"Venom: Space Knight"

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Venom: Space Knight” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Flash Thompson was an assistant coach at West Philadelphia High School. He was also the host of the Venom symbiote. One day at work, the symbiote emerged in the middle of class in front of a student named Andrea “Andi” Benton. But Venom had other things to worry about, such as the crime boss Lord Ogre, who was operating in Philly. Venom started busting up his operations, and realized how sick of an enemy he was facing.

Following an incident with Venom and Toxin at the high school, Daily Inquisitor reporter and Venom ally Katy Kiernan came investigating, and Flash feared that Andi could lead her to Venom’s identity. Venom went after Lord Ogre but was defeated by a group of supervillains under Lord Ogre’s employ. Supervillain Jack O’Lantern, mysteriously out of jail, knowing Venom’s identity, and with a major grudge against Venom, attacked Flash’s apartment complex. Andi and her father were Flash’s neighbors. Jack chased Andi into her apartment. Venom arrived to try to protect them, but was unable to protect Andi’s father, but while trying to protect Andi, the Venom symbiote spawned a piece of itself onto Andi. Venom then had to prevent Symbiote Andi from crossing the line to get her revenge on Jack and in the process, Jack escaped. Flash was surprised with how well and how quickly Andi was able to manage the symbiote. Jack returned with the villains who had previously defeated Venom, and with Andi’s help, Venom was able to defeat them this time.

Andi then went on to become the symbiotic vigilante Mania and was trying to take the fight to Lord Ogre to avenge her father. The D.O.A., led by the villain called Crossbones, were going after people who had Hell marks. Venom had previously been marked, but a conversation with Daimon Hellstrom caused Flash to realize that when the Venom symbiote spawned, the Hell mark had been passed on and that Mania now bore the Hell mark and Venom was no longer marked, and that Andi was now a target of the D.O.A. Mania confronted Lord Ogre. Venom swung in to help, and the D.O.A. arrived. Lord Ogre and his army were taken out by demons summoned by the D.O.A., demons Andi discovered she was able to control. Venom decided to try to make a deal with Hell Lord Mephisto to remove the Hell mark from Andi. The D.O.A. crashed the negotiations, and Mephisto summoned the Monsters of Evil, whom Andi were able to control, and following the battle, Mephisto refused to remove the Hell mark.

Months later, Venom became an Agent of the Cosmos, despite not truly knowing what that meant. He traveled off into space. On one mission, he met a robot called 803, whom Venom became the master of. He saved an alien planet from a device that was creating rain toxic to the native alien species. There he met fellow Agents of the Cosmos Myntril and Tarna, the latter also being bonded with a Klyntar symbiote. He traveled to Gorfin-7, a planet of lava and fire which was on the verge of destruction due to a device planted by the alien Mercurio. Venom destroyed the device and made an ally/potential lover of an alien woman named Iqa, and an enemy of Mercurio. Flash discovered the symbiote was now able to function independently of him, something it had never been able to do without a host before. Mercurio, furious Venom had foiled his plans for Gorfin-7, sent alien criminal Pik Rollo to bring Venom to him. Pik Rollo caused Venom’s ship to crash on a planet of robot gladiators. The two were captured and forced into the arena, where the two became allies rather than enemies when Venom learned Pik Rollo was being extorted by Mercurio, and the two decided to team up against Mercurio. The two were imprisoned, but Venom’s new allies were able to come to the rescue.

Tarna arrived to inform Flash that the Venom Klyntar was losing control, was impure, and had to be returned to the cosmos. Both Flash and Venom were resistant and fought and Venom lost control and escaped. Venom went on a path of destruction, and Flash and his allies had to chase him down. Flash and Venom reunited, and Flash was able to calm Venom down. Flash learned the reason Venom was out of control was because when Venom was cleansed when he became an Agent of the Cosmos, a piece was left behind that wasn’t there to complete the cleanse: the Mania symbiote. Flash had to return to Earth and his allies had to get Andi a drink from the Fountain of Purity in the temple on the lost planet Wenb.

Flash returned to Earth, where he visited his mother who was recovering from the mental stress caused by her encounter with Venom. Spider-Man arrived and tried to separate Flash and Venom to contain the symbiote in a lab at Parker Industries. This led to a misunderstanding, to a battle, to a team-up to find Andi and separate her and Mania to fully cleanse Venom and save Andi from her Hell mark.

Okay, so we have the synopsis out of the way, let’s talk about my opinion on the book. In all honesty, I’m very conflicted. I liked parts of the book and disliked parts of the book. Ironically, the parts I liked were all the parts that took place on Earth. The whole Space Knight thing just didn’t work for me. So, once he went to space, I stopped genuinely enjoying it up until the end when he got back to Earth. The rest just really wasn’t all that appealing to me. I didn’t like the design of Venom as an Agent of the Cosmos; the look just wasn’t visually appealing either. And I was really hoping for appearances by the Guardians of the Galaxy, but alas, I did not get that except for in a flashback or two, so I found that slightly disappointing. That said, the Mania storylines were to my liking. I enjoyed the character, and I liked Flash having a sidekick, having responsibility, and the parts in space without Andi just seemed weak without her being there to amplify the sense of responsibility Flash had for Mania. He was fatherlike to her, and I loved that side of Flash, I thought that was well written. He genuinely cared about her in a way he didn’t care about any of the other characters in the book, and I enjoyed their relationship. And I enjoyed the whole story about the Hell mark, I found that to actually be an interesting concept how Flash passed it on to Andi, and I liked how it followed up on “Circle of Four” from “Agent Venom” which was actually one of my favorite stories in the Flash Thompson Venom saga up to this point. But it pains me say it, I just really didn’t like the artwork in this book at all. Sometimes there will be that one artist that makes all the difference for the book, but not a single artist truly visually pleased me, and that was hard to see. I really wanted to like the art, but I just really couldn’t find much to like. The alien designs were very wonky, and I know that aliens are supposed to be wonky, but they weren’t wonky in a good way to me.

Next, we’re going to talk about accessibility. I know some of you already know what that means, but I also know some of you are new to a Tim Cubbin review and need to be informed, so inform I shall. When I say accessibility, I mean just how easy it is to pick up this book and read it, particularly to people who may have never heard of Venom before seeing this book on the shelf and saying to themselves “Hmm, ‘Venom: Space Knight’ eh? Sounds cool!” So, if you are that person who is saying what I just typed and have no idea who/what Venom from Marvel Comics is, I’m telling you not to read this. This book is highly inaccessible. First off, the first seven issues in this book are the culmination of an entire series that has already been running for thirty-five issues prior to this book and draws on the knowledge of those thirty-five issues. Those stories pick up where the previous two volumes Venom Modern Era Epic Collections leave off, so I wouldn’t even tell you to read this book without reading those two first. Then we get to “Venom: Space Knight.” The issues in this book were originally published between 2013-2016, and there is a gap between the ending of the “Venom” series and the beginning of the “Venom: Space Knight” series with just a brief page that tries to explain a little about what the point of “Space Knight” is, but there’s so much that happened in between that got left out that makes it so hard to follow. There’re storylines set up in other series that establish the events between these two series not included and it really hurts the understanding of this book not having them. It almost seems odd to have included both series in one book considering the complete change of direction in the storytelling, but the one thing that truly ties both series together is Mania, so I guess that’s where the sense is made including both series in one volume, but they’re so different and seem to have not true similarities that it just seems illogical to have compiled this book the way the publishers did. I feel like this book could have benefited from more content in between to maybe establish the background of Space Knight better, rather than just trying to tell the reader a few details in three small paragraphs that essentially accomplishes little and doesn’t fully explain the changes the Klyntar symbiote underwent between the two series, I just don’t feel like it’s enough. I wouldn’t just say this book is inaccessible to new readers, I’m saying it’s highly inaccessible in general if you don’t know Marvel Comics from the time period of 2014-2015, which, heck, even I’m not fully up on, my local comic book shop had closed around that time so I wasn’t a regular reader, so these are details even I’m not fully up on, and people who know me well know I am a diehard Marvel fan, so if I’m having difficulties with a Modern Era Epic Collection, casual or non-fans would definitely have difficulties with this book. I just feel like the editors could have done a little more to make it more understandable because as it is, I don’t feel like they did a particularly decent job. They didn’t do a good enough job for me, so in most likelihood, I don’t think casual or non-fans would find it to be either.

