Though it saw a shaky start, this new Spidey story has really picked up in the two most recent chapters. Paul Jenkins's script is thoughtful and brings a creepier and more mature edge to the notion of an alien suit that bonds with its wearer. While the story arc may be officially titled "The Hunger," it reads more as though it's called "Peter Parker Grows Up." The more reflective tone is matched in Humberto Ramos's intense and exaggerated artwork as well. Though the story started out as deliciously dark and monstrous, a more grounded and thoughtful theme has emerged.
The Venom alien finally has what it wants: Spider-Man. It has craved reunion with its original earthly host, and it takes all of Peter Parker's will and strength to fight it off. And even then, Spider-Man is fighting a losing battle. The creature has its tendrils in him, and it's only through desperate action and some help from some friends that he's able to withstand the overwhelming, black tide. In order to fight the creature off for good, he and his friends must first learn why Venom craves Spider-Man above all others, and the answers shed some light on the nature of Peter's powers.
The most impressive visuals aspects of Jim Lee's current run on Batman have been the ghostly, reflective qualities of the flashback sequences, and Ramos follows the same path here. He doesn't take the same kind of pseudo-painted approach, but he conveys the characters' darker thoughts with an unsettling and eerie black-and-white motif that really catches the eye. I'd love to see more of this unconventional, noir approach from Ramos in the future.
Now, one of this story's liabilities is that it relies fairly heavily on past continuity. One has to know a bit about the alien Venom suit, its origins and the time it spent with Peter Parker (way back in the 1980s, by the way). Still, the story's not entirely inaccessible. Jenkins provides some background in the script, and he and Ramos do a great job of conveying the parasitic and insidious qualities of the Venom entity.
Need for others has arisen to be the core theme of this story. The suit needs to be with Spider-Man. Eddie needs the suit to need him. Flash Thompson is now dependent on Peter Parker, and Peter leaned on the sense of community in his apartment building in the previous chapter. Jenkins seems to explore the difference between support and a crutch, between reliance and dependence. There are interesting and challenging parallels and contrasts to be found in this story arc.
