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Venom: First Host #1-5
Venom: First Host
Before the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN...before VENOM... There was the FIRST HOST. The recent reunion of Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote has been a shaky one. As their relationship has been fraught with secrets and lies, they have come to struggle as much with each other as with their own violent impulses. Things don't get any easier when the symbiote's long lost first host returns in need of Venom's help--only by reuniting can the two avert cosmic ruin! Can Eddie and the symbiote trust one another long enough to save the galaxy, or will THE FIRST HOST prove to be Venom's undoing?! Reuniting VENOM superstars Mike Costa and Mark Bagley, THE FIRST HOST is an action-filled epic befitting the Wicked Web-slinger's 30th Anniversary, with twists and turns as only the House of Ideas can provide! COLLECTING: Venom: First Host 1-5
112 pages, Paperback
First published December 19, 2018
8 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
About the author
Mike Costa
704 books31 followersMike Costa is an American comic book and television writer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 22, 2024
I'm not too much of a Venom fan but I will say that this was an entertaining expansion on the backstory to tie the Symbiote in to the broader events of the infamous Kree-Skrull War. Does their "Child" ever resurface after this?
July 16, 2019
While not terrible this one elicits no more than a casual "meh" from me. It neither pleases nor displeases in its new take on the symbiotic suit's origins.
It seems the suit was originally designed for a Kree warrior. Now the Kree is back and wants his symbiote. Oh and the suit had a kid which bonds with Brock has some new powers and they fight the Kree warrior. Sound formulaic? It is. But not terrible. So I read through the story, the average art and made the "meh" sound. That really does sum up my feelings for this comic. Want to know who the suit belonged too before coming to Earth? This one is for you.
It seems the suit was originally designed for a Kree warrior. Now the Kree is back and wants his symbiote. Oh and the suit had a kid which bonds with Brock has some new powers and they fight the Kree warrior. Sound formulaic? It is. But not terrible. So I read through the story, the average art and made the "meh" sound. That really does sum up my feelings for this comic. Want to know who the suit belonged too before coming to Earth? This one is for you.
October 8, 2018
This was really gay. That's it, those are my thoughts.
October 27, 2018
[Read as single issues]
It’s no mystery that the Venom symbiote is from out among the stars. But when agents from both the Kree and the Skrull empires arrive on Earth to fight over it, Eddie Brock and his Other are thrust into the middle of an intergalactic war that stretches back eons. And when the Venom symbiote’s offspring turns out to be Eddie’s only hope to stop the fighting and rescue his stolen Other, will he put a child on the line to save his partner from perpetual enslavement?
I’ve sung the praises of the current Cates/Stegman run on Venom already recently, but this series which was released alongside the first arc of it is definitely worthy of a mention as well. This is essentially what would have been Mike Costa’s next/final arc of the previous series, repurposed into a mini-series instead. It picks up right from the end of the last uninterrupted Costa arc and deals with all of the dangling plot threads that Costa hadn’t had time to wrap up, so I’m going to treat it as Volume 5 of Venom’s, rather than its own separate entity, because it requires a lot of background reading to really stand on its own.
Most of Costa’s Venom run was very grounded, despite Venom being dragged into space for Poison-X (and the less said about that the better). He may have fought super-criminals and dinosaurs, but they were all earthbound threats rather than the interstellar kind, which sets this final arc apart. We begin fairly grounded, yes, but it’s not long before Costa takes his characters and his writing out of his comfort zone and literally shoots them into space. He folds the Venom symbiote’s history into that of the Kree/Skrull War (and back further) seamlessly, and although the Kree and Skrull characters that inhabit the story aren’t the most inventive of creations, they’re good vehicles for putting Eddie, the Venom symbiote, and their offspring Sleeper through their paces.
Costa’s interpretation of the interactions between Eddie and the symbiote, building on the previous Agent Venom stuff from the last few runs, is fast becoming my definitive way I’d describe it as well. Even with Eddie and Venom separate for some of this arc, it’s always a story about how much they care about each other, and the addition of Sleeper into the mix just complicates their dynamic as the two become parents caring for a child with a mind of its own. The ultimate resolution of the story is initially extremely unexpected, but it’s the culmination of everything Sleeper has learned from its parents, so once the violence of it fades away it becomes a little more obvious that this was always how things were going to end.
