Discover Absolute Carnage, the culmination of a multi-year tale where Spider-Man's former adversary, Venom, must confront another carrier of the alien symbiote, psychopath Cletus Kasady.
Carnage against the world
Even if you have not followed the beginnings of this saga, Absolute Carnage is very easy to read. The publisher Panini comics includes the prologue that introduces us to the origins of the killer. The first episode then begins with an introduction where Venom tells police officers everything that happened recently. Reputed dead, Cletus Kasady, a mass murderer under the pseudonym Carnage, returns stronger, with new powers and a divine mission. For him, it is destined to eliminate all those who have carried a symbiote, an alien parasite. Alas, these are most of the inhabitants of Earth including superheroes like Deadpool, Captain Marvel or the Fantastic Ones. Venom, then Spider-Man stand up to him but they must find allies. Absolute Carnage marks a new renovation of Venom. This villain, now present in the cinema, appeared as a supervillain in Spider-Man. A journalist whose lies have been exposed by Peter Parker, he seeks revenge. He then makes an alliance with the symbiote, an alien who has been Spider-Man's second dark skin. In the recent series, he discovered that the symbiote is a part of a god, Knull. At the beginning of this volume, Eddie is at his lowest. He is imprisoned and has detached himself from his addiction with the symbiote to exist on his own. Instead, Carnage chose to join a religion born of symbiotes. His fragile mind tipped even deeper into madness. Indeed, the symbiote leaves a trace of its passage in the DNA and Carnage wants to recover all these codices to bring Knull. With each new absorption, Carnage becomes more powerful and his victory seems inevitable.
Two promising artists
Absolute Carnage is also a milestone for Donny Cates who has become a major creative force at Marvel. With this crossover, the writer pays tribute to the series that has shaken up his adolescence. He takes the opportunity to sort out the symbionts that have continued to multiply since the 1990s. Indeed, the screenwriter accumulates leads by evoking the difficulties of fatherhood, the quest for identity and how parasites prevent us from discovering our true self. The mythical artist of Spider-Man and Venom, Mark Bagley makes a few pages on a flashback. But Cates is especially supported by the very promising Ryan Stegman. This very precise cartoonist plunges us into the action with magnificent double-pages. In the recent tradition of Spider-Man artists, he uses ultra-dynamic and curved shapes that are sometimes very Franco-Belgian. The contrast with the subject is therefore very successful and is accentuated by a darker work on colorization. Panini offers readers multiple editions. In the 100% Marvel collection, we find the free comics book day Spider-Man/Venom. Then the five episodes of the limited series Absolute Carnage which can be sufficient in itself while the complete version adds all the episodes of the series Venom, Amazing Spider-Man, the various mini-series but also unpublished boards. However, even in the reduced edition, Panini includes numerous bonuses in addition to the usual alternative covers with false psychiatric reports, the interrogation of Eddie Brock and an editorial in the Daily Buggle by J.J. Jameson. Absolute Carnage provides excellent reading pleasure with many twists and a fast pace while creating a dark atmosphere. Ryan Stegman's drawing is just as engaging and dynamic. The action does not stop until the penultimate page… You can also find at this moment the continuation of this saga with King in Black on the landing of Knull on Earth. If you are interested in Marvel series you can find on these links the September releases and our comics selection.