Okay, I’ve blathered on about that long enough, I think it’s time to get to the part that you’ve come to read my review for the most: my numeric score. Now, for those of you who have never read a Tim Cubbin review before, allow me to explain my rules. I score on a simple system, on a scale of one to ten. One is the lowest possible score and means this book is hardly readable at all, ten is the highest possible score and means this book should be read on a frequent basis it’s just that good you’ll want to experience it again and again. Now, I must consider that this is a graphic novel, and therefore the artwork and the stories are both something that must be examined when giving a score. Now, as you know, the stories were to a mixed pleasure level, and the art just was not pleasurable at all. So, I’m taking all of that, throwing it into a blender, churning out a score for this book, and I must give it a score of a… four! This book just wasn’t super enjoyable to me, but I can’t say it was a complete trainwreck enough to go lower than that, but it doesn’t deserve any higher than that either.

Finally, I’m going to either give or not give a recommendation. And in the case of “Venom: Space Knight,” that recommendation is denied. I can’t recommend this book to any reader because of the low level of accessibility, not even to major Venom fans, unless you were actually a heavy Marvel reader from 2014-2016 and know these stories but just want to collect them again all these years later, and even then, I don’t think this was that great enough to recommend. So, unless you are a true collector like I am and want to collect every single Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection like I do, I would issue a pass on this book. I just don’t feel like it’s worth the hefty cost.

Okay, I’ve gone on for quite some time, so I think it’s time to get to our parting words. So, yes, most of this website at this point is me reviewing Marvel Modern Era Epic Collections, but I might be able to produce some other kind of content here and there. I’ve already written short stories, free verse poetry, essays, articles, editorials, and other kind of content for this blog, so if you want, feel free to check out the rest of timcubbin.blogspot.com for more of my work, there’s already over 130 other posts, there’s probably something else you might find interesting. Please feel free to comment, if you’re on Facebook, share, if you’re on X, like, retweet, do whatever, pass this along. Expect to see another review in about a month, maybe a little more than that, I’m not sure of an exact date at this point, but more reviews are coming. So, keep coming back for more, I’ll be back doing more. If you’ve read this entire review, you truly are THE BEST, I appreciate you! And now I leave you, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Venom: The Savage Six"

  The following is a review of the graphic novel “Venom: The Savage Six” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

Flash Thompson/Venom was at a low point. The villainous Crime-Master knew his identity and threatened his friends and family if he didn’t do what he said, so Flash made the hard decision that Crime-Master had to be taken down once and for all. As Flash got ready to do the deed, he witnessed Crime-Master initiate the Human Fly onto his team, the Savage Six, also consisting of Crime-Master himself, as well as his right-hand man Jack O’ Lantern, Megatak, and Death Adder. But before Flash could pull the trigger, Eddie Brock tried to take him out. Flash webbed up Eddie and battled Crime-Master’s team, but Flash could not win and swung away. Crime-Master then took the defenseless Eddie Brock and merged him with the Toxin symbiote, who swore to kill Venom. Flash went checking up on his ex-girlfriend Betty Brant, who was on the verge of being abducted by Jack O’ Lantern. Betty was under the impression Jack was an old war friend of Flash’s who met with an unfortunate accident and took pity, and when Venom swung in, she got the wrong idea. Flash protected Betty from Jack, Megatak, and Toxin, and to alleviate Betty’s fear of Venom, revealed his identity to Betty. This only served to anger Betty further, but Betty stopped resisting and let Flash rescue her. While Flash was busy rescuing Betty, the Human Fly went after Flash’s mother, and Jack performed his signature kill on Flash’s brother-in-law and kidnapped Flash’s sister Jessie. Flash was able to save Jessie, but Toxin was able to abduct Betty. Flash rescued his mother from the Human Fly, but inadvertently traumatized his own mother in the process. Crime-Master revealed his identity to Betty, a man from her past she long thought dead. Venom battled Toxin, then faced off against Jack and Crime-Master, only for Crime-Master to meet an ironic ending. After this, Betty told Flash she never wanted to see him again, and Flash decided to be honest with his teammates in the Secret Avengers.

As Flash celebrated his first Father’s Day without his father, Jack O’ Lantern tormented him. The two battled, and Flash finally emerged victorious.

Flash met with Daily Inquisitor reporter Katy Kiernan for information for a mission for the Secret Avengers. She pointed him in the direction of the Department of Occult Armaments. Flash investigated, and met with Daimon Hellstrom, the son of Satan. The two battled, and Flash realized that a demon had possessed Venom. Flash turned to Katy for help, and she hooked him up with a priest, who attempted to exorcise the demon, but learned that Hellstrom was the only one who could separate Venom from the demon. Hellstrom tried to initiate Venom’s demon into his organization, but Flash was resistant, and instead battled Hellstrom’s other demons, and won in an ironic way. 

Flash then learned of a prison break in Colorado. Cletus Kasady/Carnage had escaped from Thunderbolts Mountain Maximum Security Prison, and Venom was called to bring him back. Kasady escaped to Houston, Texas, where he was looking for a device called the Prometheus Pit, a device that would allow him access to the Microverse, a subatomic universe nestled between our own. Beings from the Microverse were responsible for Kasady’s escape. Local superhero Kaine/Scarlet Spider arrived at Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center which housed the Prometheus Pit and attempted to apprehend Carnage, but Carnage managed to grab Katy Kiernan, who was there looking for a scoop, and escaped to the Microverse. Flash arrived too late, and the Venom symbiote had a reaction to seeing Kaine. The two battled until Flash was able to regain control of the symbiote. Carnage revealed to Katy that he wanted a reporter alive to chronicle his activities. Flash and Kaine then traveled to the Microverse, but the two were sent to two separate locations within the Microverse. Microverse villain Marquis Radu was attempting to create an army of symbiote soldiers from pieces of the Carnage symbiote. Kasady was resistant to this idea Flash hooked up with the resistance group, the Enigma Force, who were afraid that Venom would destroy the very fabric of the Microverse. Kaine hooked up with the Redeemer. Flash and Enigma Force battled the forces of Marquis Radu, while Kaine battled Kasady. All but Kaine and the Redeemer were captured, and the symbiote army was created. Flash and Kasady battled, and Kaine joined the battle, but Kasady was able to escape back to the Macroverse (main universe). Enigma Force were able to break free and attempted to defeat Marquis Radu, but the villain was also able to escape. Flash, Kaine and Katy were returned to the Macroverse, but were not originally at full size. Flash and Kaine then had to battle Kasady and the symbiote army and decide just how far they were willing to go to stop the threat of Carnage.

