Mary Jane Watson is the New Venom...Okay?

Venom was originally Eddie Brock (after Peter Parker rejected the alien suit and it sought revenge). However, at this point, so many people have been Venom or shared their body with a symbiote that it might be easier to make a list of who hasn't even bonded with one. Eddie Brock is currently working with the Carnage symbiote so as to keep its bloodthirsty urges in check and for a while his son, Dylan, was bonded with the Venom symbiote but after some assorted comic events, it became a mystery who the newest Venom was. That's been the plot of the latest ongoing series, "All-New Venom," which introduced a variety of, "Suspects," but within the fifth issue this week, it will be revealed it wasn't anybody on our radar. Nope, it's Mary Jane Watson, because why not?

I'm a little befuddled why Mary Jane would want to bond with Venom considering when he first emerged on the scene (bonded with Eddie Brock back in his earliest appearances) he harassed/terrified/otherwise was pretty awful towards her and Peter Parker. I guess she's come around on the idea of sharing a body with a symbiote, however, as it has been confirmed that, "All-New Venom," #5 is coming out this week and will confirm she is the latest iteration of the anti-hero (he quit being a baddie a good number of decades ago). I'm not mad at this reveal or particularly excited. I'm fine with it. I read the news and said, "Okay," with a bit more confusion than anything else. If it serves the story well (and writer Al Ewing is a fantastic storyteller) I'm all good with this latest, "Host," for Venom.

Assorted News and Links for March 2025

It's March. The weather doesn't know whether it wants to feel like a nice and warm spring day...or be brutally cold and snowy. We alternate between needing a coat, enjoying the sunshine, facing storms with hail, and so forth. That's March for ya, though. Besides my musings about the weather, I thought I would share some interesting links and news. Read on and learn something new, perhaps!

I used to live in Cortland, New York, and my folks still are there. I was saddened to learn the town's only newspaper, "The Cortland Standard," has declared bankruptcy, with today being their last edition. One of NY's oldest papers, the town of Cortland is now in a news desert to a degree, which sucks.

Cartoonist R.E. Burke is from Britain and has been backpacking around America and Canada. A Visa issue landed her in detention and treated horrifically because I.C.E. has become a modern-day fascistic wet dream under President Trump. A GoFundMe has been established to assist with legal fees, advisory support, and so forth.

DC's new, "Absolute," comics have been quite good and clearly are building up to the eventual formation of a new Justice League or such. There have been rumblings of a big event for the Absolute Universe at the end of 2025 and I look forward to such a thing.

"Moana 2," became available to stream on Disney+ yesterday. I've heard it isn't as good as the original, but solid. Our eldest (Clarkson) loved the first flick and our youngest (Gibson) adores this talking Maui toy we have, so I'm thinking we'll give the sequel a viewing sometime soon and see what our household thinks!

"Who do you think you are? I am!" is a famous phrase spouted by Pete Weber when he won a major bowling championship for a record fifth time. It was on February 26th, 2012 that he won the U.S. Open by a single pin and said--to give the entire phrase--"“Yes, goddamn it, yes! That is right, I did it! Number five! Are you kidding me?! That’s right! Who do you think you are? I am! Damn it right!” There is now an extensive oral history of how such a random statement became enmeshed in popular culture courtesy of Alan Siegel with The Ringer. Whether you know a lot about the sport of bowling or not (I know very little) it is a fascinating read.

A new videogame called, "Wanderstop," has as one big element of the game being brewing tea. There is a whole plot and characters and such, but you get to make tea with fancy contraptions and that sounds fun.

There is going to be a new, "Thunderbolts," comic coming out right in time to sync up with the new movie. It has a random assortment of members, including...Carnage? I get the idea that the comic is nowadays a bit like, "Suicide Squad," with baddies trying to do good (originally it was about villains as posing as heroes and the focus shifted), but Carnage is a psychotic monster who can't be redeemed. Wait, Eddie Brock (the original Venom) is now Carnage? Man, comic-books keep getting weirder and weirder. I'm not mad at it.

Lastly, there is a lot of fancy and high-concept talk regarding colonizing Mars. It is, quite frankly, improbable to the point of being impossible, as this humorous article by Albert Burneko discusses. Thanks to Kieron Gilllen for sharing it in his newsletter.

