At the end of 1984’s Secret Wars, Marvel’s first company-wide event, Spider-Man came home with a brand new costume. It was black and could do amazing things, such as shoot webs without web-shooters and change its appearance. But it also had its downsides when it was discovered it was alive. In fact, it was a symbiote and was trying to take over Spidey’s body. While he was able to get rid of it, it wasn’t the last time we saw it. It would soon rear its ugly head as Venom – Spider-Man’s deadliest foe.
In this list, I’ll explore the best Venom comics. Whether you’re into Venom as a villain, anti-hero, or even a secret agent, there’s something for everyone on this list. Along the way, I’ll share where you can read these stories and any other details you need.
Happy reading!
Venom
Written by David Michelinie. Art by Todd McFarlane.
What begins as a pretty standard Spidey romp takes a left turn when Spider-Man’s alien costume makes a return – and wants vengeance. That costume, as mentioned in the introduction to this post, is the frightening Venom. The way he’s introduced is just plain scary – with McFarlane tricking readers into thinking it’s your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man before revealing a horrible monster.
While Todd McFarlane had been working in comics for a little while, this story put him on the map and made him one of the most popular artists at Marvel at the time.
Issues: Amazing Spider-Man #298-300
Collected edition: ‘Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Venom’ or ‘Spider-Man: Birth of Venom’ or ‘Venom Epic Collection: Symbiosis’
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Dark Origin
Written by Zeb Wells. Art by Angel Medina.
If you’ve read Venom’s early appearances, you’ll have a gist of his origin story. The disgraced journalist, Eddie Brock, merges with the symbiote that Spider-Man rejected when it was realised the alien costume was alive. The pair becomes Venom and team up to take out Spider-Man due to their mutual hatred.
Although, a lot of this is told off-panel. Dark Origin takes Venom’s origin and expands it significantly. We get Eddie Brock’s childhood and his misdeeds as a journalist from his point of view, showing how he comes to meet the symbiote.
Check out this comic if you enjoy comprehensive origins that occupy the margins of other tales.
Issues: Venom: Dark Origins #1-5
Collected edition: Venom: Dark Origins
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The Bride of Venom
Written by David Michelinie. Art by Mark Bagley.
After Venom’s first appearance, everyone’s favourite symbiote would return on a yearly basis to seek revenge on Spider-Man. In this particular return, we get a shift in their relationship when the two finally make a reluctant truce. It’s a truce that expands Venom’s potential and sets him up to be a solo act – making the next story on this list possible.
The story also gives readers a window into Eddie Brock’s life. Here, we see how his hatred for Spider-Man altered him and the people around him.
Issues: Amazing Spider-Man #374-375
Collected edition: ‘Venom: The Vengeance of Venom’ or ‘Venom Epic Collection: Lethal Protector’ or ‘Spider-Man By Michelinie & Bagley Omnibus Volume 1’
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Lethal Protector
Written by David Michelinie. Art by Mark Bagley and Ron Lim.
Venom has gone solo in his first miniseries. It’s an action-packed one, with threats coming from every direction, as he tries to get as far away as possible from Spider-Man by heading to San Francisco. Unfortunately, trouble seems to find him in every direction. Lethal Protector sees Venom take on The Life Foundation, other symbiotes, his past mistakes, and an evil land developer.
The series is a tonal shift for Venom, who plays the hero in this tale. However, with the series published in 1993, he’s definitely more anti-hero than a hero. Readers see him dishing out his unique brand of justice, often in very lethal ways.
Issues: Venom: Lethal Protector #1-6
Collected edition: ‘Venom: Lethal Protector’ or ‘Venom Epic Collection: Lethal Protector’
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BONUS PICK: David Michelinie returned to this era of Venom with two nostalgia/retro series called Venom: Lethal Protector (2022 series) and Venom: Lethal Protector II.
Separation Anxiety
Written by Howard Mackie. Art by Ron Randall.
Eddie Brock and the symbiote have been captured by the government and separated. This four-part yarn sees Eddie and the symbiote attempt to reunite. However, it won’t be that easy when they’re pursued by the government and a group of symbiotes.
While this story has action, Separation Anxiety is one of the more cerebral Venom stories. It explores a number of themes, including dependency and the relationship between Eddie Brock and the symbiote, showing how they both need each other to function. Whether this dependency is good or bad for the characters is up to the reader to decide.
Issues: Venom: Separation Anxiety #1-4
Collected edition: ‘Venom: Separation Anxiety’ or ‘Venom Epic Collection: Carnage Unleashed’
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The Hunger
Written by Len Kaminski. Art by Ted Halsted.
Eddie Brock and the symbiote have been separated yet again – but this time by choice! Why, you ask? Brock has decided that Venom has gone too far with his unique brand of justice. But the separation isn’t a clean process. Brock has always been portrayed as unhinged, but this story dials it up a few notches to explore his psyche in an allegory for mental health.
Of all the Venom comics listed, The Hunger is the most surreal. Artist Ted Halstead experiments with panel layouts and how characters are drawn to reflect Eddie Brock’s crumbling psyche. It’s a fascinating approach to Venom, considering most artists who drew Venom in the 90s tried to outdo one another with extreme styles.
Issues: Venom: The Hunger #1-4
Collected edition: ‘Venom: Along Came A Spider…’ or ‘Venom Epic Collection: The Hunger’
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Operation Rebirth 2.0
Written by Rick Remender. Art by Tony Moore and Tom Fowler.
You might enjoy the Flash Thompson era of Venom instead if Eddie Brock is too macho for you. Operation Rebirth 2.0 is the opening arc in a sizable run of Flash Thompson stories, which sees Venom take a more government-agent approach. After losing both legs, Flash Thompson volunteers to use the Venom symbiote to go on covert government missions. The only catch is Flash can only use Venom for 48 hours at a time or the symbiote will take over.
For his first mission, he must take down a criminal organisation shipping and distributing weapons made from vibranium. This will bring him into the path of Jack-O-Lantern, Kraven the Hunter, and even Spider-Man.
While he might not be the original Venom host, Flash Thompson is sometimes more interesting than Eddie Brock. His motivations for partnering with the symbiote have more dimensions, allowing for more character opportunities.
Issues: Venom (2011 Series) #1-4
Collected edition: ‘Venom by Rick Remender: The Complete Collection Volume 1’ or ‘Venom Modern Era Epic Collection: Agent Venom’
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Rex
Written by Donny Cates. Art by Ryan Stegman.
Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote have been having nightmares about an ancient being. They soon discover that their dreams become reality when confronted with Knull, the symbiote god. Everything they (and the reader) know about symbiotes is not exactly true but is far more complicated and terrifying.
This six-issue arc lights a fuse on Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s epic run on Venom. It introduces new lore to Marvel’s symbiotes and offers readers plenty of awesome action. However, this is only the beginning, with each subsequent story growing to an enormous scale by the end – making Rex the perfect jumping-on point for anyone wanting a wild ride.
Issues: Venom (2018 series) #1-6
Collected edition: ‘Venom Volume 1: Rex’ or ‘Venom by Donny Cates Volume 1’
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Have your say!
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