So I do regular reviews of comics via webcam and post them all over
the place, but I’ve been thinking of trying out writing one of these
down, and this is my first attempt at playing with that.

I wrote
loads of notes as I read the book, so it’s possible this review will
turn more into questions I have about this book and ideas stemming from
it rather than talking about the art or writing specifically.

Venom #5 is Written by Remender, and otherwise created by Moore, Fowler, Miki, and Rauch.

The
cover is great.  The idea is subtle to the point that I didn’t know
exactly what I was looking at and was ready to breeze past it until I
stopped for a minute and really examined it.  The idea is a shooting
target with Venom as the subject, and it’s pulled off perfectly and
translates into an actual image very well.  I did have questions about
how big the bullet holes were there, and the angle with which light was
coming through, but not enough to take away from the idea or the image.

There’s
a new villain introduced by the name of the Human Fly.  He has actual
fly attributes, but not so much that he doesn’t still look like a dude. 
Wings, antennae, acid vomit, and creepy fly eyes.  The best part of the
fly is his insanity.  He’s truly a psychopathic and a killer to boot. 
The fact that what he says makes no logical sense but sounds like it
should is perfect. 

I love the idea of true psychopathic killers
existing and getting found and taken out.  You’d think the police would
have a way to request superhero involvement in cases where they can’t go
any further.  “Powers” does this a little, but relies on the fact that
one of the main detectives was a super, and still has connections to the
supers out there today.  It’s also more focused on mysteries involving
super people, rather than mysteries which remain unsolved but just might
need a tracker like Wolverine to help out.

In the case of Venom
#5, Flash was assigned to a high profile kidnapping that lead him to the
killer, but surely there are loads of NYPD unsolved cases that could
just use a little super hero edge to bring it to a close.  In reality,
wouldn’t the NYPD have a heavy connection to people like SHIELD and the
Avengers, and possibly even the street-level heroes to get help? 
Further along those lines, wouldn’t there be some kind of NYC network of
heroes that would pass around the case until everyone had a crack at
it?  If Mr. Fantastic couldn’t track down a killer or find a missing
person, would Spidey take on the case, or would there be some kind of
chain the case would follow?

It’s also nice to see Flash
acknowledge his temper issues.  This isn’t the first issue where it’s
brought up, but I believe it’s the first time Flash thinks about it
specifically, showing that he’s aware it’s one of his flaws.

I
thought the use of a bell tower is a bit overdone in storylines
involving symbiotes, and that there must be other sonic inducing methods
which could have been more interesting.  Something with the fly’s
wings, perhaps?  Apparently there are either a hell of a lot of bell
towers in Manhattan, or villains love to hide out in them.  You’d also
think the symbiote would start to remember where these things are, and
prevent Flash from going to those places.

When the bell almost
crushes some civilians, we see them reacting in fear.  It made me wonder
about the typical NYC citizen in the super-hero world.  Are they ever
used to the constant peril?  Are there mass amounts of people moving
away from New York City because it’s just too dangerous with all of the
super-destruction?  Are insurance rates higher and rent generally lower?

If
so, how far away from how New York City is for us can writers get? 
Could the super-NYC be largely unpopulated, or landmarks go un-repaired
due to city government budget issues?  How many times would St. Peter’s
cathedral get repaired before it was considered a loss? 

And what
about those giant new landmarks which get constructed?  When Tony Stark
built Avengers Tower, how long did it take?  How come no super person
was curious as to what was being built before it was finished?  I really
want to know where it ended up being built based on the pictures, and
how much land would cost in that general area.  I suppose if it’s
cheaper in super-NYC, it invalidates my disbelief anyway.

I also
love the phone message from Flash’s mom on his phone.  There’s not
enough of the family interactions that happen with these single
characters.  Sure, they’re involved with other people romantically, or
through their work, but that would only be a small portion of their real
lives, and we’d surely see more of their moms or families calling to
check in.  How often are these people seeing their nieces and nephews? 
Ms. Marvel went home and checked in with her parents for an issue in her
most recent series.  It’s so humanizing and often left out of stories,
but is important to base the story in reality.

After several panels of Flash having trouble getting around in a
wheelchair, I started to wonder why he doesn’t have any kind of
prosthetic, or even a motorized wheelchair for that matter.  Even
non-tech ones would probably enable him to walk.  Hell, Lt. Dan had them
in the 80’s/90’s in “Forrest Gump.”  It could be a money problem, but
he’s an injured Vet.  My understanding is that they’re taken care of
pretty well in these cases.  Did he refuse them?  These questions make
it seem more like a writing choice than a logical conclusion to his
injury.  Obviously having him in an old-school wheelchair is much more
visually interesting and sympathetic.

And finally, Orbit gum ads are obnoxious, no matter how many times you’ve seen them.  I count the days until they’re gone.