I love me some Chris Bachalo.  Throw his name on a Spider-title and I’m there at the front of the line.  His layouts, his lines, his backgrounds, they’re all perfect fits within the context of Spider-Man’s world.  Even evil not Spider-man Scorpivenom’s world.

The first issue of this Dark Reign story was pretty to really good, so I had some high expectations.  Expectations that were completely obliterated on the very first page of this issue.  Obliterated in the best way possible.

Yes, Bachalo’s art is lush, gorgeous, and perfect.  His art makes this a five star book.  That said, given the script by Brian Reed, this book would have still been a four star book, even if it were drawn by Rob Liefeld.  Really.

Instead of the “here’s the history of this character in just one page” that Marvel sometimes likes to do on its intro page, we have a diary entry by Mac “don’t call me Scorpion anymore” Gargan on lined journal paper with bunnies, stars, and hearts, with a little drawing of the symbiote spider drawn in the corner with hearts around it.  Swear to God. 

There’s an almost Deadpoolish humor to this issue that works here even better than it does in Deadpool.  Reed’s timing is just perfect.  And the way it breaks out of Bachalo’s panels?  Sna to the zzy.

There’s even a recurring Watchmen joke that isn’t the funniest thing I’ve ever read, but it’s a nice detail to the potential Venom rogue gallery.  This is easily the best Dark Reign side issue I’ve read so far.  And I think, as with Final Crisis, most of the side issues are vastly superior to the main stories (I know there’s no “Dark Reign” title, but I consider the Avengers family of titles to be the central Dark Reign storylines).