Carnage – Volume 1 – The One That Got Away 

Writer – Gerry Conway 

Artist – Mike Perkins 

One benefit for Amazon Prime members I recently discovered is Prime Reading. I can borrow books, graphic novels, and magazines for free. I’m not sure if I mentioned this in a previous review, but it’s worth noting now. I have been going through their extensive library to read some stuff I missed out on beforehand and one book that piqued my interest was Carnage – The One That Got Away. 

There is a sole survivor of Cletus Kasady’s first rampage that is still alive. She is used as bait to draw him out of hiding. This might seem like a bad idea to most but there are a few good men willing to help apprehend Cletus – Colonel John Jameson and Eddie Brock. As Cletus makes his way to an abandoned mine in West Virginia, the trap is sprung and successful until a collapse sends Cletus hundreds of miles underground. Can John and Eddie find Cletus and rescue those caught in the accident before it’s too late? 

Most comic book aficionados can agree that the character Carnage seems overused nowadays and most of his solo titles are not worth reading. When I saw the creators attached to this volume, I decided to give this a chance and I’m glad I did. Mr. Conway has a long, fruitful, and successful history with Marvel Comics and he does a great job ratcheting up tension from start to finish. After seeing his art on Swamp Thing, Mike Perkins does a great job bringing the sick and twisted symbiotes to life. If you know the history of John Jameson, you are in for a treat. If you aren’t, wait until the end of the second issue to see what I mean. 

The two female leads – Manuela Calderon, the titular one that got away, and Agent Claire Dixon, the FBI agent that recruits John Jameson – round out the supporting cast and are just as tough and formidable as John and Eddie. The main problem I had was trying to keep these two characters straight during the course of the story. I’m not sure why I had a hard time figuring out who was who but I had to pause a few times to ensure I knew which character was which. Another thing that made me take pause was when it’s revealed that Eddie is in charge of the Toxin symbiote. I had to remember the progression of Eddie and the symbiotes he wore and I know he was Venom then Anti-Venom but for the life of me, I don’t remember Toxin and when he bonded with it. One task I’ll have to undertake is to see when this change took place and why it happened. 

As much as I loved the first four issues, I felt like the fifth issue wrapped everything up too quickly and not very neatly. Most times when I finish the first volume of a graphic novel, I can’t wait to read the next one immediately. This did not happen when I finished the final page of this story. Deep down, it might be the fact that no matter how many heinous and vile acts Carnage perpetrates, he somehow lives to fight another day. I’ll probably check out the next two volumes of this, I’m just not in a rush to do so just yet. 

Carnage- Volume 1 – The One That Got Away is available instantly on Prime Reading and Hoopla.