Millar's mature take on the world of Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe in general continues to impress. The plot point, revealed at the end of this issue, around which this story arc revolves is novel and clever. What doesn't work here, though, is the incorporation of an X-Men (actually, one X-Woman) appearance that does little to advance the story and as a result, comes off as little more than a grab at some extra sales. The regular art team returns in this issue, and again, they bring an edgy quality and a dark maturity to the book that helps to set it apart from the other Spider-Man titles, and past Spidey stories in general.
Peter Parker learns that Eddie Brock, better known as the human host of the malevolent Venom, is the center of some sort of major underworld event. Ol' Pete would normally be worrying about the location and nature of the criminal confab, but he's got weightier concerns on his mind. He's desperate to find some kind of clue as to the whereabouts of Aunt May and the identity of her kidnapper, so he heads out to Westchester, where he knews a few psychics hang out when not fighting crime and injustice.
The cover for this comic book is irksome because it promises a number of extra characters will appear,but only one of them does. Joss Whedon's lineup from Astonishing X-Men play no role in this issue. Wolverine's claws and Emma Frost's lack of modesty do not turn up here. The cover and advance promotion for this issue are blantantly manipulative and misleading.
The interior art is quite strong. The Dodsons bring the opening mob scene to life with great detail. I'm reminded of the sharp level of detail and realism that Kevin (Formerly Known as the Justice League) Maguire brings to his comics work. The artists also instill a softness and personable quality in Rachel Summers. That helps with the emotionally charged nature of her scene at the end of the issue.
That scene really drives home the horrific nature of the Aunt May situation and Peter's feelings of powerlessness and desperation. Still, while it reinforces what we already knew, it does nothing to advance the plot. The longer the Aunt May plot lingers, the more difficult it will be to maintain that sense of urgency and credibility for the notion that Spidey hasn't sought out more direct help, secret identity be damned.
Millar builds on Paul Jenkins's Venom plot from Spectacular Spider-Man from a while back here to great effect. Jenkins portrayed Eddie Brock as a broken man, a pitiable figure. Now the strength we'd seen before returns, but the illness remains. Millar doesn't ignore Jenkins's work, but takes that idea and molds it into something different and exciting. Marvel's been all over the map lately when it comes to Venom, and I hope this plotline provides a definitive new direction for the character.