After her encounter with Venom, Flash’s mother decided to go to a wellness center. Flash reconnected with a man he used to bully when they were in high school, who now took pity on Flash’s current condition. Following this, Flash decided to move away from New York.

Katy called Flash from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was working on a story, when the U-Foes kidnapped her. They wanted to test an unknown piece of technology on someone, and when they caught Katy snooping, she became their first choice. Flash went to Philadelphia to rescue Katy, aided by his kind-of girlfriend Valkyrie. This led to Flash deciding he wanted to move to the City of Brotherly Love. 

Flash got a job as an assistant coach at West Philadelphia High School. He started his nightly patrols. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock deduced Flash’s identity as Venom and vowed to end him. While out on patrol, Flash discovered a man with evolving technology implanted into him. Flash battled him, but he escaped. The man then ran into Toxin and was again able to escape. Flash came upon him again and defeated the man and was going to put an end to the man’s torment when Toxin arrived. Flash and Toxin battled, and while Flash won, Eddie escaped, as did the evolving technology, which found new hosts. Eddie came to Flash’s job to battle for a final time, but the arrival of the evolving technology possessed people put a halt of Eddie’s plan, and the two had to team up to both survive and to save the lives of all the students, then decide how they wanted to settle their grudge.

Okay, so let’s talk about how I felt about this book. I will say I found this book to be decent, but I didn’t love it. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the previous volume “Agent Venom” (which, incidentally I reviewed yesterday). One of my biggest issues was that Crime-Master announces his “Savage Six” and yet there are only five established members when he makes this announcement. He was planning for Toxin, but Toxin was not there yet. I found that confusing, the boundaries of the “Savage Six” just weren’t clearly established. As far as the identity of the Crime-Master goes, it made me wonder how he could have gone through with strapping her to a bomb, considering their connection. With the way he had been previously established, it just doesn’t seem like the kind of thing he would do. I know, blame it on the writers, see what Stan Lee would have said about it. As some of my previous readers may know, I am a major fan of the supervillain Carnage. The “Minimum Carnage” storyline was decent. Yes, I have done a review of “Maximum Carnage,” and I can say that this does not rank anywhere near that. I particularly liked that it featured Scarlet Spider. Now, this was not Ben Reilly, who is my favorite Scarlet Spider, but Kaine as Scarlet Spider for his run was an interesting redemption arc, which I read a very long time ago and barely remember, but I do know I enjoyed it at the time. Having Venom and Scarlet Spider team up like that was an interesting crossover. I also have to say that Eddie Brock/Toxin’s mad-on grudge with Venom made no sense to me. Eddie used to be Venom, why does he now so desperately want to do nothing more than kill his former other half? It just doesn’t make any sense to me at all. I also have to say, I wasn’t a fan of the design of Toxin. I thought the tendrils around the head looked absurd, and the giant size really doesn’t make sense. The original design of Toxin back in the early 2000s looked menacing. This one just looked kind of goofy. I really didn’t like all the artwork either. Some of the art just fell flat for me. There were several issues here and there with art that I really enjoyed, but for much of this book, I honestly was not a huge fan of the artwork.

Okay, I think it’s time we moved on to something else. Next up is accessibility. What I mean by that is how easy it is for a new reader to pick up this book and understand it, in general, what a person needs to know before attempting to read this book. First off, I will tell you to not even think about attempting to read this book without reading the “Agent Venom” Modern Era Epic Collection first, it is completely essential to understanding this book. It is a direct continuation of the previous volume, picking up on all the threads left behind, so if you didn’t read the volume before it, you are missing so much. “Agent Venom” established every story in this book, attempting to read “The Savage Six” without it is like trying to read “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” without reading the first six books before it. This book is also made more difficult to follow because of the “Minimum Carnage” Scarlet Spider crossover, which is from a short-lived, obscure series, with a not very well-known version of the titular character. As such, I would not say this book is easily accessible. It is assuredly not the right book if you’ve never read a comic book before and are looking to start reading now, I can tell you that. If you’re an old school Marvel fan and stopped reading Marvel comic books before 2006 and are considering jumping back in, this is a poor choice to pick to jump back in with first. If you’re a more recent Marvel fan looking for an enjoyable read, this book is a choice if you read “Agent Venom” first. “Agent Venom” is just essential to understanding this book.

Okay, I’ve been going on for quite a while now I think you’re getting a little bored of my ranting and raving, so I’m just going to move on to my numeric score section. I know some of you have been through this before, but I must do it again, so let me explain my scoring system. I score on a scale of one to ten: one being the lowest, meaning that this book should be burned, publication should be halted, and no further copies of this book should be printed; ten being the highest, this book is the best book ever written, there should be so many copies printed that no online store will ever possibly be able to be out of stock of it, they’ll practically have to give them away just to clear space in their warehouses. As many of my previous readers know, I can be a very harsh scorer, I don’t just go around handing out tens to every book I read. Obviously, you can tell I’m not leaning towards a ten for this book. This book was purely mediocre, in both story and art. That is why I must give it the mediocre score of… five.

Next up is my recommendation. Usually for me, saying if I recommend a book or not is easy. In this case, it is a little bit difficult. My reasoning for this is because I feel that to read this book and properly enjoy it, you need to read “Agent Venom” first, and I highly enjoyed that, but this book wasn’t as thrilling to me, so I’d have to be recommending two books if I recommend this book, and that’s what makes this difficult. But in all honesty, I would recommend this book to readers of Marvel comics from recent years who haven’t read this book, I would not recommend this to nonfans or old-school readers, and I will say read “Agent Venom” first.

Well, I think it’s time we wrapped up here, I’ve been going on for quite a while now. So, I will tell you that there is plenty more content on timcubbin.blogspot.com to enjoy, so you can keep browsing. There are dozens of reviews, I’ve also posted short stories, essays, poems, editorials, and other forms of content, and I post very frequently. You can expect another review sometime within the next five days, so definitely keep an eye out for that, and there will be plenty more reviews to follow that, so keep coming back for more. Thanks for reading if you’re still here at this point you are THE BEST! I appreciate you for coming. Share with your friends, feel free to leave a comment in whatever forum you found this on, like, do whatever you can, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Venom: Agent Venom"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Venom: Agent Venom” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Eugene “Flash” Thompson was a corporal in the United States Army, inspired to be a hero by his idol Spider-Man. He lost both his legs. He was recruited to be part of Project Rebirth, where he was joined with the alien symbiote Venom. He would go on twenty missions for the United States government as Venom. He would be separated from the symbiote between missions to prevent permanent bonding. As Venom, Flash had the ability to walk on walls, shoot webs, enhanced strength, increased speed and agility, and shape-shifting capacities. The symbiote was also able to create legs so that Flash could walk. He was assigned to work under Katherine Glover, who had a kill switch. If the symbiote ever took over, she would press the button and fry the symbiote. After the twentieth mission, Flash’s term as Venom would be up, and a new soldier would be assigned to wear the symbiote. He could tell no one he was Venom or even part of Project Rebirth, his cover story was he was a traveling worker for the V.A.

