The Story: Eddie is now with a 'cured' junkie, Jenna. She is helping him take down The Quintas (drug cartel). As Anti-Venom, he must join forces with The Punisher to win this battle.The Good: Anti-Venom/Punisher Relationship - Right from the start, we find there is no love lost between these two. Punisher still remembers Eddie Brock as the murderous villain, Venom (remember the Funeral Pyre days?) and Anti-Venom keeps trying to prove how he has changed his ways. I loved the scene, in the second book, where they are in the van crossing the Mexican boarder. The Supporting Cast - I'm glad the writers didn't just try to create another super villain for these two heroes to fight. Creating a 'real world villain' made the story a lot more enjoyable (and aside from the alien symbiote part, a lot more believable). Having Jenna help Eddie was a nice addition; however, I don't think she is necessary for future stories.
The Bad: Punisher's gadgets - Wolverine claws? Goblin glider? C'mon! This is The Punisher, he should have GUNS! I don't follow Punisher stories, so maybe he does 'steal' ideas from other heroes (I mean he has a sidekick now!), but I didn't buy the whole gadget gimmick. No real threats - We all know bullets don't harm symbiotes (even a shotgun blast to the back of the head won't keep them down for long), and a sledgehammer to the head won't stop them either. So what was stopping Anti-Venom from cleaning house in these books? Nothing. The only time he was vulnerable was when The Punisher was after Eddie Brock (even then the symbiote came to the rescue).
The Overall - 3.5 outta 5. Remember the old Venom? The Lethal Protector Venom? This series reminds me a lot of that Venom. Sure the backdrop is a little darker than the early 90s adventures, but its still Eddie Brock trying to show the world he is a good guy (while he kills the bad guys). Its kinda nice to have two Venoms out there. The early bad ass version (Mac Gargan) who only lived to kill Spider-Man and the later version (Anti-Venom) who protected the innocent.