Death From The Deep In ‘Scream: Curse Of Carnage #3’
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
We are shown the battle between Thor and the Grendel all those years ago and the horrible vengeance Mother wrought for the Grendel’s demise. In the present, the police have come to investigate the slaughter at the F.E.A.S.T Center and Andi doesn’t know how to explain what happened. She’s let go and Andi and Scream decide to go fight the source of all this death. Scream goes underwater to face Mother and her hordes of the dead. Andi and Scream know it’s a trap, but they also know that Mother must be stopped.
Scream: Curse of Carnage #3 shows us how Mother fits into the history of the symbiotes and Knull’s grand plan for the universe.
We also get to watch Scream face Mother and her undead hordes head-on. It’s a macabre fight, with Scream being forced to rip apart Mother’s army. Mother herself is as powerful as expected and it’s unclear if Scream actually has a chance in this fight.
It’s a fairly action-heavy issue overall and it is pretty damn cool to watch Thor fight the Grendel again. The aftermath to it is far more grim, as Mother kills dozens to take vengeance for the Grendel.
Garry Brown and Chris Mooneyham tag team the artwork on this issue. They have very complimentary art styles, each one giving the book a gritty and dirty aesthetic fitting for the life of Andi Benton and Scream. The big action sequence at the end looks especially appealing and macabre. The Mother has a fantastic and unique visual design which makes her a good counterpart for Scream. Rain Beredo gives the book a bleak color treatment throughout that is balanced by the violent streaks of red and yellow spread throughout the book.
Scream: Curse of Carnage #3 shows us the history of the Mother as well as a violent showdown between her and Scream. We also get to watch the relationship between Andi and her symbiote develop. This book gets another recommendation. Feel free to check it out.
Scream: Curse of Carnage #3 comes to us from writer Clay McLeod Chapman, artists Garry Brown and Chris Mooneyham, color artist Rain Beredo, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist Nick Bradshaw with Romulo Fajardo Jr., and variant cover artist Dan Panosian.
Final Score: 7.5/10