            Flash’s first mission was in Madripoor, where he was to put a tag on Countess Bianca Demonico, who was believed to be part of the terrorist group Ultimatum so she could lead Project Rebirth to their base and leader Flag Smasher. While in Madripoor, Flash met Yusef Kassim, a Middle Eastern banker. Flash’s mission was successful. Flash returned home to find that Marla Jameson had died, and that his girlfriend Betty Brant was grieving. She asked him to talk to his best friend Peter Parker (who, unknown to everyone but Mary Jane Watson, is the amazing Spider-Man), who had shut down. Before he could talk to his friend, though, he was alerted that Kassim had been abducted by Ultimatum and assigned to rescue him. Flash was successful in rescuing Kassim, but during the rescue, Venom became savagely aggressive. Flash and Katherine had lost contact during the mission, so she was unaware of this behavior, and when asked if Flash lost control of Venom, Kassim just said he saw nothing less than a true hero. He returned home to find Betty was disappointed in him for not doing what she asked, and for missing Marla’s funeral, but Flash vowed to do better.

            Flash’s next mission was in Nrosvekistan, where Flash was to detain an arms dealer named Ferid Ekmecic. However, Flash wasn’t the only party interested in Ekmecic. A villain known only as Crime-Master and his adopted son, the supervillain Jack O’ Lantern, were also after the arms dealer, hoping to obtain dangerous, illegal, and powerful new weapons. Venom fought Jack and placed a bomb in his pumpkin, but failed to put an end to the villain, who tried to get away with Ekmecic, but Flash made a move that assured that neither side succeeded in bringing Ekmecic alive. Flash returned home to be lectured by the head of Project Rebirth, and to be accused of returning to his alcoholic ways by Betty, whom he missed a date with.

            Flash’s next mission was to destroy an Antarctic Vibranium mining facility in the Savage Land. He ran into Spider-Man’s longtime nemesis Kraven the Hunter, who mistook him for Spider-Man. They fought in a cave full of giant bats, who used their echolocation and created sonic waves, which weakened the symbiote and exposed Flash to both Kraven and to the Crime-Master, who had cameras in the Savage Land, and he was able to identify Flash’s identity. Flash was able to defeat Kraven and destroy the facility, but a shipment of Antarctic Vibranium was leaving the Savage Land in a helicopter. Flash got to that helicopter, where he was radioed by Crime-Master, who informed him he knew who Flash was and that Jack O’ Lantern had Betty strapped to a bomb and that if Flash didn’t bring Crime-Master the shipment of Antarctic Vibranium in New York, Betty would meet an explosive ending. Flash did as instructed, and Crime-Master told Flash that Crime-Master would call to collect again another day in the future and told Flash Betty’s location. Flash was swinging to rescue Betty, when he encountered Spider-Man. Peter Parker found Betty’s ramshackled apartment and mistakenly believed Venom had taken her. Venom won the fight, but it was Spider-Man who saved Betty. Project Rebirth was able to reacquire the Antarctic Vibranium, and Flash falsified his report, saying he never lost control of Venom except for when battling Spider-Man and omitted that the Crime-Master knew Flash’s identity.

            Venom next battled the Human Fly, whom he easily defeated and captured. He returned to his apartment, where he got a message from his mother that his father had been drinking again and that she wanted Flash to find his father. Flash and his father did not have a good relationship when Flash was growing up. Flash tried to ignore the message and went to cook with Betty but got a call from his mother and agreed to try to find his father. Betty offered to help, but Flash turned her down, instead turning to Peter Parker for assistance. Flash found his father at the police station, but his father collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where Flash and his family learned that Flash’s father had cirrhosis of the liver and was dying, and that drinking was his way of numbing the pain.

            A virus was released in Manhattan that gave regular humans spider powers. Flash was tasked with bringing in a giant spider-beast. Flash was successful in defeating the monster with the help of a young superhero called Gravity and brought the monster back to Project Rebirth base. The creature got loose and attacked the base, and Flash was going to destroy it until it was discovered that the creature was Steve Rogers/Captain America. Flash defeated Captain America again, and they were able to detain Captain America. Meanwhile, Betty was at the hospital with Flash’s dying father. The spider virus was mutating humans into spider creatures, and Eddie Brock/Anti-Venom was able to cure them. Project Rebirth tasked Flash with bringing Anti-Venom to Horizon Labs to synthesize a cure for the spider virus. Anti-Venom did not respond well to Venom’s presence, and the two fought. Venom won in the end, and Anti-Venom was brought to Horizon Labs. Flash made it to the hospital just in time to say goodbye to his father for the last time. Venom then battled the Queen, who was responsible for the spider virus that was plaguing Manhattan and was joined in the fight by a restored Captain America. The two won, but the Queen herself mutated into a giant Spider-Queen.

            After the Spider-Queen was defeated and the citizens of Manhattan were restored back to normal human beings, Flash fought a villain called the Hijacker, who rode around in an impenetrable tank. After watching several innocent people become collateral damage, Flash lost control of the symbiote and put a violent end to the Hijacker. He then returned home to receive a letter Flash’s father wrote to him before he died.

            At Flash’s father’s funeral, Jack O’ Lantern turned up and brought Flash to the Crime-Master, who told him if Flash didn’t do what Crime-Master told him to do, his remaining family, Betty, and friends would join Flash’s father in the grave. Crime-Master told Flash to get the symbiote and go to Las Vegas. Flash went to Project Rebirth, where Captain America arrived to announce the Project was being shut down and that the Venom symbiote would be taken and contained by the Avengers. Before the symbiote could be secured, Flash stole it. Venom battled Captain America, won, and escaped. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock was getting ready to go after all the symbiotes and destroy them. Flash was joined on his escape by Jack O’ Lantern. Captain America tasked General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk with defeating Venom, securing the symbiote, and bringing Flash in for a court-martial. Flash and Jack O’ Lantern arrived in Vegas, where Flash learned he was supposed to be obtaining the Toxin symbiote for Crime-Master. Venom tried to destroy the symbiote, but Jack intervened. Venom and Jack O’ Lantern battled, and Jack extorted Flash into letting Jack make off with the Toxin symbiote. Flash then called Betty and broke up with her over the phone.

