes such as the ability to regrow limbs- or wings- you've got to explain it; even if it's just a tiny thought balloon or caption. That's Good Writing 101!

   This series still amazes me with its Batman: The Animated Series style artwork. But there are still some kinks to be worked out in crafting an in-depth origin story that explains all of the vital facts needed to present a concise but accurate origin story. A true bargain bin hidden gem that is perfect for comics fans of all ages!

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Excalibur : Mojo Mayhem

WORTH CONSUMING!

Claremont is a genius, as usual. 5 out of 5 stars. It’s way fun. Excalibur is in a caliber unto itself. One of the best of the series. Check it out.