The New, "Carnage," #1 is a Satisfyingly Creepy Read

I often don't like Carnage as a character. When they try to make him Marvel's symbiote-infused version of DC's Joker it just is awful. He's not, "Funny," he's a violent force of nature that is practically pure bloodlust due to a psychopathic killer having been bonded to an already violently vengeful symbiote. Carnage works when he is presented more as a horror character than as something funny. Therefore, when an ongoing, "Carnage," series was announced--not a one-shot, not a mini-series, but a theoretically long-term ongoing--I was concerned. Then I was Ram V was writing and relaxed a whole lot. I also saw Francesco Manna was doing the artwork and felt even more cautiously optimistic. Having read the first issue of, "Carnage," I will say I am pleased.

There was a, "Carnage Forever," one-shot that had a little backup story that helps set up some of this first issue (but you don't have to read it) and Ram V provides a story of a serial killer obsessed with Carnage and how good he is at killing. We see most of the story from the POV of detectives after the killer or the killer himself--but we never, "Hear," the thoughts of Carnage. He is presented as a terrifying and violent force that even a serial killer who admires him might not quite understand just what kind of risk he's in for summoning such being. Recent developments in Carnage's life are covered as well--recent comic events made him no longer, "Need," Cletus, apparently. Plus, Manna's artwork is perfect. It is incredibly gruesome and nasty when called for. This is a comic about dangerous people doing unpleasant things, and it excels at portraying that.

There is a backup story here too by David Michelinie (writing) and Ron Lim (on art) that brings a good scary vibe too. A young boy who wants the help of Carnage to get revenge discovers how Carnage is basically pure rage and rage is a dangerous thing to fully give into. It's a short but sweet little yarn with some skilled creators attached to it. A nice little back-up that fits the overall tone of this first issue, in other words.

"Carnage," #1 uses Carnage the best way it can--as something scary and violent. Ram V and Francesco Manna bring us a great first issue thanks to utilizing Carnage in the best way possible and the back-up by David Michelinie and Ron Lim serves as the perfect dessert to a delectably disgusting first issue. If you've been desiring a healthy dose of horror in your Marvel comics this should fit the bill.

5 out of 5 stars.

Film Friday: "Venom: Let There Be Carnage."

The first, "Venom," movie was a pleasant surprise. I expected it to be awful, but despite itself, it worked. The movie was full of tonal clashes (Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock was so over-the-top and everyone else seemed quite grounded), the tech-bro villain seemed underbakes, and at 2 hours and a good chunk of the movie before any symbiotes appear much it felt a tad bloated. The newest flick, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," rectifies many of the flaws in the first but adds some new concerns to result in a film that's better than the first but still imperfect.

"Venom: Let There Be Carnage," is a lot more silly and comedic in a manner that matches Hardy's energy. We get a ton of Hardy talking to Venom/himself and it is a delight of zany bits. Woody Harrelson is a fantastic Cletus Kasady/Carnage, bringing a ton of menacing energy. Just seeing Hardy and Harrelson riffing off each other is a delight. As for my other qualm with the initial flick--the running length--this is actually a shorter and sleeker sequel, clocking in at a mere 97 minutes (with credits and the mandatory mid-credits stinger). The latest Venom movie isn't perfect, it adds a romantic interest for Kasady that makes him seem almost too human instead of like the over-the-top monstrous killer he is before even acquiring a symbiote. Plus, Eddie Brock's ex and her new boyfriend-now-fiance return but have precious little to do in the movie besides serves as audience stand-ins discussing how zany and weird Brock and Venom are.

The special effects are a bit sleeker than the first movie, with an even bigger budget allowing some insanely inventive symbiote-style effects, especially when Venom and Carnage fight at the film's climax. The best moments aren't over-the-top alien fisticuffs, however. They are when Hardy or Harrelson are just being weird and funny with each other or by themselves/with their symbiotes. "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," isn't a great movie, but it is a good time and despite some new issues it does improves significantly over the first flick. It's worth a cheap matinee ticket or a rental once it's viewable at home. Sony's little Universe of Marvel characters is doing alright after all.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The New Trailer for, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," Looks Suitably Entertianing

As many may recall, I thought, "Venom," would bomb and be terrible. It got decent-ish reviews and made a ton of money. I saw it and found it to be solid fun if for no other reason than Tom Hardy is a great actor. We've waited some time due to COVID-19 delays, but in September we'll get the sequel teased at the end of the first flick in the form of, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." It'll feature Tom Hardy's Venom going up against Woody Harrelson's Carnage. If anyone were qualified to play a character as demented and weird as Carnage I think a skilled actor and quirky guy like Harrelson is ready for the challenge. The newest trailer has dropped and you can see it here:

It looks entertaining if for no other reason than Hardy and Harrelson are fun actors. The religious symbology that seems to pop up a bit in this trailer is interesting too and I'm not sure what kind of statement that is trying to make, but I definitely noticed it. Basically, we're getting more of a violent-yet-kinda-funny Venom and now Carnage is joining in the fun. I imagine it'll be watchable.

