When the good people of the Geek Worldwide (@the_gww) asked if I wanted to attend the Venture Bros. season seven Press Round Table at San Diego Comic-Con I had no choice but to answer with a very strong ‘Hell, Yes!’
And who wouldn’t?
I count myself amongst the legions of die-hard fans of The Venture Bros., the long-running animated comedy and adventure series returning for its seventh season on August 5th on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The Venture Bros., which began airing in 2003 as a comedic take on the 1960s era of Jonny Quest has turned into its own entity, completely separate from anything resembling Hannah Barbara’s animated series which was cutting edge for its time.
If you are new to the series here’s a quick primer. The Venture Bros follows the misadventures of Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture, one-time “boy adventurer” and son of the great super-scientist and also world adventurer Jonas Venture. The present-day Dr. Venture falls very short of his father’s legacy while trying to operate the ‘family business’. Armed with a slightly mentally unhinged family bodyguard by the name of Brock Sampson who mainly looks after Dr. Venture’s twin teenage sons, Hank and Dean, the Venture family finds itself at odds with a number of supervillains with none more entertaining than the butterfly-themed bad guy The Monarch, his wife Dr. Girlfriend, and his loyal (and by season 6 his only) henchman, Number 21 otherwise known as Gary.
The Venture Bros. returns for its seventh season with ten episodes that start with a bang with its three-part arc called The Morphic Trilogy featuring what has been described as an epic confrontation between Blue Morpho and the Wide Whale.
At the roundtable session at San Diego, Comic-Con members of the Venture Bros. cast revealed somewhat cryptic yet utterly amazing information for the new season.
Jackson Publick, the executive producer, and director of the Venture Bros. stated that, as always, there will be new characters coming. One of these characters will be voiced by none other than Mark Hamill. And fan favorite Orpheus will be making a return despite his absence from season 6. In addition, Red Death, voiced by the iconic Clancy Brown, will be returning to make his presence known. Jackson Publick revealed his affinity towards the Red Death character by referencing how they have Kurgan voicing the character. Kurgan, also played by Clancy Brown, was the immortal villain in the iconic Highlander film of the 1980s. On a final note, Publick revealed that only about 3 and a half years have gone by since the start of the Venture Bros. to the beginning of Season 7.
James Urbaniak and Michael Sinterniklaas also gave some insight into the upcoming season. Urbaniak was hesitant to say that the Venture bros.titular characters, Dean and Hank Venture, were maturing but did confirm that their individual worlds were expanding. Dean is off to college and Hank has a job while also dating. He felt that the Venture Bros. move to the big city has given them a new energy that fuels the ‘expansion’ of their individual worlds. Urbaniak, who voices Doctor Venture, feels that his character is definitely feeling more confident about his sons as he no longer uses the ‘helicopter’ style of parenting that was sometimes seen in the previous seasons.
One thing is for sure. This is a cast and crew that is very much in touch with its fans and overall viewership. This upcoming season of the Venture Bros. appears to be on target to not only deliver its unique style of comedy, action, and adventure, but to further explore and develop the world of the Venture Bros. and its characters.
The Venture Bros.’ seventh season, which people have been waiting for since 2016, will premiere on August 5 on Cartoon Network.
Written By James Gavsie
Co-Host, #WhoWouldWin Podcast
Twitter: @JamesGavsie