The Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom

The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) (Collected Editions) #23.5

by Dan Slott, Zeb Wells, Paulo Siqueira (Illustrator)

What's Black, White, and Dead all over? ? From the pages of last year's best-selling New Ways to Die, Zeb Wells (Amazing Spider-Man, New Mutants) and Paulo Siqueira (Amazing Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel) bring you the story of Eddie Brock, the sallow symbiote known as Anti-Venom With his life saved by Spider-Man, Eddie is cautiously walking the line between the darkness and light while trying to find his place in a world marked only by gray... and the absolute last person he needs to run into is the Punisher Unfortunately, the Punisher remembers Eddie as a coldblooded killer, and that is just gonna hurt.

Collecting: Dark Reign: Anti-Venom 1-3, material from Extra 2

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Spider Man, Superheroes, Comic Book, Comics Manga

92 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2010

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who is Anti-Venom?

Well, I certainly didn't know who the hell it was. Nor did I have a burning desire to find out. But when I saw this sitting on my library shelf, I figured... Eh, why not?

So remember the original Venom, Eddie Brock?
*Played by the skinny kid from That 70's Show in the movie*





Well, Eddie found Jesus. Or something like that.
He's now on the side of angels! And as an added bonus, he has now been imbued with the power to suck the toxins out of folks!
Oh, yeah. He also still has a bulletproof, stab-proof, and bombproof symbiotic skin, except now it's white.



Kind of like the old western movies, where you knew who the bad guys and good guys were by the color of their cowboy hats!
Think of Anti-Venom as the guy in the ten-gallon white hat.
But, you know, not a hat...a body suit.
And not so much a body suit as a friendly parasite?



Anyhoo, Eddie is working for the guy who 'healed' him by rounding up crackheads and using his supernatural detox power to cure them.
He takes out their dealers while he's at it, because...why not?
Naturally, he falls in love with a lovely young lady that he slurped the heroin out of, and they team up to fight crime on the streets.
'Cause, it's always a good idea to put a former junkie in the path of all those yummy drugs!



Everything is going swimmingly until Jenna (his sweetheart) runs into the Punisher in an alley. Unfortunately, he catches her drooling over the little packets of num-nums that she managed to swipe from the dealer they just took down.
She's not a quitter!
And while Anti-Venom sees an angel riding a unicorn, the Punisher sees a hooker riding a Horse.

Enter the Mexican Mafia!
Jenna, in all her fishnet glory, manages to get kidnapped in a somewhat convoluted revenge scheme.
Because, seriously, why not just kill her? Why take her all the way to Mexico, shoot her up with drugs, and try to add her to your harem of scantily-clad women? Just shoot her in the head and be done with it.
I'll tell you why.
Without Jenna to rescue, we wouldn't get a Punisher/Anti-Venom team-up!
See, for the Punisher to be involved in another title, you need one of two things.
What two things, you ask?
Drug dealers or the mob.
And this story has both, so there's no way he could resist!



There's also a background story in play about Eddie's mentor maybe definitely being sorta-kinda evil. And as a bonus, Aunt May makes a cameo as one of the volunteers working to help the freshly detoxed addicts in the rehab program. So. Yay!



In the end, I'd say this is an entertaining enough story.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not a big fan of stories about the evils of drugs, so I didn't feel very invested in the outcome.
I'm not really a huge Punisher fangirl, either. It's not necessarily his fault, I've just never read a really good Punisher title.
And this didn't exactly do anything to impress me with any sort of nuanced emotion lurking under his surface.
Nope. Just lots of shooting, growling, and...shooting.
I will say, right at the end, he did show his softer side.
By, um, not shooting Eddie in the back while he was sobbing with joy over getting Junkie Jenna back. After the team-up. Where they worked together to take down a horde of bad guys. You know, like a team.
So, apparently, he's a teddy bear with a soft & gooey center, underneath it all.

Read it or don't.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venom and The Punisher together? It would have to be pretty bad for me not to like it! Here we have Eddie Brock in his new Anti-Venom persona teaming up with the Punisher to battle a Mexican drug cartel. The Punisher still considers Brock a murderer, so it's a strained team up to say the least. You also get some cool things like The Punisher on a goblin glider (it's cooler than it sounds, especially with the custom Punisher skull emblem.) The art is both action packed and sexy as well. (Sexiest. Junkies. Ever.)

If you are a fan of Venom or the Punisher, this is a no-brainer, check it out!

[Teàrlach · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay! Not amazing, but good, nonetheless! Okay story, decent art.

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beklediğimden sıkıcı bir hikayeydi. Kartel tarafından kaçırılan sevgilisi için Brock Punisherile birlikte Meksika'ya gidiyor. Punisher vuracak mı vurmayacak mı bilinmezi var sözde. Neticeyi bilmeyen var mı? Eddie artık iyi biri olduğu iddiasında fakat bunu gösteren bir şey pek de yaptığı söylenemez. Tek oturuşta rahatça bitirilen, aksiyon dolu, fazla konusu ve derinliği olmayan bir hikaye.

