symbioticgoo

[symbioticgoo]

The fact that they are both on my top fav characters is so funny

[symbioticgoo]

heyyy guyysss…. lol

[symbioticgoo]

alright, as promised, here is my personal venom reading guide as of right now, october 2024. disclaimer that this is not in any way intended to be definitive or universal and i am not an authority, i've just read a bunch of venom comics in the past five or so years and have strong feelings on the matter. there's some early stuff i would consider just objectively important for anyone who wants to read and understand venom, but there's also a lot of stuff that's on here because i personally like it (or not on here because i don't). it's highly subjective and informed by my personal opinions and biases. this is also specifically a guide to (primarily) eddie brock venom comics so if you're more interested in other hosts this will not be of much use to you. i have not read every venom comic in existence (there are a lot of them) and either way this is not intended to be an exhaustive list of The Only Comics You Should Read but if you're looking to start exploring the comics i think these are a pretty good place to start if you have remotely the same sensibilities as i do regarding these characters (which to be quite honest if you're getting your comic book recommendations from tumblr dot com you probably do). long disclaimer sorry but comics are SUCH a big and kind of scary topic. anyway the list is under the cut. starred titles are ones i consider particularly high priority if you're skipping around, either because they're plot-critical or because i think they're especially good. have fun

The alien costume arc — If you're able to read a collected edition you'll probably have an easier time than if you manually jump between comics, but I've included the full list anyway. This is a stupid way to publish a story. Comics are stupid. Unfortunately this one is also essential.

Setup — Mostly regular Spider-Man stuff with minor symbiote subplot; skippable or skimmable for symbiote highlights if desired. I would suggest skimming rather than skipping, since seeing how this arc actually played out in the comics is crucial to understanding the ways in which adaptations have warped people's perceptions of the Venom symbiote and of this storyline, which I personally think is a key part of learning to understand the symbiote as a character—there are some misconceptions you've probably picked up through cultural osmosis that you'll need to unlearn if you want to get to the heart of the character, and this is the place to start.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8

The Amazing Spider-Man #252

Marvel Team-Up #141

The Spectacular Spider-Man #90

The Amazing Spider-Man #253

The Spectacular Spider-Man #91-#92

The Amazing Spider-Man #254

Marvel Team-Up #142-#143

The Amazing Spider-Man #255

Marvel Team-Up Annual #7

Marvel Team-Up #144

The Spectacular Spider-Man #93-#95

Marvel Team-Up #145

★ The Amazing Spider-Man #256-#258 — Even if you decide to skip the rest of the setup, you should read #258.

Marvel Team-Up #146

The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #4

The Amazing Spider-Man #259

The Spectacular Spider-Man #96-#97

Marvel Team-Up #147-#148

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18

The Amazing Spider-Man #260-#261

The Spectacular Spider-Man #98

Marvel Team-Up #149

The Amazing Spider-Man #262

The Spectacular Spider-Man #99

Marvel Team-Up #150

The Amazing Spider-Man #263

The Spectacular Spider-Man #100

Climax — Absolutely not skippable! You will never understand the core of Venom without reading the end of the alien costume arc.

★ Web of Spider-Man #1

Later takes on the alien costume arc:

★ The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) Annual #1 by Saladin Ahmed — MANDATORY. Essential reading for symbiote sympathizers. I have this comic on display on a shelf above my bed.

Deadpool: Back in Black (2016) by Cullen Bunn (5 issues)

Venom's appearances as a villain in David Michelinie's issues of The Amazing Spider-Man — Important if you want to understand Venom's history and motivations. Also fun!

★ The Amazing Spider-Man #300 — Venom’s first appearance.

The Amazing Spider-Man #315-#317

The Amazing Spider-Man #332-#333

★ The Amazing Spider-Man #344-#347

★ The Amazing Spider-Man #361-363 — Carnage’s first appearance.

The Amazing Spider-Man #374-#375

★ Venom: Lethal Protector (1993) by David Michelinie (6 issues) — Venom’s first solo comic and introduction as an antihero. 

Venom: Separation Anxiety (1994) by Howard Mackie (4 issues)

★ Planet of the Symbiotes (1995) by David Michelinie (5 issues) — An important piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the symbiote as a character.

Part 1: The Amazing Spider-Man Super Special #1

Part 2: Spider-Man Super Special #1

Part 3: Venom Super Special #1

Part 4: The Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special #1

Part 5: Web of Spider-Man Super Special #1

Venom: Carnage Unleashed (1995) by Larry Hama (4 issues)

★ Venom: The Hunger (1996) by Len Kaminski (4 issues) — My favorite Venom comic!

Venom (2016) by Mike Costa (22 issues) — Symbrock central. As noted below, #159 and #160 are part of Venom Inc. and should be read in combination with the other relevant comics.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. (2017) by Dan Slott and Mike Costa (6 issues) — Really fascinating as an examination of how different characters view symbiotes.

