Venom by V and Ewing vol. 2: Deviation

The previous volume showed us that this new “Venom” series is actually going to be two different stories in one title.  You’ve got Dylan and the Venom symbiote’s adventures in the present day written by Ram V, and Eddie Brock’s adventures through the timestream from Al Ewing.  It’s not a bad approach as both stories have intersected at multiple points over the course of these two volumes, making it clear that the two writers are working off the same plan.  The problem is that one of them is doing a much better job of it than the other.

It might seem obvious given how much I’ve raved about him in the past, but it’s Ewing who has been delivering the goods so far in “Venom.”  V’s work here isn’t bad, just predictable and familiar.  What else can you say about the two issues he writes here which involve Dylan and Venom hiding out with an old biker at his bar and getting mixed up in the power struggle between him and a rival gang.  There are some obvious life lessons being taught to the character here and things don’t get interesting until the end when the evil symbiote Bedlam shows up to beat on our protagonists… and we find out who he really is.

That’s all part of Ewing’s issues as they take Eddie all the way to the 602nd Century, for a meet-up (or is it a reunion) with Kang the Conqueror, and back and further again as we find out the full extent of Meridus’ plans.  His laziness is downright malevolent here as we learn that all he really needs to do is to let Eddie do his thing and causality will handle the rest.  It’s a trip trying to keep the story’s time-travel logic straight, yet it’s worth it when you realize that the writer is offering up even more payoff here from his setup in the previous volume and see the hope presented at the end.  This leaves me feeling even more involved with the direction of the story, and its excellent artwork from Bryan Hitch, even if Dylan’s adventures aren’t nearly as interesting as his dad’s yet.