The dreaded moment has finally arrived. A hardcore DC fanboy decided to perhaps read some Marvel comic books to see if they match up. I didn’t really want to start with someone obscure so Venom was a good starting point.
‘First Host’ tells the story of Eddie Brock and Venom who have somehow ‘created’ an infant symbiote. But just as they’re trying to take care of it, in comes Tel-Kar, a Kree warrior who originally wielded the Venom Symbiote. He now wants it back so he can return to the Skrull Kree War. To complicate the situation a Skrull, M’Lanz had tracked Tel-Kar down to stop him from executing his plans. In the ensuing situation, Tel reclaims Venom and M’Lanz and Brock, wielding the infant symbiote, go to stop him from destroying the Skrull Race.
The story started fairly simply but got more and more complicated the further I read on. Eddie Brock is not the most likeable character, but his relationship with Venom is interesting. Both Tel-Kar and M’Lanz were also quite intriguing and throughout the novel, I’m always unsure which race I’m rooting for.
The artwork was okay, the style is very cartoony. The covers were also just okay, I would’ve liked to see the variants in more detail. Overall, it wasn’t a bad place to start, and I’d like to see more interaction of Venom with other Marvel characters.
Favourite Panel:
Never let it be said that the symbiote is evil. It simply reflects the host.
Favourite Character:
Venom. I mean the symbiote. Not Eddie Brock.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★½
Character Development: ★★
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★½
Re-readability: ★★
Level: Intermediate