Trevor Von Eeden

Wow. Dennis O'Neil knows how to write a Batman story. Venom is about responding to failure and the consequence of taking drugs for the "easy out." Rarely is Batman depicted with such emotional depth (or as a psychopath for that matter), and it makes the character very engaging.

The art doesn't seem particularly striking on first glance, but is actually quite excellent. It enhances the text rather than distract from it. And man is it eerie when the Dark Knight cackles! My only nitpick is a show more scene where Bruce Wayne goes from clean cut to caveman in one month. What, is there Rogaine in those pills?

It should be noted that DC Comics advertises this as an origin for Bane. Well, only kind of. The villain of the Chris Nolan flick is nowhere to be found, but the guy is addicted to the same strength-enhancing venom introduced here.

But even if DC's marketing for this book is a bit misleading, this is a great comic. Trust me: You'll be happy to be misled. show less

Overall, it was an interesting story arc. A bit of a product of its time. And more or less a moral tale of drug addiction and overcoming it. Venom could be substituted for heroin, cocaine, marijuana, whatever drug you want to put in bad form and showcase how "its bad" and how a "good" guy like Batman can overcome it.

Some interesting things are how Batman doesn't get true justice in this arc (Porter dies in jail/withdrawl, and Slaycroft dies by Porter manipulating Slaycroft's son). Another show more interesting thing is that this arc is spread out over a year's time, and has them going to Haiti, Priscia (made up island), and Gotham. Also has Superman in it (in one of Batman's delirium dreams).

The biggest thing to this arc is that it's the prelude to "Knightfall" which is the introduction to Bane. show less

Batman gets addicted to strength enhancing pills due to him being unable to lift a boulder to save a child. He changes character and at one point agrees to kill Gordon to get more pills.

Hmmm...this is one of the darker Batman books I have read from Batman being unable to save a little girl to a son being overtaken by addiction and on the verge of killing his father. I can’t help (disagree) think that Batman wouldn’t succumb to addiction in the first place or not question why the father show more wasn’t more upset of his only child dying; and, unfortunately, that ruined a lot of the characterization and does not correlate with his character. They did get their groove back with the last few issues but those first two issues really put a damper on the believability of it all and felt that the writer used Batman as a tool to narrate a story about the effects of addiction and how it affects those around you

Best:
-Batman failing to save someone
-him using drugs to cover up a trauma
-decent art
-great Batman characterization in the last 3 issues (very frustrating)

Bad:
-characterization of Batman in the first two issues
-he never would’ve been addicted like that in the first place (maybe should had a villain force him to take drugs instead)
-bad fight scenes show less

Venom starts off very well, but the authors could not keep the pace up in the second half. The premise is very interesting: Batman (early in his career, not long after the Year One storyline) fails to save an innocent life simply because he wasn't physically strong enough to do it. Unable to cope with the fact that he has no superpowers, Batman turns to a new drug that's just hit the market: 'Venom'.

Spoiler alert: Yeah, it's the same Venom that creates Bane a number of years later.

Once show more Batman is hooked on the drug, he's a crime fighting machine, putting down thugs and hoods like never before. Unfortunately, it's not long before he's completely addicted to the stuff. Alfred, loyal butler and surrogate father, steps in, and helps Bruce cope with the horrible side effects after he goes cold turkey on the junk. There's a very powerful anti-drug message (and it's not preachy) running throughout this graphic novel, and I can really appreciate that. It's especially cool because hey, it's Batman, and I'm sure a lot of kids have read it and understood the message.

Once Bats kicks his habit, it becomes a story of revenge, as the Dark Knight goes after the drug lords. This part of the story should have been better, but there's this silly subplot where the baddies kidnap Alfred and Batman has to swim out into the ocean to save him from getting eaten by sharks. And, no... I did not make that up.

Still, for the premise, the message, and another glimpse into Batman's early days, Venom is worth ten bucks for a comic fan. show less