Scarlet Spider #11

Writer: Christopher Yost
Artists: Khoi Pham & Reilly Brown

This series has been brilliant and I have enjoyed Yost's work on it as he has shown the transition of Kaine from the villain he was prior to anti-hero he is now perfectly. The art over the series has also been good and Pham along with Brown has done a great job on the last couple of issues. I did prefer Stegman's art but Brown and Pham's are still very good and not far off.

Plot

This issue starts with Scarlet Spider fighting Carnage. Meanwhile Flash is having trouble controlling the Venom symbiote and lands up fighting the Enigma Force. Also the person behind bringing Carnage to the Microverse is revealed and has plans for Carnage and Venom.

Review

This was a great issue and I'm starting to like Scarlet Spider even more. I love how Yost has shaped Kaine over this series taking him from a very selfish person to someone who is wanting to do good, whilst not wanting to admit he's a hero or anything like Spider-Man. I also like how Kain isn't afraid to do what's needed to be done like although he's trying even harder to be a good person this issue he makes it very clear he's wanting to kill Carnage. I have also enjoyed how Yost has introduced a lot of emotion to this series whilst keeping it very fun and entertaining.

Brown and Pham's art is simply amazing and they are brilliant at drawing the symbiotes. Although I said I prefer Stegman's art you can't fault Brown and Pham's and Stegman would have a hard time beating their art on this story. Although some of the art isn't brilliant and the faces in background sequences are terrible they put lot's of detail where it counts and although it would be better with the whole comic having brilliant art you can forgive them due to their detail in one on one fights and when the symbiotes are going crazy.

Another thing I loved about this issue was how we get to see Venom go crazy again. Carnage is always crazy has it's got a psycho controlling it but when I used to read the Venom series most of the time Flash was able to keep it in check due to his military training. It's also nice that both Venom and Carnage are getting tones of page time in this issue and the same for Scarlet Spider in the Venom issue whilst still keeping the title character the main focus. I did however feel this issue that Scarlet Spider didn't play has big a role as he should have and that this part of the story would have probably been better in Venom. It was also nice to see Flash fighting the symbiote inside as it was trying to get out and how he was thinking of Betty who to be honest he's neglected since becoming Venom.

I did however have mixed feelings when the person behind Carnages arrival to the Microverse was revealed and although it was a surprise there wasn't much build up to it and felt it came a bit too sudden. I did however like how he reacted to Venom being there as he only needed Carnage and am his plans for the two look like they will add fun to the remaining two issues of the crossover. The conversation between Carnage and Venom after being captured was also very fun and funny as it was nice seeing Carnage's reaction to Venom who was trying to be very serious.

I'm also interested to see how Scarlet Spider will react when he finds out about the plan involving Venom and Carnage. It will also be interesting to see if the Redeemer or Katy play a bigger role near the end as Katy hasn't been involved as much as she could have and I think the Redeemer's been holding back something.

Final Verdict

This was a brilliant issue and Scarlet Spider is shaping up to be a brilliant series with lots of fun. The Minimum Carnage crossover is also shaping up to be a brilliant story and I'm looking forward to reading the final two parts. I would highly recommend this issue, the entire Scarlet Spider series and this crossover story as they are all brilliant.

Rating: 4/5