Let The Madness Soak You With Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
After capturing Norman Osborn and the escape of the Amazing Spider-Man and Venom from Ravencroft, Carnage, Shriek, Man-Wolf, and Doppleganger have the run of the asylum. They begin to prepare a ritual to summon something to Ravencroft Institute. The ritual is bloody, and it involves Misty Knight, whom Man-Wolf captured after the two investigated the town of Doverton. Misty is horribly outpowered and outnumbered, but she’s never been one to go down without a fight.
Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1 kicks off with the aftermath to what happened at the Ravencroft Institute in Absolute Carnage #1 and #2. It starts off hopeless and only gets worse for Misty Knight in this issue, and we get a lot more of Carnage and learn some more of his plan for our world.
This one works pretty well as a horror comic too. The scenes inside Ravencroft are chilling, with the symbiotes and patients chanting “God is coming” repeatedly. There aren’t any heroes present that are equipped to stop this mayhem; only a starved and wounded Misty Knight is present to stand against this menagerie of monsters. There is a good amount of suspense in the back half as we wait to see if Misty can make it out and wonder what horrible thing Carnage and his cult are summoning.
Flaviano’s artwork is fantastic too. The framing of many of the shots inside Ravencroft really allow for the unnerving feeling to creep up your spine. He makes Carnage and Doppelganger look especially monstrous, and the gore is plentiful. Federico Blee’s environmental color art is especially bright, which allows it to be offset by the dark reds and blacks of Carnage and his followers. It balances well and looks great.
Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1 is a horrid delight. We get to see more of Carnage’s cult and what their plans our for Earth, and we get a healthy dose of Misty Knight–and you can always use more Misty Knight. This one definitely gets a recommendation. Check it out.
Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #2 comes to us from writer Frank Tieri, artist Flaviano, color artist Federico Blee, letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna, cover artist Bengal, and variant cover artists Yasmine Putri; Greg Smallwood; and Dale Keown with Jason Keith.
Final Score: 8.5/10