            Blackheart and Gari Oyle planned to bring Hell to Earth in Las Vegas. Blackheart prepared a ritual. Laura Kinney/X-23 learned that Blackheart had obtained samples of her blood and went to Vegas to get it back. Red Hulk found Flash in Vegas. X-23 found a laboratory containing Venomized clones of hers. Alejandra/Ghost Rider arrived in Vegas and tried to stop Blackheart’s ritual and rode through his centrifuge, but instead completed the ritual, and Hell started to spread to Earth, starting in Las Vegas. If Ghost Rider stopped riding through the centrifuge, Earth would be sucked into Hell. Johnny Blaze, the previous Ghost Rider, placed a relic outside Vegas to prevent the spread of Hell, then rode through the centrifuge so Ghost Rider could battle Blackheart. Venom, Red Hulk, X-23 and Ghost Rider then teamed up to battle Blackheart, but Blackheart used his mirror to create their Antitheses, The Evangelist, Encephalon, X-666, and Ichor to battle them. The heroes all lost their battles as died. In death, they all got everything they ever wanted out of life, but since they were now in Hell, it all went horribly wrong for them. Mephisto, Lord of Hell and Blackheart’s father, offered the heroes a deal. They all died in Hell, so he was able to restore them, but they had to make an unholy pact with Mephisto. The heroes returned to Vegas, where the Red Hulk joined with both the Spirit of Vengeance and the Venom symbiote and were able to defeat Blackheart and Gari Oyle. After the battle, the Spirit of Vengeance returned to Alejandra, who rode off, and the Venom Symbiote returned to Flash. Captain America arrived to arrest Flash, but Red Hulk vouched for Flash, and instead, Flash was recruited into the Secret Avengers. They would keep the Venom symbiote in the Lighthouse Space Station and send it through the phone when Flash dialed their number, using the technology of Pym Particles.

            Eddie Brock went on his mission to destroy all symbiotes, and Flash returned home to lie to his friends and family about his double life.

            Flash was tasked on an Avengers mission to supervise the Human Fly’s transfer to the Raft, when the train they were transporting him on was attacked by the Hobgoblin. Venom battled the Hobgoblin and protected the Human Fly but had to make a difficult decision between protecting the prisoner as was his mission or saving the lives of the other guards helping with the transport.

            Okay, so now let’s get on to my personal thoughts on this book. I thought this was an enjoyable book. I really enjoyed it. The stories were to my liking. I found it an interesting idea to make Flash Thompson Venom. He’s Spider-Man’s biggest fan, and now he’s got similar powers to Spider-Man? I just thought that was brilliant. And the conflict when he battled Spider-Man was so beautifully written, how he was so hesitant and how hard it was for him to fight the man who inspired him to be the man he became. And I loved how the writers also focused on Flash’s personal life with his family and friends, the drama was just so gripping, having to deal with lying to his friends and family about who he was and what he was doing, and having to deal with an alcoholic father and losing him, I thought it was even better than Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s drama. And I liked how Flash was put in such a hard position, having to be in the debt of a literal master criminal (hence Crime-Master) in order to protect his loved ones because he knew who he was, I thought that was even better than the Peter Parker and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin drama. My problem with this book comes from the artwork. I just didn’t like the artwork in this book at all. There were a few issues here and there that I liked, but this book had a smorgasbord of artists, and in general I just didn’t like all their work, I’m sorry to say. But as far as the story goes, it was great.

            Next, we’re going to talk about accessibility. Now, when I say accessibility, I mean how easy it is for someone who knows nothing about Venom to read this book. This book has a few caveats. Yes, it has the full origin story of a new Venom, containing the start of his series. Oddly though, this book was the first Venom Modern Era Epic Collection published, despite being Vol. 4. I can tell you that my review of Vol. 1 is coming up in a little over a month from now, so keep a look out for that. I can say though that it can kind of be a bit of a jump on point, and I might have advised it, except for the “Spider-Island” storyline, which was actually an event that was published mainly in “Amazing Spider-Man” with a few spin-offs, but if you didn’t read it, it would be very hard to follow it in this Modern Era Epic Collection, especially since the ending of one issue of Venom actually picks up in “Amazing Spider-Man” and leaves on a literal cliffhanger, and while this book does give a brief description of how “Spider-Island” ended, it’s still not easy to follow if you didn’t read the main event, so I will tell you that if you are a new reader and wish to read this book, I would seriously advise you to read the “Spider-Island” graphic novel as well as this book, because the main event is not covered at all in this book and that’s a serious chunk of needed material left out. Also, Red Hulk, Ghost Rider, and X-23 aren’t the best-established characters now, so their storylines in “Circle of Four” would be slightly confusing. Heck, I don’t even know Alejandra as Ghost Rider, and I don’t know the origin of the Red Hulk, so if I don’t know all this and I’ve been reading for twenty-four years, a reader who has never picked up a comic before sure as heck won’t know all this either. Also, people who have never read a comic book before would not believe that Peter Parker and Flash Thompson become best friends, people who only know Flash from other media only think of him as Peter Parker’s bully and not as his friend, so this will be hard for a new reader to accept. And Eddie Brock’s transformation into Anti-Venom is also something new readers might find difficult. I wasn’t reading comics at the time, so I know little about Anti-Venom and his true capabilities. And there are just so many symbiotes in this book that other Marvel media hasn’t established yet, so those would be hard to get, especially for those who only played “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” and think of Mary Jane Watson as Scream, as Scream does appear in this book and in the Marvel Universe, Mary Jane was never possessed by the Scream symbiote. Now, I can say that this book contains a level of accessibility on the front that it’s an origin, but there’s just so much backstory and crossover content that using this as your first foray into Marvel comics isn’t the best idea if you only plan on reading this book alone without “Spider-Island.”

            Now it’s time for my numeric score. I’m going to do this quickly because I have been going on for quite a while, so I’ll just tell you my scoring system. I score on a scale of one to ten. One is the worst, which means this was so horrible it shouldn’t be read, ten is the best, which means this book is so good it should be read a million times. I will say I have read this book three times at this point, but I’ve only done that because I read it the first time I got it, then once as each new volume came out, so if you do the math, that means that there are two more volumes now, and the reason I’m reviewing this now is because I didn’t have a laptop to review this book on the first two times I read this book. But anyway, let’s just get to the score. Now, since this is a GRAPHIC novel, I must consider both the story, which I loved, and the artwork, which I didn’t really like. So I will just combine the two as I give this score, and I would love to give this book a really high score because I loved the story so much, but the artwork was just so disappointing I have to knock down the score quite a bit, I’m going to have to churn out the score of… seven. I just did not like the art enough to give it a high score, it just took so much away from my enjoyment of the story that I really had to deduct points, but if they were consistently better, the score would have been higher.

            Next up, we’re going to talk about if I recommend this book or not. I would very much recommend this book; I thought it was a terrific book and very much worth reading. But, like I said, read “Spider-Island” first or you will not understand the story in this book. If you are a regular comic book reader and a fan of anything Venom but have not read this book, I am telling you to read this book, I found it to be top shelf quality. Even if you don’t read comics and like Venom and found this review to be interesting, you should totally read this book, I’ve told you everything you need to know anyway, so you’d get it just by reading my words.

            Anyway, I’ve been going on for way too long at this point, so I’m going to wrap it up now. If you’re still here reading at this point, you are THE BEST! I’ve written dozens of reviews already, I’ve already written fifteen reviews of Modern Era Epic Collections at this point including this one, and there are plenty more on the way, you can expect my next review sometime in the next three days. I’ve also written short stories, poetry, essays, editorials, and other content, so if you liked this post and want to read more, keep checking out timcubbin.blogspot.com for more content, there’s plenty more like this and my other content on the way, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Deadpool & Cable: Ballistic Bromance"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Deadpool & Cable: Ballistic Bromance” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format. It IS NOT a review of the film “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

            Wade Wilson/Deadpool is a mercenary with a healing factor that lets him recover from about any wound.