This series was originally meant to be drawn entirely by Mark Bagley, but the accelerated weekly schedule meant that Ron Lim and Paco Diaz had to be enlisted to help get the book out on time. Bagley is of course one of the definitive Venom artists, while Lim’s more laid back style stands out compared to him. He’s drafted to draw a lot of the Kree/Skrull stuff though, so it’s appropriate that an artist famous for his collaborations with Jim Starlin gets the cosmic stuff, while Diaz finds himself with the leftovers. They’re not a bad trio, but it is a shame that Bagley wasn’t able to finish this all himself.
First Host is a series that I feel like people will skip over, but if you were invested in Mike Costa’s previous run then you owe it to yourself to see this one through. It’s a little different to what came before, but it’s no less impressive despite the artistic dissonance. At its heart, this is a wholesome story about two parents trying to save their child from their mistakes, and the individuality of that type of story in comics makes First Host worth checking out, even without the Venom label attached.
It’s no mystery that the Venom symbiote is from out among the stars. But when agents from both the Kree and the Skrull empires arrive on Earth to fight over it, Eddie Brock and his Other are thrust into the middle of an intergalactic war that stretches back eons. And when the Venom symbiote’s offspring turns out to be Eddie’s only hope to stop the fighting and rescue his stolen Other, will he put a child on the line to save his partner from perpetual enslavement?
I’ve sung the praises of the current Cates/Stegman run on Venom already recently, but this series which was released alongside the first arc of it is definitely worthy of a mention as well. This is essentially what would have been Mike Costa’s next/final arc of the previous series, repurposed into a mini-series instead. It picks up right from the end of the last uninterrupted Costa arc and deals with all of the dangling plot threads that Costa hadn’t had time to wrap up, so I’m going to treat it as Volume 5 of Venom’s, rather than its own separate entity, because it requires a lot of background reading to really stand on its own.
Most of Costa’s Venom run was very grounded, despite Venom being dragged into space for Poison-X (and the less said about that the better). He may have fought super-criminals and dinosaurs, but they were all earthbound threats rather than the interstellar kind, which sets this final arc apart. We begin fairly grounded, yes, but it’s not long before Costa takes his characters and his writing out of his comfort zone and literally shoots them into space. He folds the Venom symbiote’s history into that of the Kree/Skrull War (and back further) seamlessly, and although the Kree and Skrull characters that inhabit the story aren’t the most inventive of creations, they’re good vehicles for putting Eddie, the Venom symbiote, and their offspring Sleeper through their paces.
Costa’s interpretation of the interactions between Eddie and the symbiote, building on the previous Agent Venom stuff from the last few runs, is fast becoming my definitive way I’d describe it as well. Even with Eddie and Venom separate for some of this arc, it’s always a story about how much they care about each other, and the addition of Sleeper into the mix just complicates their dynamic as the two become parents caring for a child with a mind of its own. The ultimate resolution of the story is initially extremely unexpected, but it’s the culmination of everything Sleeper has learned from its parents, so once the violence of it fades away it becomes a little more obvious that this was always how things were going to end.
This series was originally meant to be drawn entirely by Mark Bagley, but the accelerated weekly schedule meant that Ron Lim and Paco Diaz had to be enlisted to help get the book out on time. Bagley is of course one of the definitive Venom artists, while Lim’s more laid back style stands out compared to him. He’s drafted to draw a lot of the Kree/Skrull stuff though, so it’s appropriate that an artist famous for his collaborations with Jim Starlin gets the cosmic stuff, while Diaz finds himself with the leftovers. They’re not a bad trio, but it is a shame that Bagley wasn’t able to finish this all himself.
First Host is a series that I feel like people will skip over, but if you were invested in Mike Costa’s previous run then you owe it to yourself to see this one through. It’s a little different to what came before, but it’s no less impressive despite the artistic dissonance. At its heart, this is a wholesome story about two parents trying to save their child from their mistakes, and the individuality of that type of story in comics makes First Host worth checking out, even without the Venom label attached.