"Venom: Let There Be Carnage," Has a Trailer Out

 The pandemic delayed its release a ton, but now that it is due in September the hype machine is starting to creak to life and promote the new Venom movie. Titled, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," it features a suitably over-the-top Woody Harrelson as Cletus Cassady AKA Carnage. Tom Hardy returns as Venom--which is good as he was the key feature to making the first movie somewhat enjoyable as I noted in my review. This new Venom movie looks like it will have a decent balance of action and wonky humor as the trailer literally opens with the symbiote singing as it makes breakfast. The whole thing is so silly I almost got, "Deadpool,"-level vibes, but that's kind of how the first, "Venom," movie was too. There's some action, some really odd humor, and a little darkness. Somehow it manages to kinda work. I don't think I'll rush to theaters for this, but I shall watch it at some point.

Marvel is Doing ANOTHER Event with Symbiotes Called, "Extreme Carnage," and I'm Just Befuddled

"King in Black," is wrapping up with issue #5 and it was mediocre-at-best. It featured a, "God of the symbiotes," named Knull who had an interesting character design and little else going for him. Marvel was promoting Knull, hard, and now they have plans to do another event with more symbiotes? Yep! This July will mark the start of, "Extreme Carnage," and I'm just kind of going, "Really?" at this news. It isn't a mega-event, but still, maybe we should give the symbiotes a rest for a bit beside a solo Venom comic. For all I know it'll be a great read, but the optics, man, the optics are all off. Marvel is saying, "We know you're burned-out on symbiotes, but here's even more!" and I'll probably skim it but not bother buying it, to be honest. I guess we'll see what people say when, "Extreme Carnage," starts-up in July.

I Watched, "Venom," and It Was Decent

I watched, "Venom," because I like Tom Hardy and I checked it out from the library before everything shut-down due to the quarantine. Without Tom Hardy I might find it bit a lacking, but thanks to his presence I found the flick enjoyable. Hardy plays a reporter named Eddie Brock who ends-up fighting an evil rich guy obsessed with technology (kind of like an Elon Musk who doesn't mind murdering people) by bonding with a space alien named Venom. It's dumb fun and it has Woody Harrelson in a huge red wig in the mid-credits scene to set-up a future movie with Venom's foe/offspring, Carnage. Plus, Tom Hardy jumps in a vat of live lobsters and eats one after bonding with the alien because he's always hungry, that was funny.

Frankly, I'm just amazed a, "Venom," movie works without the character interacting with Spider-Man as in the comics Spidey basically defines a lot of who Venom is as a character. Also, besides the Venom symbiote resulting in over-the-top effects, "Venom," itself doesn't really feel like a super-hero movie. It is more of a thriller-comedy with a weird alien thrown-in. Plus, the movie honestly does take a little too long to get to the actual, "Venom bonding with Eddie," part about 1/3 of the way into the movie. All-in-all it was not a bad way to spend about 2 hours.
3 out of 5 stars.

Marvel Announced Some Comics at C2E2 This Friday and Saturday

Yesterday and today at C2E2 Marvel announced some comics. Some sound like events that might have lots of tie-ins (or we already know will thanks to previous statements) and others are more like mini-series. In chronological order...

War of the Realms, April 2019
This has already been announced, hyped, has tons of comics that relate to it, and I don't really have any interest in the thing. It relates to Thor and the Ten Realms of his mythological people. It has an absurd amount of tie-in comics and I'll perhaps read some summaries of it online and may inadvertently read one or two books that relate to it if they are titles I already enjoy that are dragged into the ordeal. One thing tangentially related to it that does sound fun though is a, "Valkyrie," series co-written by Al Ewing and Jason Aaron (no announced artist yet, I believe).

House of X and Powers of X, July 2019
This is what Marvel was teasing with those odd little promos the past weeks. Jonathan Hickman is returning to Marvel and doing two mini-series of six issues each involving a great deal of X-Men. They are titled, "House of X," and, "Powers of X," and apparently the letter X is supposed to be pronounced as a, "Ten," which is maybe some kind of story-hint. Many predicted he was going to be doing an, "Eternals," comic but as I generally love Hickman's work I am happy to see him doing whatever he's passionate about.