            Nathan Summers/Cable is a mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers.

            Deadpool received a call from Anton Kruch, the Prime Minister of the One World Church in France. Sunic Pharmacopoeia in Germany had invented the Façade Virus, a synthetic virus that enabled shapeshifting. Kruch wanted Deadpool to steal the virus. Cable planned to destroy the virus. Cable and Deadpool arrived at Sunic and had an altercation; Cable won. Cable found out that the Spammers, a group of three graduate students, had already stolen the virus themselves and used it on themselves, planning to cause anarchy. Deadpool and Cable had another altercation; Cable won. Cable found the Spammers, who did not survive their exposure to Façade, but obtained the virus, until he had another altercation with Deadpool; this time Deadpool won and stole the virus, which he brought back to Kruch. Kruch then injected it into Deadpool, hoping Deadpool’s healing factor would be able to stabilize the virus. Deadpool converted to the ways of the One World Church. Cable came to the One World Church and observed Deadpool for several days. He found out that the One World Church planned to use the Deliverance Device to transmit the Façade virus through the optic nerve. The believed side effect is it would turn a person blue. Kruch showed the device to Cable, which also infected Cable, and the side effect on Cable was it blocked his access to his mutant powers. As a child, Cable had been exposed to a techno-organic virus, and his telekinetic abilities were all that was keeping it in check. Cable and Deadpool had another altercation; this time the techno-organic virus completely immobilized Cable, and the Façade virus completely turned Deadpool into goo, until Cable mixed himself with Deadpool, which saved both their lives and restored them to their previous forms. The One World Church had hired Edward Lansky/Lightmaster to release the Façade virus. Cable modified the virus and launched Lightmaster into space. Lightmaster released the virus, that turned everyone pink instead of Kruch’s planned blue, and also did not turn everyone exposed to it into goo. The transformation would only be temporary. Cable had once had a space station that had blown up and been buried. Cable restored all those pieces. He also restored his teleport matrix. He used it to Bodyslide to the Daily Bugle office in New York to see his reporter contact, whom he had been in telepathic contact with over the course of this whole story. Because of their mixing, every time Cable or Deadpool performed a Bodyslide, both would teleport to the same location at the same time. Cable was recognized as saving the world from a destabilizing virus and deemed a savior in the Daily Bugle. Because of his status as a mutant, the X-Men, the mutant superhero team began to plan for the eventuality that Cable would cross a line.

            While in Hong Kong trying to steal an item for a job, Deadpool encountered Shen Kuei, the mercenary known as the Cat. Deadpool battled him and lost, and the Cat obtained the item. They met again in Tokyo where the Cat was trying to steal the second part. This device could be able to stop Cable. Deadpool was able to steal both pieces and Bodyslide away. S.H.I.E.L.D., the world peacekeeping agency, also prepared for the eventuality Cable would turn, and formed the Six Pack, a team consisting of G.W. Bridge, Hammer, Anaconda, Constrictor, Solo, and Domino. Cable established a floating island called Providence and took in refugees who wished for a home with their savior. Cable battled the Six Pack and won, then brought them to Providence and was able to sway them to his side. Deadpool and the Cat both tried to steal a device, but the X-Men prevented it, and took in Deadpool. Cable asked the governments of the world to disarm, or he would throw every weapon on Earth into the sun. Deadpool and the X-Men launched an assault upon Providence, and they battled Cable and the Six Pack. The fight was joined by the alien being the Silver Surfer, who was able to defeat Cable. Providence crashed into the ocean. Cable had Deadpool use the device he stole, which lobotomized Cable.

            After Deadpool took out Cable, public favor turned against Deadpool. Deadpool, wishing to restore Cable, went to Advanced Idea Mechanics and took an extraterrestrial techno-organic embryo. Cable had telepathically called the Six Pack to his Safe House and drew them into his mind, trapping their consciousnesses in his mind permanently until he died. Deadpool turned to P. Norbert Ebersol/Fixer, to fix Cable. Alex Hayden/Agent X was hired to prevent Deadpool from saving Cable’s life. The two battled and Deadpool won. Fixer was able to use the alien embryo to merge with Cable and restore him to consciousness. He and Deadpool then went to Providence.

            Haji Bin Barat, the world’s most wanted terrorist, had taken refuge on Providence. He was found murdered. Deadpool decided to take the case, only to find that he himself was the murderer. Cable then banished Deadpool from Providence. Deadpool then turned to the Black Box to fix himself.

            Instead, the Black Box reprogrammed Deadpool to eliminate the greatest threat to humanity: superhumans. Deadpool returned to Providence to learn that Cable had gone missing after fighting a supervillain called the Skornn alongside his team X-Force. Cable was not on this Earth, so the mutant inventor Forge created a device that would allow Deadpool interspatial and intraspatial travel through his Bodyslides. Theresa Cassidy/Siryn and Sam Guthrie/Cannonball would be able to travel with Deadpool as well, but they would appear three minutes behind Deadpool. Deadpool’s first stop was an Age of Apocalypse, where Cable’s greatest adversary Apocalypse had taken over the world. On this Earth, Cable was Apocalypse’s Horseman Death. Deadpool’s next stop was one where Cable was like unto a God. His third world was one where the techno-organic species the Phalanx had taken over Earth and Cable was the colony leader. On his fourth Earth, Cable was a baby, created in a laboratory by the evil genius Mr. Sinister to be the ultimate mutant. Sinister injected baby Cable with Deadpool’s DNA, hoping to rapidly age baby Cable to adulthood. Deadpool was able to Bodyslide with baby Cable back to the main Earth. X-Force then needed to find a way to break Black Box’s programming over Deadpool and restore Cable to his proper self.

            Okay, so let’s talk about my opinions on this book for a little bit. First off, I love Deadpool, I think he’s great. Cable is also a favorite character of mine, if you know enough about him and you found me on X, you might just get the reference of my handle, but I’m not actually going to spoil it for you, I’ll just leave you to do the research if that’s what you wish to do. Anyway, enough on that. I was so excited to get this book. Some of you now might be more in the line of thinking about “Deadpool & Wolverine” rather than “Deadpool & Cable,” but that’s not how it was back in 2004-2005 when this series was originally published. And I do have to say I thought this book was decent. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. To me, it was just mediocre. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did, but it was not an instant favorite of mine. I guess I can just say it was okay. The stories just didn’t wow me the way I hoped they would. And I just didn’t find it to be as funny as I was hoping it would be. There was just no true laugh aloud moments for me. There were a few scoffs, snorts, and parts that made me smile, but I just didn’t really laugh, if you know what I mean. I can, however, say that I did enjoy the inclusion of the X-Men rosters of the time, having members from all three of the main teams in one book at the same time was nice. And I also loved the artwork in this book. I thought it was great. I will say the funniest moment for me was when Deadpool claimed to look like Ryan Renolds crossed with a shar-pei, considering that issue was from 2004, and in 2009 Ryan Renolds as we all know did in fact start playing Deadpool, so I found that amusing that Fabian Nicieza, the writer, picked who he wanted to play the character five years before it actually happened. Hey, Mark Millar got Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury like he wanted.