March 2, 2021
An ok read, fun at first then it became a bit boring and predictable.
Wanted some more and felt rushed. The main bad guy was a disappointment to read. Pretty much predictable from the get go.
Nice artwork and great coloring!
Would recommend for hardcore Venom fans.
Wanted some more and felt rushed. The main bad guy was a disappointment to read. Pretty much predictable from the get go.
Nice artwork and great coloring!
Would recommend for hardcore Venom fans.
May 21, 2019
Se vocês têm acompanhado minhas resenhas aqui, perceberam que falei de diveeeersas publicações do simbionte alienígena Venom, que a Panini Comics trouxe na esteira do longa metragem do anti-herói nos cinemas. E se vocês têm acompanhado o que eu falei sobre elas, vão perceber que eu não curti nadinha essas publicações. Pois então. Este quarto volume de Venom, que traz as duas últimas edições de Mike Costa no título e mais a minissérie First Host, escrita por ele e desenhada por Mark Bagley, é extremamente melhor do que todas as outras coisas do venom que li recentemente. Aparentemente a minissérie era para ser publicada dentro da revista mensal do personagem, mas sua ascensão aos cinemas fez com que ganhasse uma nova e elogiada série por Donny Cates e Ryan Stegman. Assim, Venom ganhou diversas minisséries sendo essa uma. Ela conta quem foi o primeiro hóspede do klymtar de Eddie Brock: um soldado kree que manipulava malvadamente esse ser simbiótico para benefício do Império Kree, isso lááá na época da Guerra Kree/Skrull. E sim, claro que temos combates com skrulls na história, que também envolve o surgimento de um novo simbionte, um novo "filho" de Venom e de Eddie Brock (sim, é isso aí), com novos poderes e novas possibilidades. Diferente das outras histórias de Costa com o Venom, essa é bem estruturada, tem personagens e enredo intrigantes e tudo fica mais divertido do que nas edições anteriores. Finalmente uma história perto de boa do Venom! Uhuuulll!
December 24, 2019
I was surprised to find I liked this volume of Venom by Costa, which addresses some of the leftover plot threads from his arc.
December 30, 2018
Eddie Brock is trying to protect an immature symbiote almost in a fatherly fashion. He and Venom are an unlikely parental couple for sure. When a Kree soldier, the original host, comes seeking Venom, Eddie finds himself in the middle of what might be the final battle of the Kree/Skrull war.
The new symbiote has abilities different from the ones we have come to know. It will be interesting to see how this new character moves into the MCU.
The new symbiote has abilities different from the ones we have come to know. It will be interesting to see how this new character moves into the MCU.
April 21, 2019
3.5 stars. So we find out who had the Venom symbiote before Parker brought it to earth. Nice little back story we get with that. There is also a new young spawn of Venom symbiote. The “first host” comes and takes Eddies suit and Eddie uses the new young symbiote to chase him down thru space with a Skrull companion. Once the adventure is over, the new young symbiote finds a nice powerful host to use. So now we have a new character running around. Overall, a pretty cool little story.
October 24, 2019
Collects Venom: First Host issues #1-5
This was way better than I was expecting. I thought that I had heard, way back when this was first solicited, that the first host was a Vietnam war veteran. I was way wrong. In this collection, we meet the Marvel Cosmic character that had the Venom symbiote prior to Spider-Man finding it in the 1984 Marvel event called "Secret Wars."
Good art. Good story.
This was way better than I was expecting. I thought that I had heard, way back when this was first solicited, that the first host was a Vietnam war veteran. I was way wrong. In this collection, we meet the Marvel Cosmic character that had the Venom symbiote prior to Spider-Man finding it in the 1984 Marvel event called "Secret Wars."
Good art. Good story.
April 22, 2020
This was released seperately but it's the conclusion to Mike Costa's run.
I was not the biggest fan of Costa's run mainly because of the way he wrote the Klyntar and their symbiotic relationship but i liked this.
I was not the biggest fan of Costa's run mainly because of the way he wrote the Klyntar and their symbiotic relationship but i liked this.
