Welcome to the land of "reality", where scientific experiments, accidents, genetic heritage, and alien influences affect the lives of ordinary mortals. Join me as I observe the superhumans of planet earth and their struggles against equally powerful foes.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the book.
That said, on to the review!
I've followed the Spider-Man comic lines off and on over the years, watched the cartoons, the live-action series, and kept up-to-date through other means. So I'd say I'm fairly familiar with most of his usual foes. Seeing him go toe-to-toe with both Venom and Hobgoblin in this book--not necessarily in that order--was a treat! For me it even beat out the time when Spidey and Venom teamed up against Carnage. It was also great to see him struggling to develop new techniques to compensate for his lost spider-sense (courtesy the Hobgoblin's chemical expertise and Venom's immunity to detection by said sense), which he had come to rely upon too much. It emphasizes to me how versatile Spider-Man and Peter Parker are in getting things done.
I didn't miss the artwork all that much. As much as I enjoy seeing all the action scenes and the characters' facial expressions and body language, I also enjoy the opportunity to see these things for myself in my mind's eye. There are some things that just can not be replaced, and that is the power of the imagination. I was glad I had a chance to "see" Mary Jane's determination to stand by her man (for all you newbies, that's Peter Parker, her husband). I was glad I had a chance to "see" Venom and the "pseudo-Venom" (my term, not the author's or Marvel's) tearing at each other with their various appendages: heck, I doubt any sane artist could pull off that scene and still expect the reader to tell which arms were whose!
Spider-Man: The Venom Factor is an offering from best-selling author Diane Duane, whose works, unfortunately, haven't yet graced these review pages (I'm working on it, though!). It's an excellent sampling of one of Marvel Comics' premiere character's exploits that's sure to lure you into the comics themselves. And if you're not interested in the comics, well, enjoy the book anyway! It's definitely a worthwhile read!
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