Venom: Space Knight, #1
Marvel
Written by: Robbie Thompson
Art by: Ariel Olivetti
Color by: Ariel Olivetti
With Marvel’s most recent relaunch comes another #1 in Venom: Space Knight, featuring the writing of Robbie Thompson and the art of Ariel Olivetti. At the moment, this series relies heavily upon what happened to Flash Thompson previously, but it does take time to fill the audience in on how he got where he is now (thanks to the 8 months missing after Secret Wars). Leaving the Guardians of the Galaxy, Flash and and his partner, the symbiote (also referred to by its race, Klyntar), find themselves as Agents of the Cosmos.
The issue begins with the audience seeing Venom in the middle of a mission gone wrong and as the narrative progresses we see how his goals continually shift. Moving quickly, the story hardly has a dull moment but perhaps it moves too quickly. At times the writing comes off quick and clipped and while this does match the nature of the issue’s action it leaves a sense of feeling not fully informed. However, if you’re a reader more familiar with Flash and his relationship to the symbiote you may be more in the loop.
While Thompson’s writing can feel abrupt it is well balanced by the action packed world that Olivetti constructs. The writing does, at times, give the audience a sense that Flash is working to maintain his heroic mindset and does worry about becoming more of an antihero. Olivetti’s work captures both the alien and futuristic nature of the Venom well. His characters are expressive and environments remain thoroughly detailed. The only criticism being that sometimes his work can see a bit too realistic and can detract from a sense of wholeness. For example, his explosions almost seem as though they are imposed on the remainder of his art.
However, in conjunction this creative team has produced a noteworthy comic. While issue #1 seems a bit hit-and-miss, Thompson and Olivetti do have a noticeable synergy. Thompson’s shorter writing does well to not overpower the art of Olivetti, and Olivetti does a phenomenal job of showing the audience Flash’s cosmic adventures. This series has potential but it may take some time for Thompson to find his stride. Consistent action may be great for the first issue but being non-stop may not be sustainable.