Carnage #1 Review

By Jeff Lake

Carnage has never been the most complex of Spider-Man villains, the angsty offspring of Venom rarely rising beyond his obviously murderous inclinations. Rather than try and reinvent the webbed wheel, Gerry Conway and Mike Perkins instead lean into the more horror infused elements of the character. The resulting read is high on tension and even higher on promise, paving the way for what will hopefully be a bloody good time.

Given the rather straight forward nature of the character, Cletus Kasady comes off as a tough character to write. His violence and aggression is almost always at surface level, leaving very little layers to work with. Perhaps realizing this, writer Conway spends the bulk of this first issue working around his many tendriled lead, instead focusing on the ones who drew his ire in the first place. The short list includes fellow symbiote sidecar Eddie Brock, former astronaut John Jameson, and the sole survivor of Kasaday’s first murder spree, Manuela Calderon. Said role call initially reads as overly familiar in premise, and it’s when things go very, very wrong that the book really gets going.

Conway does a solid job in laying the framework for the book’s eventual descent into horror territory, offering just enough insight into each character to allow for some level of investment. His characterization is a bit clunky at times with some awkward expositional dialogue, but the overall way in which he places his characters works well. The read really turns following a botched attempt to subdue Carnage, as the hunters suddenly become the hunted. It’s a great hook leading into next issue, one reminiscent of genre thrillers such as The Descent or even Alien. Carnage is a much more terrifying presence off page than on here, and there are plenty of promising elements that point to further unease going forward.

One of those elements is artist Perkins. At first his shadow heavy style is almost too aggressive, but once the book makes its first transition his pencils really mesh with the material. His character work as a whole is solid, if slightly inconsistent. Character faces don’t always translate from panel to panel, leading to a few awkward angles. His Carnage also reads a bit static, the character not always as fluid as his power set suggests. Perkins makes up for these small inconsistencies with his excellent attention to mood. He expertly captures the moment when the issue first takes a turn, the tension only heightening with each passing page. By the time you get to the finale you can almost hear that single water droplet drop, so prominent is the unfolding danger. Colorist Andy Troy deserves mention for his part as well, the book’s muted palette further selling the increasingly unsettling atmosphere.

Carnage #1 is rough at points, at times coasting more on its eerie promise than any real execution. That same promise is pretty darn enticing, however, Conway and Perkins delivering some truly great setup for further frights yet to come.