Taming The Sleeper With Venom #19
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
The Maker has been taken over by the Life Foundation symbiotes, and this amalgamation of monsters is trying to recover the codices for Carnage. The Avengers stand against him, but Cap, Wolverine, the Thing, and Spider-Man may not be enough. Dylan and Normie run away, but Dylan still wants to help. To this end, he frees the Sleeper and allows the symbiote to take over. However, the bonding fails and causes Sleeper agony, and the bonding fails. However, something else happens, and Dylan is still able to join the fight against the Maker.
Venom #19 continues Dylan and Normie’s trevails at Rex’s base. The Maker has been conscripted by the Life Foundation crew, and Dylan wants to help the Avengers in the fight.
We get a number of surprise revelations about Dylan Brock in this issue, that unexpected interaction with Sleeper being among them. There’s more to it, and it indicates an interesting future for Dylan Brock and his father.
While the events line up with Absolute Carnage, the focus of this book is upon what lies ahead for Eddie Brock. His son may not be what he seems, and the Sleeper seems to be coming along for the ride.
Beyond that, this is very much an action-oriented issue. The fight against the Maker is the inciting force for everything that happens between Dylan and Sleeper, and we get to see the Thing chuck Spider-Man at the Maker and essentially just hope for the best.
Iban Coello illustrates this book once again, and his style provides a slickness that is very appropriate for a symbiote-focused book. Some of the detailing, especially the rendering of faces and eyes, is definitely inspired by anime and manga art–and it looks pretty damn good. Rain Beredo’s color art is bleak and ominous, which is very well-suited for this issue and its story.
Venom #19 is another exciting ride with Dylan and Normie while they try to survive the hellish events of Absolute Carnage. The world is ending around them, and Dylan is learning that he may not be just an average boy. It makes for good reading, and the book earns a recommendation. Check it out.
Venom #19 comes to us from writer Donny Cates, artist Iban Coello, color artist Rain Beredo, letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles, cover artist Kyle Hotz with Dan Brown, and variant cover artists Tony Moore with Dean White; and Jeehyung Lee.
Final Score: 8/10
