Okay, so I wanted to get into Venom comics, but man, it’s a confusing mess! There are so many different series and storylines, I had no clue where to start. I felt like I needed a freaking map or something.
Figuring Out Where to Begin
First, I tried just picking up a random recent issue. Big mistake! I was totally lost. There were all these characters and references I didn’t understand. It was like jumping into the middle of a movie.
So, I did what any sane person would do: I hit up the internet. I started Googling “Venom reading order” and “best Venom stories” and stuff like that. Found a bunch of forums and articles with, like, a million different opinions. It was overwhelming, to say the least.
My First Attempt – The Classics
I saw a lot of people recommending the older stuff, the “classic” Venom stories. Seemed like a good place to start, right? So I went with:
- Amazing Spider-Man #298-300: This is where Venom first shows up. Gotta see the origin, I figured.
- Venom: Lethal Protector: I heard this one was a big deal, showing Venom as more of an anti-hero than a straight-up villain.
- Amazing Spider-Man #315-317 and #344-347: More classic battles between Spidey and Venom, just to get a good feel for their rivalry.
Honestly, reading these was pretty cool. The art style is definitely older, but the stories were solid. It gave me a good base understanding of who Venom is and his relationship with Spider-Man.
Getting into the Modern Stuff
After the classics, I felt a bit more confident. I wanted to check out some of the more recent stuff, the stuff people are talking about now. So, based on my online research, I decided to try:
- Venom (2018) by Donny Cates: Everyone and their mother seemed to be raving about this run. It starts with a new host, and I heard it gets pretty crazy.
- Absolute Carnage: This is a big crossover event spinning out of Cates’ Venom run. Apparently, it’s super important to the overall story.
- King in Black: Another major event, also connected to Cates’ run. It’s supposed to be this huge, cosmic-level threat.
And…wow. The Donny Cates run is seriously good. It’s dark, it’s action-packed, and it really expands on the whole Venom mythology. Absolute Carnage and King in Black were epic, too. Like, universe-shaking-level stuff.
My Current Plan
I am now currently reading following the order.
- Venom (2021) by Ram V and Al Ewing:
This is the series that follows Cates’ run. It’s got two different storylines running at the same time, which is kind of interesting.
I think that’s where I am with Venom. Still a lot to read, but I finally feel like I’m getting a handle on it! It’s been a fun, if slightly confusing, journey.