[Malia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This wasn't any good. And I was bummed because the cover art was cool. But Eddie Brock 'good' is as much of a dick as Eddie Brock evil only now he's more boring. He's still killing people only now he thinks he has an excuse- they're bad guys. The brief pairing with Punisher was funny- 2 murdering sociopaths who excuse their need to kill (and not even in a cool Dexter way) and keep killing. And now Eddie has his junkie 'angel' who's job as far as I could see was to wear tiny clothes, look doe-eyed and get kidnapped a couple times. The bad guys were lame and the good guys were dull. There's no depth to his redemption because he's unapologetic about all the evil he did. And the writing was, wow, awful. The art isn't bad but not worth reading this all the way through. Cool concept, shitty follow through.

[Jedhua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Info: This collection contains Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom issues #1-3.

ABSOLUTE RATING: {3/5 stars}

STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>



A simple and satisfying read overall, featuring a cool team-up. I'd have to say the Punisher was the best part of the story, but the interaction between him and Eddie was quite entertaining.

[Michael Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Guns! Drugs! Cartels! Maturity!

I'm sorry but I found this a bit immature.

The first issue is promising, setting up interesting questions about its own conceit: Anti-Venom can rid people of their physical diseases, but does that 'cure' them? In the same way, is Eddie Brock a good guy now just because he's decided he wants to be?

Sadly those questions are more or less ignored from there on, as the book gets much more interested in depicting extreme violence, and abused women in their knickers.

The most we get by way of a thematic conclusion is that the Punisher learns that - hey - maybe people can change. *Fart*

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good seeing a reformed Eddie Brock. Thought this was a fun story. Don't understand why others didn't like it.

[Kitt Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think anti-venom could be an interesting character, but Lord this comic does not show anything but a tiny glimmer of potential.

[Münevver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yine beklenmedik yerde icinden Punisher firlayan bir hikâye. :D

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love how easy it is to get into stories like this. There are few references to the Spider-Man universe's status quo and plenty of blood and gore. It's just a fun ride with great artwork for a half-hour of unadulterated enjoyment.

Eddie Brock is now Anti-Venom with the help of a mutated symbiote that can heal diseases. He begins a war on the cancer of society, the drug cartels, with help from a former junkie named Jenna. Unfortunately that brings him into contact with the Punisher who initially fights alongside Eddie, but then turns on him when he learns his identity.

While Eddie fights Frank, Jenna is kidnapped by the cartel. The two reluctantly join forces and head to Mexico to save her and destroy the cartel. The cartel leader reveals to Eddie that Jenna returned to her junkie ways. This sends Eddie over the edge. All the death and destruction in the cartel boss's compound is almost funny. Eddie and Frank carve their way to the boss with barely a scratch. In the end Frank gets the opportunity to kill Eddie, but doesn't take the shot. Maybe he ran out of bullets. Still, what a coincidence!

[Maciej · Rating 4 out of 5]

PL
Historia jest dosyć spójna i przyjemna w odbiorze lecz nie jest to mimo wszystko jakaś infantylny i trywialny komiks z marnym tekstem. Świetne rysunki z genialnym Anty-Venomem i ciekawie rozrysowanym Punisherem. Muszę zaznaczyć, że mimo iż nie jestem fanem Człowieka Pająka tak wszystkie symbiotowe komiksy czyta mi się naprawdę przyjemnie.

[Omni Theus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat Corny
OVERALL RATING: 1.75 stars
Art: 3.5 stars
Prose: 1.75 stars
Plot: 2 stars
Pacing: 3.5 stars
Character Development: 2 stars
World Building: 1 stars
Love Venom and the Punisher and this should have worked. Instead this was rushed and pretty boring. The more I read Slott and Wells the more they come up short.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fast read, and can operate as a stand-alone story, but is definitely a "point in time" story. That said, it was a quick, enjoyable read. We learn of Eddie's struggles to reform, make friends, and deal with the Punisher, who is wary of Venom's ways.
Great artwork throughout, although a bit unnecessarily sexy, which may not appeal to some.

[Anthony]

Amazing Venom story man. Anti-Venom is just as awesome as Eddie Brock's Venom man. High request for any Venom fans

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time I've read any Anti-Venom stuff. Enjoyed it.

