I’ve seen a number of posts floating around where people ask how to start reading the Venom comics, so here’s my little take on the subject. Given that the comics have been around for 30+ years, the “continuity” is a jumbled, nigh-meaningless mess, so let’s focus on the goods here. And by “the goods” I mean “Eddie and Venom being really gay and romantic with each other”. So here are a few series that DELIVER on that front. This list is by no means all inclusive– feel free to reblog and add more! I haven’t even come close to reading all the comics.
(Most of the links below are to Comixology, because that’s where I have them, but you know. Get them wherever.)
1. Venom (2018) written by Donny Cates – this is the current ongoing series, with 6 issues out so far (the 7th comes out on 10/10). The quality of the writing is top notch. Venom becomes very ill because of an evil symbiote god who looks like he stepped right out of a Castlevania game if Castlevania was made by David Cronenberg. Despite the unspeakably powerful goth energy radiating from the art, this series has many tender, soft moments between Eddie and Venom and it contains the crown jewel of any OTP: Venom says, right there on the page, “I love you, Eddie”.
2. Venom (2016) written by Mike Costa – collected into 4 volumes. This is the one where Eddie and Venom rekindle their relationship and then have a baby together, complete with on-panel birth. Has some cute slice-of-life scenes and lot of Eddie and Venom working on trust and communication in their relationship. They call each other romantic pet names. And fight dinosaur people. In the sewer. Like you do.
3. First Host (2018) written by Mike Costa – 5 issue miniseries. A direct continuation of the above. How fares Eddie and Venom’s bundle of joy? Highlights include Eddie in peak Dad Mode, Eddie being super protective of his spouse and child, and the entire plot ripped straight from a soap opera. Not even joking: the Venom symbiote’s ex suddenly shows up out of nowhere and demands Venom return to him. When Venom says it wants to be with Eddie now, the shitbag ex threatens their child! *mustachio twirl*
4. Venom: The Hunger (1996) written by Len Kaminski – 4 issue miniseries. Overflowing with X-Treme 90s Energy, Eddie is insufferably self-righteous and has He-Man hair, all bodily fluids are neon green, and Venom looks like an H.R. Giger painting. This little gem tells us the origin of Venom’s chocolate obsession. Eddie cuddles Venom a lot and there’s panels of Eddie basically moaning with pleasure while Venom wraps him in tentacles. The story revolves around Venom leaving Eddie because it needs certain brain chemicals, and Eddie’s brain alone can no longer provide it enough so it has to go on a vore spree. Eddie and Venom do, of course, make up and get back together again in the end, so fear not!
5. Venom: Lethal Protector (1993) written by David Michelinie. Not nearly as overtly gay as the more recent series, but the movie is (VERY) loosely based on this, so there ya go. Get ready to see Eddie bopping around San Francisco in a killer mullet, crop top, and mom jeans! Still very loud queer subtext between him and Venom, as with every Venom series. Except the most recent ones– only because it’s not subtext anymore, it’s canon!
Honestly, my favorite thing at the moment is all the marvel headcanons where Hela wasn’t cray-cray homicidal, and she’s an overprotective bitchy sister.
After the mess that were the accords, after the Avengers fractured, and half his friends were put into prison, Steve finds himself drifting… drifting… nothing catches his attention, nothing ignites that old spark in his heart, makes his blood burn. Nothing. Nothing…
…until he sees the devastatingly beautiful creature they keep in a tank in Wakanda.
Also up on my Society6 (there’s a 25% promotion on EVERYTHING today!) and my Redbubble shops!! 😀
Marvel
seems adamant not to change with the times. Coming under fire for a
lack of diversity, the treatment of female characters, the failure to
deliver films that push the boundaries, The Powers That Be at Marvel
have done the minimal to try and placate fans. But it’s not good enough,
and people are really starting to notice.
Finally an article discussing the true face of Marvel Studios and their executive decisions. No fan pleasing platitudes here, just a pull of the curtain to face some hard truths: They need to do better.
The framing of the Winter Soldier is very deliberate throughout the film. He’s never revealed straight on in full frame. Instead he comes in at angles or is glimpsed through fire and smoke—our first-ever look at him is as a distant, shadowy blur. The effect is unsettling—you never know where he is or where he’s coming from, which unnerves the audience as much as it does the heroes. And he is always preceded by violence. He doesn’t show up and then start shit—shit is already started by the time he emerges. Violence is a harbinger for him; he is not a harbinger of violence.
Introducing the Winter Soldier: The creation of a truly terrifying Marvel villain (x)
ealdor 