June 8, 2019
I saved this one for a long time, since it's the last in this run and I wanted to enjoy it for longer. It still managed to surpass my expectations, despite having been spoiled for most of ths plot from the beginning.
January 3, 2025
This was a quick, entertaining story about Venom and the original Kree warrior who bonded with the Klyntar symbiote.
May 3, 2021
Really enjoyed this story. Eddie Brock continues in my eyes to be the only true host of the venom symbiote. The only draw back I found in this was the character design for the offspring of Venom. It felt a little inconsistent at times.
May 24, 2019
Most of the world knows that Venom is Eddie Brock. While this is not always the case, as occasionally the symbiote has changed hands, this Volume shows us Venom's very first host, and how his return will cause lots of ripples in the Venom storyline.
The Venom symbiote began with a Kree hero (during the time of the Kree-Skrull War) named Tel-Kar. They were working to keep him uncover with the Skrulls. But when that group of Skrulls stumbled upon defenseless Kree refugees, Tel-Kar broke his cover, saved them, and told them to take his symbiote with them, leading Venom down the path that gets him to where he is now.
One day out on patrol, Venom/Eddie are attacked by M'Lanz, a Skrull warrior women who is tracking the symbiote expecting to find Tel-Kar. They battle and Te-Kar shows up to help. Afterwards, Venom works through his memory and remembers his time with Tel-Kar, but says he would rather stay with Eddie.
Tel-Kar seems to be a good guy, but shows his true traitor colors when he goes to Alchemax to steal Venom's most recent offspring. Catching up to them, Venom is offered a choice: leave Eddie and go with him, or he will take the baby. Venom, trying to be a good dad, agrees and goes with Tel-Mar. M'Lanz, finding out that Venom has left the planet, needs Eddie's help to save the Skrull people, knowing that Tel-Kar is going to go for a bioweapon. Eddie has no choice but to bond with the baby, who takes the name Sleeper, so he can go to space. (Sleeper looks really cool, and he pheromone powers as well)
Out in space, the fight between the 3 resumes, the bioweapon is stopped, and Venom returns to Eddie. M'Lanz drops Eddie back off at Earth and heads back to her people. Tel-Kar tries one more time to get either symbiote, and seems like Sleeper is going to go with him, but instead lobotomizes Tel-Kar's brain and uses his body as a shell to go off on his own! (so cool!)
Would love to see more from Venom's offspring. (Sleeper is the 7th!)
Recommend.
The Venom symbiote began with a Kree hero (during the time of the Kree-Skrull War) named Tel-Kar. They were working to keep him uncover with the Skrulls. But when that group of Skrulls stumbled upon defenseless Kree refugees, Tel-Kar broke his cover, saved them, and told them to take his symbiote with them, leading Venom down the path that gets him to where he is now.
One day out on patrol, Venom/Eddie are attacked by M'Lanz, a Skrull warrior women who is tracking the symbiote expecting to find Tel-Kar. They battle and Te-Kar shows up to help. Afterwards, Venom works through his memory and remembers his time with Tel-Kar, but says he would rather stay with Eddie.
Tel-Kar seems to be a good guy, but shows his true traitor colors when he goes to Alchemax to steal Venom's most recent offspring. Catching up to them, Venom is offered a choice: leave Eddie and go with him, or he will take the baby. Venom, trying to be a good dad, agrees and goes with Tel-Mar. M'Lanz, finding out that Venom has left the planet, needs Eddie's help to save the Skrull people, knowing that Tel-Kar is going to go for a bioweapon. Eddie has no choice but to bond with the baby, who takes the name Sleeper, so he can go to space. (Sleeper looks really cool, and he pheromone powers as well)
Out in space, the fight between the 3 resumes, the bioweapon is stopped, and Venom returns to Eddie. M'Lanz drops Eddie back off at Earth and heads back to her people. Tel-Kar tries one more time to get either symbiote, and seems like Sleeper is going to go with him, but instead lobotomizes Tel-Kar's brain and uses his body as a shell to go off on his own! (so cool!)
Would love to see more from Venom's offspring. (Sleeper is the 7th!)
Recommend.