[Nicholas Fossum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, fast paced, action filled, sweet and fun

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Punisher Venom team up is crazy but goes hard.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the artwork in this volume, especially the more surreal renderings of Anti-Venom in the panels featuring the back story. A couple of the chapter covers are eerie as well. I like the concept of a creepy good guy!
One issue that I did have with this volume however was how the second main character, a girl who assists Brock in his quest to hunt down drug dealers, has flat traits and delivers hardly any lines besides the thinly veiled requisite "Help, help, I'm a damsel in distress!" This is not a criticism of her femininity but rather her overall passive and whiny character. I don't care about her at all and found myself almost wishing that she took a bullet in a gun fight. My only hesitancy was that her martyrdom would make her even more intolerable.
I would like to see him paired with a female character that inspires him to be kind not through insipid weakness and vulnerability but through compassion and humour. If she kicked ass as well that would be killer. Brock/Anti-Venom has a complex past with loads of potential for a complex future, and he deserves a partner (in anti-crime or in his love life) who has her/his own complicated personality.
I recommend this for the sake of satisfying your curiosity about the evolution of Anti-Venom and also for one artwork in particular, where he is hugging a stone cross as he decides that he is a monster, done in heavy black lines, splattered ink, white and red highlights. I loved this style.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Slott, Zeb Wells, Chris Bachalo and Paulo Siqueira put their pens to work on former Venom host Eddie Brock in this Amazing Spider-man Presents collection. Having gained a new lease on life thanks to Martin Li, Brock seeks to atone for his past misdeeds. Able to generate his own symbiote suit capable of curing others, Eddie takes up the mantle of Anti-Venom. The opening tale features a rejuvenated Brock recanting his past as he rescues former junkie Jenna Cole from her drug addiction. Working his way up through the food chain, Anti-Venom discovers that crime boss Mister Negative is actually his benevolent benefactor Li. His faith shaken, Brock vows to watch over Jenna and depose Mister Negative. This mission draws in the Punisher, as the vigilante has targeted the same Mexican drug cartel. When Castle's raid leads to Jenna's abduction, Brock must convince the Punisher that they share the same goal. As the two men tear across the country on a mission of vengeance, the Punisher must decide whether Anti-Venom's "new lease on life" is here to stay. Despite the fun idea of a team-up, Castle's willingness to sacrifice drug addicts seemed extremely out of character. The book serves its purpose though, rechristening Eddie Brock once again as a violent symbiotic anti-hero. If you need a palate cleanser after Brand New Day, Anti-Venom has the cure.

[Gordon Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anti-Venom chronicles the life of Eddie Brock, who used to be the character Venom but through a series of events alluded to here becomes the character Anti-Venom. Anti-Venom has the ability to purge people's bodies from poison. Unfortunately, some people remember Eddie Brock as a "bad guy" and persecute him. This book definitely has some adult themes so I would not recommend this to anyone younger than thirteen. It does raise some philosophical questions however, such as can people change and do people deserve a second chance? The story flow moves pretty quickly and fast readers can read it all in one sitting. The illustrations are colorful and easy to look at, though adult-themed.

[Silas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was a competently-told team up story between Anti-Venom and the Punisher. It was rather short, covering only three issues, and didn't really tie into anything of note. Given the characters it involves, it is as violent as you would expect, but had a few plot holes in it (the whole Anti-Venom premise doesn't actually make a ton of sense, and Punisher judging Brock for being a mass murderer is a bit hypocritical to say the least). It wasn't terrible, but it was not the story that I much cared for, or that I would have missed out by not reading.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't really expecting all that much from this mini-series and that's what we got. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't amazing. It wasn't unreadable but it also wasn't that distinct. It's just this one-off adventure that really could have just been called Anti-Venom meets Punisher.

There's a lot of the usual Eddie Brock vigilante rhetoric while the Frank Castle can't be anyone but himself, and that is a bit of a constraint. The antagonist in this book is a bit of a non-character because they wanted to focus more on the verbal (and literal) sniping between the two (not-so) good guys.

[Sarah]

A good story about Anti-Venom however it only feels half finished. The characters, story, and action come together but at the end it is still unclear who Mr. Li is, why Eddie is doing what he is doing, and what will happen between Eddie and Jenna (ie the woman he is putting on such a high pedestal that she will have to fall long and hard). Overall a good start for these characters and I hope that Marvel doesn't fuck them up.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The “Black & White” story gives some nice additional attention to a few great new characters from BND, but it’s not very deep [6]. The actual Anti-Venom story is quite good for its characterization of Brock … though the plot itself is sometimes violent and shallow [7+].

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a good story that features a nicer version of Eddie Brock or at least a redeemable Brock - which is nice to read. The Punisher also makes a great appearance and even takes a surprising decision. The artwork is rather scary in places which suits Venom down to the ground.

[DOUGLAS J BERRY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can take or leave venom.

I mainly wanted to see punisher in action. The new super gear is impressive. Brock is such screw up I'm surprised he doesn't have kids. It does seem if a lot of losers end up with superpowers in marvel.

[Kerry · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely terrible.

[Nazary · Rating 2 out of 5]

The same lame story told twice - not worth your money.
The concept is really cool, but it goes no where. I'm not sure why this even got published.

[Walt Walkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little edgy for youth fiction, but not a bad read all-in-all.