During a routine battle with the villainous Jack O’Lantern, Venom finds himself transported to a far-off world and learns a terrible truth – a deadly new species called the Poisons has emerged from the vastness of space, and to make matters worse, they’re hunting Venoms! Trapped on the planet’s surface with a ragtag band of Venomized heroes, Eddie has no choice but to mount a counteroffensive and hope to find a way home!

After a build up over the past month with Edge of Venomverse, Venomverse #1 is here and it’s actually entertaining in a lot of ways though feels a bit like old material being retreaded. Written by Cullen Bunn with art by Ivan Coello, this issue officially kicks off the fall event revolving around Venom and basically is the Venom version of Spider-Verse (so expect a Spider-Verse vs Venomverse down the road).

The event transports Eddie to a mysterious world where these things called Poisons are hunting symbiotes. So, a band of Venoms from across the multiverse are brought together to defeat them. Which feels a bit odd since maybe bringing non-Venom characters in might be a better strategy? Still, it’s an excuse to see Wolverine-Venom, Old Man Venom, Rocket Venom, and a lot more, a fun concept that Bunn does a good job playing with. It’s that twist that’ll draw you in, the silly fun of the concept and idea that things will be off the wall. There’s a fun that Bunn brings here, a similar tone he’s found with Monsters Unleashed.

Coello’s art is solid and brings it all together nicely. Each Venom, though similar, is unique, even from the character it’s based off of. And, Coello is solid in throwing in all of the “Spidey/Venom” poses to create a nice action packed issue that feels like a big budget action film, complete with over the top explosions.

Venomverse #1 is a solid start to an event that feels like turn your brain off fun. It’s nothing that’s groundbreaking and treads previous storylines with a Venom twist but for a late summer/early fall popcorn story, it’ll fill that gap nicely.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Iban Coello Cover Art: Nick Bradshaw
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.65 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review