VENOM, Marvel Comics / Cover Art by Ryan Stegman
Whether you love or hate the new VENOM movie (Full review coming later this week!), you may find yourself thinking of a few things, as most people do when a new comic book movie comes out. Should I read the comic first and which one do I read? Then that’s when it hits you, you don’t know where to start. With Venom hitting his 30-year anniversary, you’ll come to realize he has quite the history and is more than just another Spider-Man villain.
With a quick search, you may see people suggest reading the limited Lethal Protector series from the 90s. You may be told to read Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man, or Venom by Rick Remender that shows the character as a black ops agent. Regardless of where you look, going deeper into the rabbit hole of recommendations, you find there are so many to choose from. Like most comic book characters, there is just too much of a good thing. That is why I think right now; Venom by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman is where it’s at.
I cannot recommend this book enough. When I found out that Donny Cates was taking on Venom I knew I should not pass up on the chance of getting my hands on this book, and it delivers. With Ryan Stegman’s art, just know he is someone to keep an eye on due to the painstaking effort he puts in this book.
To keep it spoiler free, the series sees Eddie Brock as Venom once again, and as the series goes on, we get an origin story for the symbiote that begins with the big bang and continues into the modern day. From there, an ancient threat rises that only Venom can handle. It sounds ridiculous but it’s a premise that is believable and works. You’ll come for the character, continuously stare at the art and want to read more. This is what we wished 90s comics were like.
This new Venom comic is not only a good Marvel book but a great revamp of a character’s history that is quickly on the way to becoming the status quo for Venom’s future. Six issues in and it wraps up the first story arc, making it the perfect moment to jump on. I’m not even the biggest Venom fan and I cannot wait to see what comes next.
With that said, keep an eye out for more Donny Cates books. He’s currently writing Cosmic Ghost Rider, Death of the Inhumans and continuing Venom for Marvel, with more on the way. He has some wild stuff out there and he gets amazing artists for the task.
Next time someone asks which Venom book just tell them to start here, they’ll love it.