            Okay, next we’re going to talk about accessibility. What I mean by that is how easy it is to pick up this book if you are not familiar with Deadpool or Cable comics. I will say this is not an easily accessible book. If you don’t know anything about Marvel Comics, if you’ve never read a Marvel comic book before and want to start, this book is not entry level. I know Deadpool is great and all, and “Deadpool & Wolverine” is killing it in theaters, but if you don’t know Cable, this is going to be difficult. Cable is an extremely complicated character, even I have difficulties with him, and I’ve been reading Marvel Comics for twenty-four years. Also, the X-Force storyline is a little obscure, I think some of that happened in a different comic that was not included in this book, so part of that story got chopped out of this book, which makes understanding that storyline a little difficult. Plus this book did have the House of M issue, which, if you read my review of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” we have talked about this before, but I will say in this book it really didn’t seem to matter since Deadpool was going to alternate Earths, but it might not be clear to a reader who doesn’t know House of M that the Earth with Mr. Sinister and baby Cable actually is the main Marvel Universe, just that the Scarlet Witch messed around with it. But House of M was a separate event that was not elaborated on fully in this book, so a reader who doesn’t know the event may have missed a substantial chunk of Marvel history. Also, there was an Age of Apocalypse visit, which was another event, but it should be said that even Deadpool mentioned this was AN Age of Apocalypse, not THE Age of Apocalypse, but even the concept was something that happened in the comics ten years prior and may be something that might go over the head of a person who is unfamiliar with the storyline, but even that doesn’t seem to be super important to know because it doesn’t reference the content of the event, so I honestly don’t think not knowing Age of Apocalypse will matter, but it would help to know. There were also several other characters, such as the Six Pack, Agent X and X-Force, who are more obscure. I just feel that there’s so much history involved in this book too that just won’t be easy for a new reader to pick up. If you’ve read Cable or Deadpool enough for any length of time, though, I think this book will be understandable, but if you just saw “Deadpool & Wolverine” and saw this book and thought it sounded cool, let me tell you, it’s not what you’re thinking.

            Anyway, I’ve gone on about that long enough, you’re getting a little bored at this point, so let’s get down to the important part: my numeric score. I know that most of you just read these for my synopsis and numeric scores anyway and see if I say I recommend it or not and that’s really all you care about, so I’ll just stop droning on about something you probably don’t want to be reading anyway. So, of course, like I always say, this is a GRAPHIC novel, which means that I must consider both the art AND the story when I give my score. Now, as my regular readers know, artwork has knocked my scores down in the past, or raised the scores. I’ve had some books that were potential tens based on story, but the artwork just couldn’t justify a ten and knocked my score down to a nine, and I’ve had some books get higher scores based on art, despite having awful stories. Like I said, this book was mediocre when it came to the story, but the art was good. So, we’re going to mix a balance here when we give it a score. Now, I score on a scale of one to ten, one being the worst, ten being the best. So, combining everything, all the cards on the table, the story and the art, the numeric score I can give this book is… six. Like I said, it was average, so it just falls right in the middle of the scale.

            Next up is my recommendation. The question is do I recommend this book, and if so, to whom do I recommend it. Honestly, I can say that I do recommend it if you are a fan of both Deadpool and Cable from the comics. However, if you just like Deadpool from the movies and want to read a Deadpool book, I do not recommend it to you. In general, though, this book does not get a high recommendation from me.

            Okay, I know that I have been going on for way too long, so let’s just start to wrap this up. I post on this website very frequently, so you can always expect new content. I write tons of Marvel reviews, every Modern Era Epic Collection that comes out gets added to my collection and as soon as that’s done, that gets a review on this website. There are a few I’ve read that I haven’t reviewed because I didn’t have a laptop at the time to type these reviews on, but I’ll get around to those when new volumes of those series come out. In fact, that’s about to happen. You can expect another review within the next couple of days, so check back then. I also write short stories, poetry, editorials, and essays, so there’s plenty of other content on this website if you’re interested in reading more. So, I hope you will be back for more, because I will be back within the next couple of days, so I’ll say to you that until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!

"Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes"

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes” as presented in Modern Era Epic Collection format. It is not a review of any of the films, television series, video games, or prose novels.

            A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, it is a period of renewed hope for the Rebellion. The evil Galactic Empire’s greatest weapon, the Death Star, has been destroyed by the young Rebel pilot, Luke Skywalker. With the Imperial Forces in disarray, the Rebels look to press their advantage by unleashing a daring offensive throughout the far reaches of space, hoping to defeat the Empire finally and at last restore freedom to the galaxy.

            The Rebellion dispatched Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO to Cymoon 1 to destroy the Empire’s Weapons Factory Alpha. The plan was to go in with Han pretending to be an emissary of Jabba the Hutt, then they would get to the power core, set explosive charges, and escape to Han’s ship the Millenium Falcon. After the charges were placed, Luke found a group of slaves whom he refused to leave behind. The Rebels were getting ready to return to the Falcon when the negotiator arrived: Darth Vader. Chewbacca attempted to take Vader out, but Vader blocked his shot and alerted all the Stormtroopers to the presence of the Rebels of Cymoon 1. Meanwhile, the Falcon was being dismantled by native scavengers in its hiding place. Han, Leia, and the slaves attempted to retreat to the Falcon in an Imperial Walker, while Luke ran off to confront Vader himself. Luke almost lost his life, but the Imperial Walker arrived just in time to save him. C3PO attempted to intimidate the scavengers, but proved far from intimidating and was taken by them and dismantled. Chewbacca was able to rescue him. The Empire mechanics discovered the explosives and disabled them. Leia, Han, Chewbacca, the slaves, and the droids made it to the Falcon, while Luke flew a speeder to the power core and blew it up himself. The Rebellion were able to jump to lightspeed and escape a blockade of Star Destroyers. Vader then vowed that he and he alone would be the one to train Luke in the ways of the Force and turn him to the Dark Side. Vader turned to Jabba the Hutt to learn more about the boy who destroyed the Death Star, hoping to learn his name. Jabba revealed the boy was connected to “Ben” Kenobi and sent out bounty hunter Boba Fett to gather information. Luke, however, was unsure of himself and thought the best place to find answers would be his home planet Tatooine. A mysterious woman put out a bounty for Han. Leia and Han were scouting for a planet suitable for a new Rebel base when they were chased by Imperial Tie Fighters. They escaped to a planet covered by electrical storms Han thought would provide respite. The mysterious woman followed Han and Leia to that planet. Luke went to the house of Ben Kenobi, where he was confronted by Boba Fett, who blinded him. Luke was able to defeat Fett and escape with a box from Kenobi’s house. The mystery woman after Han revealed herself to be Sana Solo, Han’s wife. When Luke’s sight returned, he opened the box and discovered it contained the journals of Ben Kenobi. Fett was able to return to Vader with the name “Skywalker” and ended his deal with Vader.

