To many, Carnage is one of Marvel Comics’ finest villains. Well, we say finest, but what we really mean is he is one of Marvel’s most vicious, clinical and maniacal rogues. And now, Cletus Kasady is back to serve up some more chaos and brutality.

In Cult of Carnage, we pick up the action several months after Carnage has decimated the small town of Doverton, Colorado. You see, the majority of Doverton’s poor residents were taken over by Kasady and his symbiote – to the extent that even Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were similarly taken over by Carnage upon the Avengers turning up to try and save the day. Fortunately, Spider-Man was there to swing in and save the day, but Doverton has been left forever scarred and with a large chunk of its population killed off. But what’s that? John Jameson has gone missing in Doverton? Uh-oh. It’s a good job that Misty Knight is on the case to find John, to explore Doverton, and to check whether Carnage really is as vanquished as was initially believed.

While Carnage is a character so often associated with Venom or ol’ Web-head, what’s most refreshing in this first issue of Cult of Carnage is how the title uses Misty Knight – and, to a lesser extent, John Jameson – as the reader’s “in”. Misty arrives in the drab, dreary and almost ghost town-esque locale of Doverton, unaware of what she might find and unaware of what might lurk around the corner; similarly, the exact same curiosities and fears that we readers have.

Of course, there is something wrong in Doverton, but here we get the proverbial tip of the iceberg tease as to what is really going on in this wasteland town. This opening chapter is paced more towards a slow burn tale, and writer Frank Tieri is great at exploring the horrors still felt from the fallout of the last time Carnage came to town. On art duties, Danilo S. Beyruth is tight and taught when needed, yet erratic and otherworldly when the narrative calls for a flashback to Carnage’s rampage.

Cult of Carnage #1 is a thoughtful and chilling opening to what should hopefully be another twisted tale of terror for Cletus Kasady.

WEB OF VENOM: CULT OF CARNAGE #1 / WRITER: FRANK TIERI / ARTIST: DANILO S. BEYRUTH / COLOUR ARTIST: ANDRES MOSSA / LETTERER: CLAYTON COWLES / PUBLISHER: MARVEL COMICS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW