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
The Spectacular Spider-Man #90
The Amazing Spider-Man #253
The Spectacular Spider-Man #91-#92
The Amazing Spider-Man #254
The Amazing Spider-Man #255
The Spectacular Spider-Man #93-#95
★ The Amazing Spider-Man #256-#258 — Even if you decide to skip the rest of the setup, you should read #258.
The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #4
The Amazing Spider-Man #259
The Spectacular Spider-Man #96-#97
The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #18
The Amazing Spider-Man #260-#261
The Spectacular Spider-Man #98
The Amazing Spider-Man #262
The Spectacular Spider-Man #99
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.
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)
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.
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