I was a bit afraid that Spider-Island would put a screeching halt to this excellent title. While this issue didn’t do much to get me involved in the Spider-Island event, it did manage to keep me invested in Flash Thompson’s tale as the new Venom. In this issue, Venom is facing off against one of the big new monsters from the plague. After capturing the monster, the story goes places that you wouldn’t expect. While it doesn’t knock you off your feet, it’s still a fun story. What does knock you off your feet is the emotional, character moments that Remender is able to incorporate into the story. Flash Thompson is damaged goods, and even when being the good guy, we’re reminded that this is not a perfect hero. It’s great to read these moments, and it helps to keep the book grounded within its own universe without pandering to folks who are simply buying it for Spider-Island. Tom Fowler does some great work here in this issue, laying out some dynamic action sequences. The emotional ticks are there in a few scenes, and this book looks great…for the most part. There are a few panels where the coloring just didn’t work for me. Some of the scenes looked a little muddy or too dark, which steals from Fowler’s great pencils. Other than a few panels, this book is a real treat. If you dropped it because of the tie-in, fear not. You can still swim in this pool. The water is just fine.