Part 1: Venom Inc. Alpha (2017)

Part 2: The Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #792

Part 3: Venom (2016) #159

Part 4: The Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #793

Part 5: Venom (2016) #160

Part 6: Venom Inc. Omega (2018)

★ Venom: First Host (2018) by Mike Costa (5 issues) — A story that is interested in the ways in which symbiotes are vulnerable to their hosts in a way a lot of Marvel comics simply aren't. Also once again Symbrock central. Costa is probably the #1 Symbrock warrior, even if Kaminski is my personal hero on that front.

★ Venom: Lethal Protector (2022) by David Michelinie (5 issues) — There are no words I could possibly say that would be sufficient to convey to you how ecstatic I was when this comic was announced.

Venom: Lethal Protector II (2023) by David Michelinie (5 issues)

Venom: Separation Anxiety (2024) by David Michelinie (5 issues)

Supplementary material: 

Venomverse

Edge of Venomverse (2017) (5 issues)

Venomverse: War Stories (2017) (1 issue)

Venomverse (2017) by Cullen Bunn (5 issues)

★ Extreme Venomverse (2023) (5 issues) — Even if you read no other Venomverse comics, do yourself a favor and read the Black Cat story in Extreme Venomverse #2.

Death of the Venomverse (2023) by Cullen Bunn (5 issues)

Venomverse Reborn (2024) (4 issues) — Unfortunately colored by the bizarre nature of current Venom canon even more than Death of the Venomverse is, although neither are bad comics in and of themselves. If you want to avoid all of that entirely you can read from Edge of Venomverse through Extreme Venomverse and stop there. I don't really keep up with post-Cates Venom canon and every time I see anything about it it baffles me so deeply.

★ Superior Carnage (2013) Annual #1 by Cullen Bunn — I'm kind of obsessed with this comic. Please read it.

Hybrid (1996) by Evan Skolnick — Makes up the second half of each issue of the following comics. Definitely dated in some ways, but introduces some great symbiotes and a great host.

Venom: Along Came a Spider (1996) (4 issues)

Venom: The Hunted (1996) (4 issues)

Venom: Seed of Darkness (1997) by Len Kaminski (1 issue) — A oneshot about Eddie encountering a different mysterious shadowy alien being before he ever bonded with the symbiote, written by the author of The Hunger. Not essential reading but it's a fun little standalone sci-fi story with some nice Eddie characterization.

Phenethylamine by Leah Williams, in Marvel Comics Presents (2019) #5 — Not really a recommendation so much as... a public service announcement, I guess. Is this my favorite comic in the world? No, but it would feel negligent not to tell you it exists. There are better comics. There are comics with a better understanding of the characters. But this is the only one that's explicitly about Eddie having sex with the symbiote, so do with that what you will.

[symbioticgoo]

after about half a year I've finished my complete venom read-through and I've been reminded how much I love sleeper... they are so silly and funny and weird. i've seen some people in the past complain about how often the writers keep them as a cat, which is fair (i'm reeeally not fond of the whole dog-body thing they did with the symbiote. eh), but i am proposing that sleeper simply discovered gender euphoria in the form of becoming a little beast. me too, sleeper

bonus sleeps under the cut (my little meow meow)

[symbioticgoo]

Reminder that Eddie and Venom are in love and their relationship is canon in the comics so them being together in the movies isn��t that far off or that crazy

[symbioticgoo]

It's their day, I don't make the rules

[symbioticgoo]

thinking about coming back when lethal protector II comes out…. are any (comic) venom fans even out there anymore

[symbioticgoo]

David Michelinie Returns for “Venom: Lethal Protector II”

Marvel Comics has announced a new five-issue Venom saga from David Michelinie. Venom: Lethal Protector II hails from Michelinie and Farid Karami. This second series will once again take readers back to Venom’s early days.

It is time for Venom to face Doctor Doom! “Swinging from the streets of New York City to the kingdom of Latveria, Eddie Brock is challenged like never before!” (Marvel Comics)

Venom: Lethal Protector II #1 (of 5), featuring a cover by Paulo Siqueira, goes on sale on March 29, 2023.

(Image via Marvel Comics - Paulo Siqueira’s Cover of Venom: Lethal Protector II #1)

[symbioticgoo]

@symbruary

[symbioticgoo]

I promised you a quick sketch and i give you exactly that. Happy Valentines day to Hunger Venom and them only!

[symbioticgoo]

the best thing to come out of the venom comics in years is now over. sobbing.

[symbioticgoo]

posts are on pause for the next couple days srry

[symbioticgoo]

Sleeper-kitty being a lil stinker

[symbioticgoo]

Ima just leave my Tik tok videos here HDGAJHSJA. Enjoy the sleeper spam!

[symbioticgoo]

Awful, awful child.

[symbioticgoo]

Eddie and Venom being a good dad to their baby goo honestly warmed my cold dead heart. 

[symbioticgoo]

Family time :)