            Kenobi’s journals revealed that Kenobi wanted to train Luke in the ways of the Force from Luke’s childhood. Kenobi trained Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father, and wanted to train his son as well, but Luke’s Uncle Owen Lars forbade it. Still, Kenobi watched over Luke from a distance.

            Sana revealed she wanted Han back. She decided they could sell Leia to the Empire, Meanwhile, Luke traveled to Nar Shaddaa, the Smuggler’s Moon, hoping to learn more information about the Jedi. The Imperials attacked Han, Leia, and Sana, who were all turning against each other. Luke was beaten in a fight and abducted by Grakkus the Hutt, a Hutt who collected Jedi memorabilia. He tested Luke, asking him to open a Jedi Holocron, a device only a Jedi could unlock. Luke was successful, and Grakkus realized he now had the last Jedi in his custody. He decided to train Luke for the arena. The Rebellion received a distress call from R2D2, alerting them that Luke was being held hostage on Nar Shaddaa, and dispatched Chewbacca and C3PO to rescue him. Leia, Han, and Sana were able to escape the Imperials, and Leia received learned of Luke’s distress. Luke was trained to fight in the arena, where Grakkus planned to host the viewing of the death of the last Jedi to make a fortune. Chewbacca and C3PO were attacked by a bounty hunter named Dengar. They were losing until Han and Leia arrived. The Imperials arrived on Nar Shaddaa, alerted by Grakkus’ Gamemaster, who was secretly an Imperial agent. Chewbacca, Han, and Leia took up Lightsabers and fought to rescue Luke. Leia then learned that Han and Sana’s marriage was a fraud. The Rebellion was able to rescue Luke, and they escaped from Nar Shaddaa.

            Through the underworld sources of his secret ally, Dr. Aphra, Vader received word of Luke’s location- the former Jedi temple on the planet Vrogas Vas. The Rebellion and Vader had a battle over Vrogas Vas, where the Rebellion took heavy casualties, until Luke rammed Vader’s enhanced Tie Fighter with his ship, and the two adversaries crash landed on the planet Vrogas Vas, where the Rebels had a secret refueling base. Aphra, feeling like she led Vader into a trap and wanting to stay in his good graces, landed on Vrogas Vas, with her droids. The incapacitated Luke, and she attempted to bring him to Vader, but Chewbacca came to Luke’s rescue. Han and Aphra had a showdown, which ended with both being assaulted by wasp-worms. Leia directly confronted Vader, who allowed her to escape. The Wookie Black Krrsantan was hired by Jabba to bring Han back, and Chewbacca and Krrsantan battled. Sith Lord Commander Karbin decided to take an opportunity to win favor with the Emperor and defeat Vader and take Vader’s place at the Emperor’s side. Luke, Han, Chewbacca and C3PO were taken down, Vader was engaged in battle with Karbin, Aphra was on the loose with her droids, and Leia had a choice of either taking down Vader or saving her fellow Rebels.

            Okay, now it’s time to talk about what I thought of this book. I love “Star Wars,” especially the original trilogy, so I was super excited when Marvel announced they were doing Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collections. As my regular readers know, I get every Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection, but Star Wars was something I have really been looking forward to for months, and I’m glad it’s finally here. And I have to say, I was not disappointed. This book was exactly as good as I was hoping it would be, even better. Right off the bat, I started on the first page, and it started exactly how the movies started, with the title crawl. I included it at the start of this review, it’s the first paragraph. Then I got to the art. John Cassaday is an amazing artist, I loved his work on Astonishing X-Men, so seeing his penciling was super exciting for me. I knew exactly who each character was supposed to be, they looked exactly as how they did in the movies, which was great. Some comic books, you read and aren’t 100% sure who each character is every time because they artists make them look different, but that was not the case in this book. I was slightly disappointed that Cassaday was not the only artist in this book, and I am not a fan of the work of Simone Bianchi, so the one issue he did was a minor letdown for me, but the other artists did fantastic jobs, particularly Salvador Larroca, who I am a major fan of. As far as the stories go, they were so good. They were true to the source material, they did not deviate from canon, even the Obi-Wan Kenobi flashback issue didn’t clash with the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series on Disney+ which came out several years later, so I was incredibly happy about that. And it felt like Star Wars. The characters were written properly, their essences were true to the source material. And to me it didn’t feel forced, it didn’t feel superfluous, it didn’t feel like a waste of time. I found it to be highly enjoyable. And I loved the new characters Sana Starros and Dr. Aphra, I find them to be great additions to the Star Wars universe and wish that Disney would do something to bring them to the screen, I feel like they deserve it. I would totally love to see a “Dr. Aphra” series on Disney+. As it is, her popularity grew in the comics and she has had several her own series, which I have found enjoyable. I just found this book to be all around enjoyable, I thought Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen did a brilliant job with this book, I can’t wait for the next Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection which incidentally is not scheduled to come out until July 2025, so that’s almost a year from the point of my writing this, but there is a Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection coming out November 2024, so you can expect it in less than four months from the point of my writing this review.

            Anyway, let’s talk about accessibility. This is a slightly different situation that normal. Usually, I talk about how easy it is for a new comic book reader to get into reading a series that follows the Marvel Universe, which has been in existence since the 1940s, but this is a different universe than we normally talk about. This is the “Star Wars” universe. So, if you want to read this book and understand it, I feel that honestly all you really need to have seen before reading this book is “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.” However, there is reference to Darth Vader’s history, so seeing “Episodes I-III” are also advised, but I think all you really need to have seen is “A New Hope.” If you haven’t seen it, then you won’t be able to fully follow this book, but if you’ve seen “Episode IV,” I think you’ll have no problem reading and understanding the contents of this book.

            Okay, now we’re getting to the important part of the review, my numeric score. I score on a scale of one to ten. One is the lowest score, which means that this book is awful and should not be read, ten is the highest score, which means if you’re a fan of Star Wars you better go read this book the second you’re done reading this review. Getting a ten from me is extremely difficult, especially from a graphic novel. That means it needs to have sheer perfection. A graphic novel is a symbiosis or story and art, and both must be considered when I review a graphic novel. In every honesty, I really would like to give this book a ten, I do think it deserves it, BUT I can’t because of that one issue drawn by Simone Bianchi, I just must nitpick from that. It’s just the hiccup that takes away from perfection, so I just can’t give this book that ten. If any of the other artists in this book had drawn that issue, I could have given it a ten, but because of that, I must settle on scoring this book at a nine.

            Now let’s talk about my recommendation. I always talk about if I recommend the book and if so, to whom I recommend the book. Honestly, I feel like if you are a fan of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, you should make every effort to read this book. If you’ve ever seen “Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope” and enjoyed it, totally go out there and pick up this book and read it. I think you will not be disappointed.

            Well, we’re now at the point where we’re wrapping this up. As many of you know, I’ve done over a hundred posts on this blog, I’ve done dozens of reviews like this, and I’m not kidding when I say that. I’ve got another review coming up within the next few days, so keep an eye out for that, it will be very soon, I promise you that. I also have written several short stories; I’ve written poetry as well. I’ve done editorials, I’ve done essays. I’ve done all kinds of posts. I have a degree in English with a minor in journalism, so this blog is me using that degree. And with that, we are done, so I will leave you with just a few more words: Tim Cubbin… out!