Absolute Carnage, August 2019
I have a big soft spot for Venom as someone who was a kid in the 1990's. That said, Carnage has often struck me as an attempt to do an even edgier and more bloodthirsty villain that tries way too hard. However, the newly announced, "Absolute Carnage," has Donny Cates writing it and Ryan Stegman is doing the art, so between those two stellar talents I'm willing to give this comic (be it an event or mini-series) a shot. It invovles, "every single character who has ever worn a symbiote and every symbiote that has ever been, going all the way back to when Peter found the black suit,” and Carnage trying to hunt them all down and kill them. Considering how almost everybody has had a symbiote attach itself to them at some point or the other it isn't an exaggeration when Cates says how, "Everyone is a target."

Mystery Comic, December 2019
Nobody knows what this or could be, hence it being a mystery. Currently I've seen the guess that it could be something relating to the Ultimate Universe coming back in some shape or form. It's mindless speculation, but that could be fun if it happened. Between some of the announced stuff sounding good and other things making me shrug, it should be a decent 2019 for Marvel in terms of their comics--I already know with, "Avengers: Endgame," coming in April its film division is gonna be swimming in money.

The Hot Comics Revue: Fifth-Entry Fun

Wait, I've Done Five of These Now?

With this edition of the Hot Comics Revue we now will have had five total segments. If this segment were chocolate chip cookies by the time you were at this number you would be feeling gluttonous, a little ashamed, and slightly nauseated. So, basically how I felt watching last night's episode of, "The Bachelor," when it turned out Arie was a jerk. Anyways, let's talk about a comic that is warming up, some red-hot titles, and a book with steamy potential...

A Comic That is Warming-Up

Bloodborne #1
I am by no means a fan of the game, but this new series about the world where, "Bloodborne," takes place (or something like that) has been generating heat. The first issue officially sold-out at the distributor level and people on sites like eBay have been doing pretty well selling individual issues or sets of all three covers. The market for comics that tie-in with video-games can be notoriously finicky, but if lovers of the game stay interested this could continue to get warmer.

Red-Hot Titles

Thanos #13-#16
Donny Cates has been discussed by the Hot Comics Revue before, because the man just seems to produce books that are both great reads and best-sellers. Now, you might have heard about this, "Avengers: Infinity War," movie coming-out soon that heavily features Thanos, and ever since Cates took over writing the title from issue #13 on, issues have been selling like hotcakes. His new-ish character of the Cosmic Ghost Rider is already a fan-favorite, and sets of the all the issues that have come-out so far (we are up to #16) get bought faster than people can list them.

Marvel announced the Cosmic Ghost Rider was getting his own spin-off mini-series, and Cates is going to be writing even more Marvel books (he's taking over for, "Venom,") so don't expect him to slow down his work anytime soon. Whatever the case, right now this book isn't just red-hot, it's nuclear!

 Amazing Spider-Man #795 & #796
After some time without any Marvel hits we now have two that are hot! Ever since Norman Osborn started popping-up in the latest issues of, "Amazing Spider-Man," and enacted a plan to merge with the Carnage symbiote, this has been one snatched-up title. Issues #795 and #796 easily command at least $10-$20 dollars online and folk selling sets of the book with those two issues are making serious bank as well.

While Osborn has been using Carnage, the big question is when he will become the much-hyped, "Red Goblin," that is sure to set the aftermarket on fire. Tomorrow we get, "Amazing Spider-Man #797," and it'll most likely also be hot, but if we finally get the debut of the Red Goblin within its pages then we will have an extra-hot commodity on our hands.

A Book with Steamy Potential

Ice Cream Man #1 and #2
I know, I know, when the publisher (Image) has put out press-releases about how the first issue has sold-out the book is maybe a little past just, "Steamy." That said, while copies of the first issue as well as the second are selling at higher levels on sites such as eBay, they still are relatively reasonable in terms of the kind of mark-up they are showing on the secondary market. Image properties have had a tendency to either get really hot a bit later thanks to getting optioned or to absolutely crater in value if delays or other problems occur, but for some reason I have an inkling this might do more of the good former than the bad latter.

This book is ripe for at least the concept of a Twilight-zone style anthology to be expanded into a show--I mean, "Black Mirror," is a hit on Netflix, why doesn't another streaming service snatch-up, "Ice Cream Man," and get some accolades? Should such a thing happen this series could skyrocket in value beyond the already-solid numbers it shows...but again, it could easily fizzle out too, as that is the risk with any kind of comic-book speculation.