[.ca] Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 6: Venom (ISBN 0785110941)

Not for the avid Venom fan:
Most of my "comic experience" is from the Ultimate series. However, from what I know about the original Venom, this guy doesn't hold a candle to him. To many avid Venom fans, the twist the authors pull here was a disapointment. I found it interesting, but I think, had this been the original story, Venom would not be as popular a villian as he is today. I also feel that the story arcs in prior graphic novels are much more fufilling then this one, and while I enjoy it, it is not my favorite.

Venom is unleashed:
This book was pretty good, and was actually the reason why I started collecting Ultimate Spider-man comics. It introduced the Ultimate Universe to Eddie Brock, and old friend to Peter. When they learn of a suit that could cure cancer, Peter Parker (Spider-man) accidently put it on. His strength and attitude was increased. He got rid of the costume before it permantly changed him. Eddie Brock figured out that Peter was Spider-man and put the suit on himself. He became Venom, a very crazy, strong, and strange-looking monster. If your looking for a book that has Venom at his best, this is not it. This Venom is very different from the regular Marvel Universe's Venom. This story is basically a shortened version of a story that marvel did in more than 100 or so issues! Its still a good story, plus it has Ultimate Shocker and Ultimate Nick Fury! I hope this helped you in making your decision on getting this book.

Venom at his most vivid:
I have always loved Venom, ever since I was a kid. So when I heard that Brian Bendis would be retelling his origin, I was very eager to see the results, for I have always felt that the original Venom's origin was too convoluted and his personality in general was a little too one-demensional. Before, Eddie Brock was an angered ex-journalist who had a serious mad on for Spider-Man and bonded with a creature that shared those feelings. In this incarnatiion, Brock, now a childhood friend of Peter Parker, is a tragic character with a dark side that has much more depth than the Marvel Universe version ever had. In 6 issues, the story of Venom is wonderfully retold, without all the "Secret Wars" and "Sin Eater" back stories. However, this story could have really benefitted from being longer. Bendis accomplishes the goal of telling the story within a limited space, but I can't help but imagine how better this story would be if perhaps Eddie Brock had been a supporting character for a while in the book and THEN the bio-suit had been introduced later on, as well as Venom of course. But for all its faults, this story is very accomplished and I hope to see a rematch between Spidey and Venom, this time in their traditional costumes (that was another thing that annoyed me; when they do fight at the end, Peter is in his civies and Venom doesn't have the white spider on his chest... I guess this is just a teaser for later on). I give it four stars :)

Best Book In The Series Yet!:
After looking through some of his dads' old research, Peter Parker decides to look up his childhood friend, Eddie Brock. After the two catch up, Eddie shows Peter the experimental 'biological suit' that their fathers were working on before they died. Peter decides to try the 'suit' and chaos ensues. Writer Brian Michael Bendis once again showcases his superb writing style with realistic dialogue and fantastic characterization (this book has an equal balance of dialogue and action; as many consider Bendis' work to have too much dialogue). Also Mark Bagley's pencils are as good as ever, accurately displaying the characters' emotions as well as clearly showing action scenes. Transparency Digital's colors are also quite good, showing a wide array of colors throughout the story. Fans looking for more superb writing from Bendis and great artwork from Bagley will not be disappointed. This book shows why Ultimate Spider-Man is the best book in Marvel's Ultimate line and also one of the best comics on the market.

An excellent book:
This was an excellent book expecially since it was an "ultimate" book. When i heard that they were going to try and introduce venom into the ultimate spiderman book i was very afraid that brian micheal bendis (the writer of the series) although a great writer could not tell venoms origins in a way that would satisfy me. My fears were laid to rest when i picked up this trade paper back not only does brian tell this story in a beleivable way he does extremely well (although a bit rushed in the story telling) at keeping me hocked onto the book untill i finished reading it and even after i had to come back and read it again. I give this book a 5 out of 5 great work!