Chances are good that over this past weekend, a lot of you Spider-Man fans saw Sony’s anti-hero movie, “Venom” (even if ol’ Web-Head wasn’t in it). I’m willing to bet a lot of you are in need of more stories to devour featuring Brock and his salivating living costume. For this month’s Spider-Tracer, I thought I’d put together a list of the top ten Venom trade paperbacks you should all look into reading in order to get that Venom fix I’m sure many of you are in dire need of. Whether you’re a casual fan, a new fan, or even a longtime fan of the character, these are some books you should definitely look into hunting down for your collections. Of course, you’ll be getting a little history as we go along here, without trying to spoil too much of the stories inside, of course. These will all be listed in their chronological reading order to make things more convenient for you.
- “Spider-Man: The Birth of Venom”
Everyone’s got to start somewhere, right? In this book, witness the beginning of Spider-Man’s black costume, from its first appearance on Battle World during the original “Secret Wars” to Venom’s first two appearances. This is the perfect place to start if you’d like to know more about his ties to Spider-Man, his earliest assaults on the Web-Spinner, and the black costume in general. This book is full of great writing by the likes of Tom DeFalco and David Michelinie, as well as great art by the likes of Ron Frenz, Mike Zeck, Rick Leonardi, and, of course, Todd McFarlane. In this book, you’ll see just what made Venom such a scary villain, valid thread, and one of the most popular characters of the Spider-Man mythos. Some great moments include Spider-Man fighting to get the black suit off in an old church’s bell tower in “Web of Spider-Man” #1 (the ending will shock you), Venom’s first battle with Spider-Man in “Amazing Spider-Man” #300, and their epic rematch in “Amazing Spider-Man” #315-317. All this and… the Amazing Bag-Man!
- “Spider-Man: Vengeance of Venom”
This book looks to have become a little pricey on the secondary market, but the stories in here are so good! One of my favorite Venom stories of all time involve Venom dragging Spider-Man away to a deserted island and attempting to finish him off once and for all, which is, of course, included in this book (originally printed in ASM #s 346-347). Writer David Michelinie continues to write the character of Venom while artist Erik Larsen takes a stab at the character, adding more jagged teeth and the wild tongue he’s known for. If that’s not enough for you, witness the first and most notable spawn of Venom. That’s right, Carnage shows up, forcing Venom to team up with the man he believes ruined his life: Spider-Man (originally printed in ASM #361-363)! This is definitely a Venom book worth checking out if you can! This book also sets the stage for the story in the next book entitled…
- “Venom: Lethal Protector”
Venom heads to San Francisco to start a new life as a Lethal Protector, and Spider-Man guest stars to help set Venom up properly, as does writer David Michelinie and artists Mark Bagley and Ron Lim. This book has a huge influence on the “Venom” movie. Life Foundation? Check. Symbiotes? Check. Venom as the good guy? Check. It’s all here and easy to see the influences this book had on the film. I thoroughly enjoy this Venom tale, and it’s definitely the best of his solo mini-series from the 90’s.
- “Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage”
Not only do we get the return of the sadistic Carnage, but we get to see a nice contrast between the views Spidey and Venom have when it comes to being a hero. It’s a nice statement on why we still need heroes like Spider-Man who refuse to kill, which was a huge trend in the 90’s when this cross-over originally hit. But it’s ultimately up to you, the reader, to decide who best dispenses justice. It’s 14 issues of insanity as Spider-Man and Venom combat Carnage and his chaos-inducing cohorts, all while a huge line-up of Marvel heroes show up to lend a hand.
- “Venom: The Enemy Within”
Venom vs Demogoblin makes for a fun fight, as does his teaming up with Morbius: The Living Vampire to do so. Venom vs the Juggernaut?! Yep! There’s also less Spider-Man in this book, which allows for Venom to develop a little more on his own. Peter David also drops by for a Venom and Hulk team-up! There’s lot of fun to be had in this book.
- “Venom: Separation Anxiety”
This one has one of my favorite Venom fights. Originally published in “Web of Spider-Man” #s 118-119 and “Spider-Man” #s 52-53, Ben Reilly first becomes the Scarlet Spider in order to combat Venom. It was a really fun story and I still fondly remember from my childhood that holds up really well today. We also get “Venom: Separation Anxiety”, a story featuring the return of the five Life Foundation symbiotes.
- “Venom: Planet of the Symbiotes”
The story behind this one was scary to me as a seven year old when I first read it. Symbiotes head to Earth to begin an invasion, with Venom, Spider-Man, and the Scarlet Spider the only ones who can stop them. Oh, and Carnage becomes a giant. David Michelinie returns to write this one, and it is one exciting story! This story sheds a little light on the Venom symbiote’s history, which only makes this more of a must read.
- “Venom vs Carnage”
Carnage is getting ready to spawn, and Venom aims to take the child and raise it as his own. Thankfully Spidey shows up to lend a hand and give the new spawn a fighting chance. But which path will Toxin, the spawn of Carnage, ultimately take? Plus, be sure to check out the cool Clayton Crain art that graces this book. It’s excellent, and easy to see why Crain was asked back to do several books and covers for the character of Carnage over the years.
- “Venom Vol. 2: The Land Before Crime”
After a long stint apart, the Venom symbiote and Eddie Brock finally reunite. And they fight dinosaurs! It’s crazy… crazy fun, that is! It did this Venom fan’s heart good to see the two reunited at long last. Be sure to hunt the other volumes in this series down (“Vol. 1: Homecoming” and “Vol. 3: Lethal Protector – Blood in the Water” and “Vol. 4: The Nativity”). This was a very enjoyable series of issues that any Venom/Eddie Brock fan shouldn’t be without. Volume 2 just happens to be the most important since it sets up the most for what’s to come.
- “Venomverse”
A whole multiverse spanning adventure with Brock as Venom at the center of it all? This is a definite must read for any Venom fan! Taking the popular “Spider-Verse” concept and giving it a Venomous spin, this book makes for one exciting tale, featuring alternate universe Venoms, including Captain America, Black Panther, and even Rocket Raccoon, to name just a few.
And there you have it, Venom fans. Enough reading material to keep you entertained for quite some time, and that’s not even all of them! Did I miss any good trade paperback recommendations for our Venom fans? Be sure to let me (and them) know in the comments below!
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@ Joshua Nelson
I reread PotS a few years ago when the Clone Saga TPB’s started hitting, and I dunno, I still really liked it. I still pull it out to read once in a while.
But yes, the other two TPB’s you mention are insanely great reads. I kind of regret not getting the Vengeance of Venom TPB when I saw it on the shelf a few years back at a Books a Million.
@William Sinclair
Yeah, Maximum Carnage definitely only needed 6-8 issues. Still doesn’t make me enjoy it any less, but yeah, you’re right. Weird fact: Reading the story growing up, I didn’t realize why Peter’s parents were alive and it drove me nuts until years later when I finally got caught up on a few things.
I thought “Planet of the Symbiotes” was embarrassingly atrocious–easily one of the worst Spider-Man stories I’ve ever read. “Birth of Venom” and “Vengeance of Venom” are definitely great reads though!
I’ve always quite liked the idea behind Maximum Carnage, and the moral was definitely a good one for the most part. I just wish we could’ve gotten a version that lasted maybe 6 issues instead of an insane 14!