I wasn’t expecting to feel so helpless after reading this issue.

Venom #9 is a great addition into the Spider-Man Universe. This issue highlights the affect the Venom symbiote has on it’s host. After Spider-Man witnessed Marla Jameson die at the hands of Alistair Smythe, Peter vowed no one to die with him around. Venom feeds off of the anger that Flash feels after the events in this comic and moves him to act in a way that is opposite from his hero Spider-Man.

Along with his run on Uncanny X-Force, Remender has exposed the darker corners of the Marvel U. He has conveyed the emotional toll and inner struggle that comes with operating in these areas.

Stefano Caselli’s work on the epilogue’s of ASM and Venom have been stellar and able to capture the appropriate mood for the final pages respectively. John Tyler Christopher’s cover is haunting and gorgeous.

In the end, Flash is a soldier operating with an internal struggle with the monster and the man. With everything being torn down around him, you get the sense that the man doesn’t have much fight left.