August 13, 2021
Hola a todos🙋🏻♀️lo prometido es deuda y aquí les traigo mi reseña acerca de Venom- Primer Anfitrión de la edición Marvel Excelsior (2019) es un comic de 112 páginas que cuenta con cinco capítulos.
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Este comic toca tres líneas de tiempo desde que encuentran a un Venom pequeño sin alguien a quien unirse, luego nos adentramos muchos años después en la guerra que tenían las especies Kree Vs Skull. Este suceso nos servirá para saber que el primer anfitrión que estuvo unido a Venom fue un soldado Kree quien va ser nuestro antagonista y por último estaremos en el presente del simbionte estando ya con Eddie Brock combatiendo el crimen en la Ciudad de Nueva York.
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Desde el primer momento vamos a simpatizar y querer mucho este dúo también conocerás al hijo de Venom o como ellos dos dirían "La cría" que lo defenderán hasta la muerte.
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Debo decir que este comic tiene un poco de todo desde la acción que nunca pará, las emociones de Eddie y hasta me atrevo a decir del propio Venom de como lo quiere y cuida sin dejar atrás a su hijo pues la llegada del primer anfitrión pondrá en peligro no solamente a la raza Skull sino que al planeta Tierra también. El final solamente es emocionante que a mí me ha sacado lágrimas.
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Sin dudas es un comic que en ningún momento te aburres vas a querer leerlo hasta que se termina. Explora el pasado de Venom con su primer portador y hasta su "relación" con Eddie Brock que es una mezcla de emociones. Lo recomiendo muchísimo😄
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No me puedo quejar sobre los dibujos de las variantes portadas mezclando a distintos artistas, simplemente excelente.
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Este comic toca tres líneas de tiempo desde que encuentran a un Venom pequeño sin alguien a quien unirse, luego nos adentramos muchos años después en la guerra que tenían las especies Kree Vs Skull. Este suceso nos servirá para saber que el primer anfitrión que estuvo unido a Venom fue un soldado Kree quien va ser nuestro antagonista y por último estaremos en el presente del simbionte estando ya con Eddie Brock combatiendo el crimen en la Ciudad de Nueva York.
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Desde el primer momento vamos a simpatizar y querer mucho este dúo también conocerás al hijo de Venom o como ellos dos dirían "La cría" que lo defenderán hasta la muerte.
-
Debo decir que este comic tiene un poco de todo desde la acción que nunca pará, las emociones de Eddie y hasta me atrevo a decir del propio Venom de como lo quiere y cuida sin dejar atrás a su hijo pues la llegada del primer anfitrión pondrá en peligro no solamente a la raza Skull sino que al planeta Tierra también. El final solamente es emocionante que a mí me ha sacado lágrimas.
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Sin dudas es un comic que en ningún momento te aburres vas a querer leerlo hasta que se termina. Explora el pasado de Venom con su primer portador y hasta su "relación" con Eddie Brock que es una mezcla de emociones. Lo recomiendo muchísimo😄
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No me puedo quejar sobre los dibujos de las variantes portadas mezclando a distintos artistas, simplemente excelente.
June 2, 2019
I found this little tale super enjoyable.
The likability factor of the symbiote and Eddie are what make this a pleasure. Besides that, it’s a fairly “by the numbers” story.
The art is very good, (Bagley, Lim and Diaz kill it). This is a quick and fun read. 100% guaranteed to make you happy.
The likability factor of the symbiote and Eddie are what make this a pleasure. Besides that, it’s a fairly “by the numbers” story.
The art is very good, (Bagley, Lim and Diaz kill it). This is a quick and fun read. 100% guaranteed to make you happy.
February 25, 2019
All this secret origin of Venom stuff seems to take away from the character. To me, anyway. I mean, what's the difference between the origin of Venom and the origin of Darkhawk published at almost the same time in Infinity Countdown?
And another symbiote!? How many are we up to? Even though I thought we were told explicitly that Venom could not spawn any more. (Is it weird that they're all spawns for Venom? Except . . . um. . . Toxin, right?)
I went to Wikipedia where I learned there were even MORE symbiotes. But I was thinking of Toxin.
