Rob reviews Carnage Forever #1...
Marvel heads into Carnage territory this week as the publisher celebrates the Symbiotes 30th anniversary. Kicking the festivities off is Carnage Forever, an anthology of three strips that are brought to life by Philip Kennedy Johnson, Ram V, and Ty Templeton. As comics go, this one doesn't shy away from the horror as we see the Carnage Symbiote in all of its brutal glory!
With the Symbiotes, Marvel often plays it safe. Whilst we have seen some horror aspects to the alien race, 9/10 times it's portrayed in a more action-oriented sense. Carnage Forever takes this formula and dials the horror up to a near extreme level. What this anthology gives us is Venom's murderous offspring at its very worst. The Carnage we see here is portrayed as the monstrous serial killer that is. What makes this one more appealing is that long-time host, Cletus Kasady is long gone and the Symbiote is now operating on its own devices.
First up in this anthology is Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Edgar Salazar with 'Homecoming'. This opening tale follows Elsie, a young girl who's suffering abuse from her Mom and her Mom's partner. We're introduced to Elsie as she's drawing on the street outside the destroyed St. Estes school - which was once ravaged by a devastating fire. As night falls, the youngster is attacked by some drunks and she escapes into the destroyed former school. This then leads her to run straight into Carnage who took residence inside the burnt out building. We're then shown Elsie's home life as the serial killer Symbiote exacts its revenge on those who've caused the youngster harm.
Johnson gives us a slow burner tale with 'Homecoming'. A lot of its setup is introducing us to Elsie and the terrible world she lives in. The twist in the tale comes from her encounter with Carnage. While we don't explicitly see the young girl bond with Carnage, Johnson gives us some tell-tale signs. This comes from an imaginary friend called "Cletus". This then leads to some pretty horrific scenes as Salazar shows just how brutal Carnage can be. Rachelle Rosenberg's colour work adds the icing to this murderous cake. There are plenty of gorgeous dark reds mixed with great use of black that doesn't reveal too much Carnage, but rather keeps the majority of the tentacled terror within the shadows.
Next up we have Ram V and Salvador Larroca's 'Unmade In His Image'. This is a more up-tempo story that has the titular villain breaking into a prison. It's quite an unusual prison break as Carnage gets in via the prisons sprinkler system. While unusual, it's a great way of showing the Symbiote's powers when it's essentially host-less. Unlike that seen in 'Homecoming', the story here feels as if it's building up towards what's going to happen within the upcoming solo Carnage series. 'Unmade In His Image' also expands upon the Spider-Man universe as we catch up with an unexpected Spidey villain.
Larroca's art is quite good here. Whilst I've had my issues with what he's producing for the Alien series, where everything flows with ease. There are some gorgeous shots of Carnage where Larroca gives some extreme close-ups that don't reveal too much of the Symbiote. The scene with Carnage re-assembling itself is quite disturbing and certainly helps to build the horror that's about to unfold.
The final story comes from Ty Templeton and is something that would look out of place within a child's comics such as The Beano or Dandy. It's a simple one-page strip that sees a sort of chibi-style Venom tell off Carnage, Scream, and Riot as one of them has left some bodies on the porch. It's a definite tongue in cheek look at both the characters and comic books, but after two strips of brutal horror - it's a welcomed addition.
All in all, Carnage Forever is a great introduction as to what's coming when Ram V and Francesco Manna's Carnage series kicks off in March. The adult orientated content does a superb job in showing just how brutal the character can be. If this style is to continue, then Marvel has certainly chosen the right character!
Rating: 8/10
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