An Unhappy Home Uncovered In Web Of Venom: The Good Son #1
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
We get a view into the home of Harry and Liz Osborn while they’re looking after Eddie’s son, Dylan Brock. Normie Osborn and Dylan seem to be getting along and the two share their secrets with one another. Normie reveals that everything has felt different since his time as the Goblin Childe and Dylan talks about how he’s been hearing voices and has kept a piece of the Carnage symbiote. Dylan says he can control the symbiote piece and the two sneak out at night while under the watch of a babysitter. Dylan practices his control of the symbiote and he uses it to control an animal before threatening to use it to control a human being. Normie stops him and the relationship between Dylan and Normie begins to deteriorate. Dylan begins threatening Normie.
In the back-up story, we learn how Tel-Kar died while attached to the Sleeper.
Web of Venom: The Good Son #1 focuses on Dylan Brock, Venom’s son, and his relationship with Normie Osborn, the grandson of the Green/Red Goblin. Both children have experienced traumatic events involving symbiotes and they seem to bond over this shared experience.
This changes once they reveal that they’ve had two vastly different takeaways from their experiences. Normie is tired of acting like nothing has changed, but he still aims to be a good person. On the other hand, Dylan shows he knows that everything is different and wants to explore how he’s changed in the aftermath.
The means by which Dylan manipulates Normie are both eerie and believable. He’s learned Normie’s pressure points and he hits them as a child would. Both fear nothing more than being found out and Dylan applies disproportionate and frightening methods to avoid this relatively low-stakes consequence.
Dio Neves is the artist on this one-shot and he makes the comic look wonderful. He knows how to draw character and personality out of the figures in his comic and he knows how to use shadows very well. Oren Junior applies skillful inking, and Rain Beredo gives the book a vibrant color treatment. Juan Gedeon and Rain Beredo provide great work in the back-up story.
Web of Venom: The Good Son #1 gives an unnerving and thorough insight into the character of Dylan Brock. Everything has changed for him since the events of Absolute Carnage and it’s clear that he’s been corrupted by Carnage and Knull. The question becomes how many he will corrupt and whether Dylan can be brought back from the darkness. Either way, this one gets a recommendation. Check it out.
Web of Venom: The Good Son #1 comes to us from writer Zac Thompson, artists Dio Neves and Juan Gedeon, inker Oren Junior and Juan Gedeon, color artist Rain Beredo, letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles, cover artist Philip Tan with Jay David Ramos, and variant cover artist Gerardo Sandoval with Erick Arciniega.
Final Score: 8.5/10