It's a fine-ish story. The only other lame part is how the Kree keep showing up everywhere. Whenever there's a Kree story without the bold visual design of Ronan or the Supreme intelligence, it's not fully clear why the Kree are being used. They're just humans who are sometimes blue who have a lot of technology and do not respect people, right?
And another symbiote!? How many are we up to? Even though I thought we were told explicitly that Venom could not spawn any more. (Is it weird that they're all spawns for Venom? Except . . . um. . . Toxin, right?)
I went to Wikipedia where I learned there were even MORE symbiotes. But I was thinking of Toxin.
It's a fine-ish story. The only other lame part is how the Kree keep showing up everywhere. Whenever there's a Kree story without the bold visual design of Ronan or the Supreme intelligence, it's not fully clear why the Kree are being used. They're just humans who are sometimes blue who have a lot of technology and do not respect people, right?
September 27, 2019
I'd give this book a pretty good rating because who doesn't love a comic book. Also the book give more back story about Venom before he met Eddie Brock that not many people know a lot about Venom back story. I would say the book primarily is an action type book because you can't go 2 or 3 pages without some form of arguing of fighting. This book makes me think about what if any of this were real what if some new form of life trying to take something important for me. In a basic summary of the book I'd say Venom is reunited with host before Eddie Brock and is betrayed by him.
October 28, 2024
Eddie & Venom being loving parents to their gooey baby cured my depression ♥ and so did seeing their little family being super protective of each other ♥
This story is so well done and so full of heart!! I loved it so much!
This story is so well done and so full of heart!! I loved it so much!
Having a kid to take care of... it’ll make you scared. More scared than you’ve ever been…but it’ll make you better. And when people come and bring danger — God help them. Because it’ll make you stronger too.
July 5, 2025
I really wish writers would leave Venom alone. I know that sounds crazy but the mythos just keeps getting more and more unlikeable as symbiotes just get added on top of the last bad idea. Here, we get a very dated storyline that seems like it's pulled straight from 1992. Mike Costa is hit or miss as a writer and this was a definite miss. As always, I enjoyed Mark Bagley's art but it wasn't enough to save this dreadful tale. Overall, repetitive and unoriginal.
May 25, 2020
Better than I expected. Exceptional artwork by Bagley and Lim (some of my favorite Spider-Man artists from the 90s so that helped). Venom and his offspring take on the Kree and Skrull races and we learn about where the Venom symbiote originated from. Definitely a worthwhile read. Give it a shot, even if you're reluctant!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2022
I think as far as angsty comic book stories go, involving kids is the top tier crème de la crème (yes even if they’re alien kids) I truly find the explanation of Eddie and Venom’s relationship through Sleeper and Tel-Kar to be pretty top tier writing and I wish they’d have focused a little bit more on the isolation Eddie feels after Venom leaves him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2018
Mmmkay... ten příběh je docela tuctová klasika - symbionta měl před Brockem Kree mimozemšťan a chce ho zpátky. Do toho tam pobíhá Skrullka a vesele se to mydlí mezi sebou. Zííív.
Přesto mě to z nějakého důvodu fakt bavilo a užil jsem si ho víc než Catesovu překombinovanost.
Přesto mě to z nějakého důvodu fakt bavilo a užil jsem si ho víc než Catesovu překombinovanost.
October 12, 2019
A gap filler between the end of the prior Venom series to the Donny Cates' relaunch.
Story was just okay, but Mark Bagley's art was as professional as you would expect.
If you are a Venom completest, read it, if not move on to the Donny Cates series.
Story was just okay, but Mark Bagley's art was as professional as you would expect.
If you are a Venom completest, read it, if not move on to the Donny Cates series.
October 3, 2018
Great read!
October 25, 2018
Amazing art.
Good storyline.
Good storyline.
November 26, 2018
I liked this a whole lot, and I *really* hope Sleeper gets their own run some time. Would love to see them pop back up, under Costa's hands.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2019
Love this story!
I really enjoy reading this comic. It is a great supplement of my knowledge of Venom and Eddie Brock. Loving them as a whole and also separately!
I really enjoy reading this comic. It is a great supplement of my knowledge of Venom and Eddie Brock. Loving them as a whole and also separately!
January 29, 2019
Awwww, that was such a sweet comic!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews