I’m not really sure about the legality or ethics of this, but here we are. I’m about to break down each individual page of the 60-page epic that Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman bestowed unto us yesterday.
I feel compelled to do this.
On Twitter, a lot of people are asking Cates to justify them having to pay $7.99 for this monumental, triple-sized issue. That’s partly why I wrote this, to show how ridiculous it is to demand that from the creators of a book which gives readers so much.
For those of you who have a digital copy of ABSOLUTE CARNAGE, or were unable to get one because of the ridiculous demand for Marvel’s big event book, know this: it feels satisfyingly weighty in your hands. (Yeah, OKAY, “That’s what she said”…but I’m serious.) This is just one of the many indicators that this book is a heavy hitter, and will have a massive impact on comics for years to come.
If you haven’t read all of Stegman’s and Cates’ VENOM run, and are also unfamiliar with the million crossovers that give context to this story, don’t worry. Marvel’s blogger minions wrote this helpful primer to prepare you: “As Carnage, Cletus’ new goal is to set free Knull, the God of Symbiotes. All he needs to do is track down anyone who has ever worn a symbiote and steal the latent Knull codex from their bodies.” The thing is, a LOT of A-list characters in the Marvel universe have bonded with a Symbiote.
If you don’t make it past this introduction, there are two things I want you to know about this landmark piece of comics literature: Cates’ words and Stegman’s expressions set up really moving moments that tell you exactly who Eddie Brock is. The other thing? This is the coolest Spider-Man since Todd McFarlane, hands down. (And JP Mayer’s substantial inks are a huge part of that success.)
And there’s actually one last thing I want to tell you. This review? FULL OF SPOILERS. But if you’re picking up a book with Carnage in it, can you really be THAT afraid of anything, especially spoilers…?
Chapter One “The Bleeding King”
SUMMARY: Carnage is back, and he is on a mission to communicate directly with Knull, the god of darkness, death, and Symbiotes. Eddie Brock is going to need to become Venom, and ask for Spider-Man’s help, if he wants to survive this.
Act One, Chapter 1: Pages 1 – 5
1: Eddie is talking to Dylan, his nine-year-old “half brother”…who is actually his son. This provides a seamless backstory for Knull’s history and plan to doom all things “living and bright.” This is really just Cates talking to his readers, catching them up on what’s happened, and telling them what’s to come. Knull is the god of Symbiotes and ruler of the abyss. Before the beginning of life, he controlled symbiotes with his mind to kill encroaching life — until the symbiotes rose up against him and imprisoned him.
2-3: When symbiotes bond with their host, they leave behind a little piece of themselves in their host’ DNA. This is the codex. Symbiotes use it to communicate with each other about their host and reconnect to the hive, which is controlled by Knull. Eddie Brock tells Dylan that whomever controls all the codices can talk to Knull.
As we get all this critical backstory, rain falls from the sky as Eddie and Dylan move through the streets of New York. The way Stegman renders rain is better than life. The disorienting downpour creates reflections in the pavement that establish a hazy, ominous atmosphere.
4-5: Cletus Kasady was the world’s most notorious serial killer who rose from the dead to become Carnage. He was resurrected by Church of the New Darkness, a cult that worships Knull. (The cult name is so metal, SO Cates!) With a new purpose, Carnage is trying to collect all these pieces of Symbiotes.
Act Two, Chapter 1: Pages 6 – 13
6-7: Eddie Brock senses that they’re being followed in Times Square. We see a mysterious figure wearing a hat and coat trailing them. As they descend into the subway, we see the faces of miserable New Yorkers getting rained on. (From experience, I can say the way Stegman conveys this is VERY accurate…)
8-9: Disguised and hidden in human form as Cletus Kasady, Carnage pushes Eddie and Dylan onto the tracks.
10-11: We discover that Eddie’s Symbiote was actually the one following them. He saves them by smashing into the train, preventing it from running them over. He also derails and crunches a subway car full of people, which doesn’t really help the already terrible public opinion of Eddie Brock.
12-13: Eddie is now Venom. His “Other” — which is how Eddie refers to his Symbiote — warns him Cletus/Carnage is here.
Act Three, Chapter 1: Pages 7 – 22
14-15: The first thing Carnage says to Venom: “WELL HELLO, DADDY!” This reveals that Carnage knows about the real relationship between Eddie and Dylan, and will use this knowledge to make Venom weak. Carnage and Venom battle underground. Eddie’s Symbiote knows that Cletus is wearing the Grendel Symbiote — which belonged to the lethal dragon they fought with Rex.
“WE’RE A GOD NOW!”
– Carnage
16-17: Eddie’s Other seems more self-aware than Eddie himself amid all the chaos. It recognizes that Carnage is too powerful, and that Eddie needs to put Dylan first. As Carnage towers over Eddie, he snarls: “There is no fighting this. This is the end of the light. He is coming! God is —” To shut Carnage up, Eddie grabs the third subway rail — the one charged with electricity.
18-19: In an imaginatively drawn, dynamic splash page shot from bird’s eye view, Eddie shocks Carnage (and himself). We see the hyper-sensitive Symbiotes briefly split from their hosts, becoming wispy, etherial tendrils. Carnage is reduced to nothing more than a splatter of blood and guts — and yet he’s not dead. The electric shock separated Eddie from his Other. The Symbiote now looks like a lost, vulnerable child. It reattaches to Eddie.
20-21: As Dylan and Eddie flee the scene, Venom places Eddie in a brief coma as he heals. The Symbiote autopilots them to their destination so they can ask for help in this crisis. Peter Parker’s roommate answers the door.
22: *clap* COMICS *clap* ARE *clap* BUILT *clap* ON *clap* CLIFFHANGERS. Cates sticks to this golden rule with a full-page reveal of the SEXIEST and MOST JACKED Spider-Man ever. Seriously, ya’ll, this man is the pinnacle of masculinity.
Chapter Two: “The God Son”
Yes, the title sounds metal as hell, but it’s actually a pun (and potentially, some foreshadowing). In this issue, we meet Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s godson, who — like Eddie Brock — has the latent codex inside him.
SUMMARY: Spidey, Eddie, and Dylan meet in a diner to discuss the situation at hand, and how they’ll handle it. They’ll find a potential solution to Eddie’s Carnage/Symbiote problem at the end of the chapter — but is it worth it??
Act One, Chapter 2: Pages 23 – 27
23: As the heroes sit in a diner, casually mulling over the situation, I just couldn’t help but relish in the fact that Spidey is in public wearing his costume, classically deflecting the gravity of the situation with humor.
24-25: There is clearly some awkwardness between Eddie, Spiderman, and Dylan. The boy leaves the table so that Eddie and Spider-Man can speak in private — about Dylan.
26-27: The emotionally intelligent and vulnerable Spidey implores Eddie to tell Dylan the truth about their relationship. He knows a thing or two about growing up without knowing who your father was, which is a hard reality for boys in need of a role model who looks like them.
Just as Spider-Man is at his most persuasive, and Eddie is about to seriously consider telling Dylan the truth, the mission at hand comes back into play. (Of course.) Eddie notices something interesting on the news, and stops listening to Spider-Man. This is a GREAT STORYTELLING AND CHARACTERIZATION MOMENT DONE BY CATES. It underscores how Eddie uses the crisis at hand as an excuse to protect Dylan from knowing about his real identity as Brock’s son.
Act Two, Chapter 2: Pages 28 – 34
28-29: The news broadcast shows a mass grave of bodies piled high, all without spines, found in Jersey. (As if we needed any more evidence that Jersey sucks…) **TAKE NOTE THAT THE BODIES ARE ARRANGED AT THE CENTER OF THE FAMILIAR SYMBOL THAT CARNAGE MADE IN THE EARTH.
30: We learn that the grave is full of people who’ve worn Symbiotes and died. This is a message to Brock from Carnage. As Eddie fights for control of the TV remote so that the cafe manager doesn’t change the channel, we see how unlikable Eddie can be on first impression.
31: This is “A message that says it doesn’t matter if you’re dead. You’re still a target.” As Eddie emphasizes this, Spider-Man’s spider-sense goes off. And let me just lay this on the table: STEGMAN DRAWS THIS BETTER THAN ANY OTHER ARTIST IN SPIDER-MAN’S HISTORY.
32: His spider-sense was triggered by average crooks trying to rob the diner. Compared to the end-times implications of Carnage’s return, this trivial robbery REALLY puts things into perspective.
33-34: After Spider-Man squashes these petty thieves in a stylized action sequence from Stegman the pencil god, Eddie seems jealous of Spidey’s relationship to the public, how they cheer for him. The scene changes to Rex Strickland’s safe house. We learn that Maker (a creepy/morally suspect Reed Richards from another dimension) has already created the machine that will extract the Knull codex without killing the hosts.
It seems that Maker and Eddie Brock have an aligned interest.
Act Three, Chapter 2: Pages 35 – 38
35-36: These panels are all the proof you need if you were ever wondering why you see Clayton Cowel‘s name all over your favorite comics. His letters are another important tool of characterization. You can hear how cold and technical Maker speaks by how orderly and stiff the font is when compared to the mildly italicized/all caps bold font of Eddie and Spider-Man.
Spidey’s gestures are another reason why Stegman’s Spider-Man is the coolest thing since Todd Farlane’s innovation with his character design. Preserving the thick musculature and expressive eyes of McFarlane’s Spider-Man, Stegman evolves the character design with a more flexible body, agile musculature, beefy neck, strong jaw, and attention to detail — you can see the outline of Peter Parker’s ears protruding from the mask. No one gets anatomy quite like Stegman these days.
37-38: The involvement of Parker’s godson and Eddie’s son, Dylan, connect the story to a younger audience, the next generation of comics-makers. This is a huge reason behind Marvel’s success. They don’t make any mature content — like DC with their Black Label (formerly Vertigo) — because their content effortlessly engages all ages. Younger readers are generally pulled in by the humor, imagination, and simple morality of the story while older readers are attracted to the intricate plots, choreographed violence, character wisdom, and tone/symbolism of the story.
Now that we’re done with that tangent on why Marvel consistently holds the dominant market share in the comics world, the Maker offers for Eddie to test the machine. This is a win-win-win, for Maker, Spidey’s godson , and Eddie.
Chapter Three “The Long Red Dark”
Summary: Spider-Man and Venom head to the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane to free “Red Goblin” Norman Osborn before Carnage can get to him first and taps into his codex.
Act One, Chapter 3: Pages 39 – 45
39: Norman Osborn sings a chilling song about squashing a spider that shows the state of his mental derangement. Stegman’s consistently moody rain continues to set the tone in an eerie establishing shot of the institute.
40-41: Bloody carnage drips down the pages, framing each panel. At the bottom of the page, we see the bloodshot, criminally insane eyes of Norman Osborn. Frank Martin’s colors really sell the intensity behind those eyes, as they bulge from Norman’s twisted visage. He also executes believable lighting in an upshot of the guard, John Jameson, discovering Spider-Man and Venom sneaking on the wall.
42-43: It’s established — for those who don’t know — that John also has powers as a werewolf. As they’re talking to each other about how to sedate Osborn before opening his containment cell, John is suddenly taken over by Carnage.
The final panel on page 43 is easily the most disturbing panel in the entire comic. It conveys the pain that Carnage can inflict on others. It shows how Cates has mastered the vocabulary of insane people — and shows how deep the author can go into the minds of his characters.
Act Two, Chapter 3: Pages 44 – 48
44-45: As Carnage enters, the color of the panels becomes decidedly evil, reds and blacks dominating the pages, Symbiote tendrils oozing from John’s eyes. Completely devoid of control over his own body, John shoots Osborn’s cell, triggering the alarm. “God is coming.” Venom is hypersensitive to loud sounds, and is briefly incapacitated.
46: Leaking his Symbiote into the prison cells, Carnage adds to his army. These Symbiote hosts break free form their prison cells and march behind Carnage.
47-48: Eddie fires John’s gun at the alarms to stop the noise. This is the most innovative display of motion I’ve ever seen in comics. With the gun in the foreground, we see the speed-lines, kickback, and smoke. Spider-Man webs John so they can prepare to meet Carnage.
Act Two, Chapter 3: Pages 49 – 60
49-50: This all-consuming double-page splash of Carnage and his converts charging toward Spider-Man and Venom would make the perfect T-shirt print. Hear that, Marvel? Yet another opportunity to make money!
51: It’s pretty clear that Carnage is here for Osborn’s codex, always watching and waiting to strike at the right time. Spider-Man and Venom must try to save Norman Osborn from being entirely consumed by Carnage. Spider-Man establishes the mood perfectly when he says, “UGH…” in the final moments before Carnage.
52-53: This is another important characterization moment for Venom. Eddie defines his relationship with the Symbiote and their long, complicated journey. His alien Other gives him pain, and pain is important part of growth.
54-55: As they battle Carnage and his army, Carnage grabs Spider-Man by his throat one of the most compellingly illustrated double-page panels in the history of comics.
56-57: Spider-Man and Venom need to break Venom out from his cell, while simultaneously holding back Carnage and his army of obedient Symbiotes. Venom poignantly says, “Don’t be clever, be strong!”
58-59: The layout of panels for page 58 is yet another demonstration of how expansive Stegman’s imagination is. Spiderman’s fist repeatedly hits into the steel door with blazing speed, as we get frontal perspective of him and Venom fighting to get the hell out of Ravencroft. Venom can’t hold the door much longer, and we see Carnage about to devour Norman Osborne.
60: At last, Carnage claims Osborn. Cates closes out this legendary issue with a playful, yet haunting quote from Carnage: “I came here to make friends“.
Anyone who Carnage controls is his puppet, and it will be a terrifying journey to see how he abuses that power in the issues to come.
Jeff Lemire (A/CA) Mike Deodato
Secret Society Comics 