Spider-Man: Anti-Venom

Eddie Brock, the former Venom (Mac Gargan is the current one), had his life saved by Spider-Man and is now treading the fine line between good and bad. Jenna, his former-addict-turned-"angel," helps him along the path, but now she's in trouble and nearing a relapse into her old behavior. Muddying up the events even more is an appearance by the Punisher, who doesn't care that Eddie's spouting about redemption; to Frank, Eddie is a cold-blooded killer and needs to be put down.

The book was a quick read. There's nothing life-shattering in these pages, but it's a nice little stand-alone story that doesn't require any previous knowledge of the characters. There are a few tie-ins to current events (Eddie mentions his brush with Norman Osborn, for example), but it stays away from the main Marvel universe's turmoil under Dark Reign. The art is pretty good, too. ( )