Bendis's spin on the Venom concept has been inventive, less convoluted than the original and thoroughly entertaining, but its greatest strength is how it has served chiefly as a catalyst for strong characterizatio rather than a convenient way of introducing a cool new arch-nemesis for the title character. Bendis lets his dialogue shift into purple-prose mode a bit here, but overall, he offers up yet another compelling script, brought to life yet again by Bagley's sharp, dynamic linework.
Eddie Brock is not having a good day. When 15-year-old Gwen Stacy spurns his sexual advances, he doesn't handle it well. But the real punch in the gut is his discovery that someone has been mucking about with the contents of his sealed chemical locker in the university lab... and given the television coverage he sees, he has reason to believe Spider-Man is involved. Rushing to check the locker, though, brings Eddie face-to-face with an even more mind-numbing revelation.
Despite the vision of horror and imminent violence on the cover, this issue is all about emotion. Gwen, Eddie and Peter Parker all go through some intense emotion here, and Bagley manages to spell it out clearly on their faces. Peter looks emotionally and physically drained, and Eddie's confusion and eventual anger shine through with crystal clarity. Thibert brings an appropriately inky, foreboding atmosphere to bear in this issue as well. It was also nice to get a final glimpse of the black Spidey look, via the TV broadcast Eddie watches.
The one element in this issue that didn't sit well with me was Peter's rather lengthy speech, around which the entire issue resolves. There's nothing wrong with the sentiment -- it speaks to how his experiences as Spider-Man have affected him, and it's not in a positive way -- and the return of the conspiracy-theory undertones of the title is welcome. No, what seemed off was how flowery and eloquent the speech is. Peter has been through hell and he's confused, but there's a clarity in his dialogue that doesn't quite jibe with that.
Though Peter steals the spotlight, this issue marks one of the strongest "performances" by the Gwen character in the series thus far. In the past, Gwen has come off as a near-adult with attitude, but here's, she's a responsible girl... with attitude. Not only does Eddie misjudge her (to the detriment of his character), so does Peter. The notion of Gwen as slutty party girl is disspelled, and she's a stronger character as a result.
