The War of the Realms: Venom

Venom (2018)

by Cullen Bunn (Writer), Donny Cates (Writer), Iban Coello (Illustrator)

Venom enters the fray in the War of the Realms! The Marvel Comics event of the year makes landfall in the world of the wicked web-slinger, as Venom gets swept up in Malekith's campaign to take over the Ten Realms! But Malekith has designs for the sinister symbiote too...and they may prove fatal! Plus, in the depths of space, evil stirs - and a new terror has risen on the fringes of the Marvel Universe. But that's nothing compared to the evil happening on Earth...as a twisted cult takes life after life, claiming their victims in the name of the killer called Carnage!

COLLECTING: VENOM (2018) 13-15, VENOM: CULT OF CARNAGE 1

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2019

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for an event crossover comic.
I didn't know what War of Realms was about prior to this but, apparently, the 9 Realms are, well...at war.



So the dark elf, Malekith, has finally pitted Fiffelhaven and Neffelwhatever against Midgard.
Or something like that. Not sure how/what/why, and it doesn't really matter, quite frankly.



What matters is that Eddie fights them.
And he does. Ta-da!
It's not terrible and I liked the Cult of Carnage story.
On to the next volume...

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman get ready for Absolute Carnage, Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello step in to tackle a War Of The Realms tie-in for Venom. But with Eddie short a symbiote, what's he going to do against an army of frost giants and a super-powered Jack O'Lantern?

This is...weird. It's not bad, just weird, and there's definitely the feeling that because it's an event tie-in and it's not written by Cates that it isn't going to be important in the grand scheme of the series as a whole.

Pitting Eddie against Jack O'Lantern's not a bad idea, but he's always been an Agent Venom bad guy, so the emotional resonance isn't there. Dylan's role in the proceedings is better, but he doesn't get much to do other than sit around and fret, which feels a bit redundant.

Iban Coello on art is a no-brainer at this point, he and Bunn have collaborated on more than one Venom story and he's right at home playing in this world.

Also included for padding is Web Of Venom: Cult Of Carnage, which is actually a set-up for Absolute Carnage and nothing to do with War Of The Realms, but it's probably better than the other three issues included here, so that's good. The groundwork laid here is going to be very important later on, so I'm surprised this has been shoved in here and not over in the Venom Unleashed trade, but that's to be expected at this point.

Whether you're reading this for the War Of The Realms aspect or the Venom aspect, it's skippable either way. Just grab that Carnage one-shot somewhere else and save yourself the time.

[RG · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda goes off track from the Cates story.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

May be the only decent written tie in from the solo ongoings.

An ok read that was just that. I like the Venom title just fine but I didn't like the War of the Realms main event and almost every tie in of the whole thing.

This one though was good enough while continuing the story it wants to tell.

Artwork is great too!

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regra geral: os tie-ins de grandes megaeventos costumam ser bastante inferiores que os crossovers em sim. Essa interação do Venom com a Guerra dos Reinos também não passa disso: um tie-in bastante dispensável. Para começar, ele não é inteiramente escrito por Donny Cates, o cara que está revirando a mitologia do Venom ao melhor estilo retcon, com deuses cósmicos e fenomenais dentro de um simbiontinho. A história do Venom em Guerra dos Reinos, é que Eddie Brock perdeu o controle do seu simbionte e as Nornes vão lhe oferecer uma outra maneira de combater os seus inimigos da injustiça e iniquidade: elas lhe fornecem uma pedra azul mística que configura uma proteção em forma de simbionte para ele. O problema é que quando Venom não faz aquilo que as Nornes querem, elas convocam Halloween para fazê-lo e também dar cabo de Eddie Brock e recuperar a pedra das Nornes. Se você gosta de histórias que tem simplesmente lutinha, talvez essa HQ seja para você. Como eu não sou fã desse tipo de desenvolvimento de personagem, ela não me agradou como vinha me agradando os arcos anteriores. E tenho dito.

[Hella · Rating 4 out of 5]

این جلد ضعیف تر از جلد های قبل بود و خوب یه خورده داستان زیادی تخیلی شد و یه خورده افول کرد ولی با این وجود بازم خوب بود 🌝

[Lucas Savio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diferentemente do justiceiro (que também n acrescentava algo a saga principal) esse achei uma saída muito fácil, bem o eddie está sem o simbionte mas mesmo assim o elfo tirou um cristal magico do bolso para fazer com oque o tenha e com isso ele deixa seu filho num banker para ajudar os inocentes sério, e ainda trazendo um vilão a mais (pq claro tem poucos reinos lutando contra midgard) enfim lenso eu que foi uma saída fácil, pois melhor seria ele tentando proteger o filho sem a presença de um simbionte enfim, só tem arte bonita mesmo!!!

[Ondra Král · Rating 2 out of 5]

Já bych všechny ty eventy a tie-iny zakázal, každého jenom otravují.

Na pár čísel k Venomovi zaskočil Bunn a napsal tuctovou rubačku o Brockovi v kouzelným brnění. Tohle je přesně typ komiksů, které v roce 2021 (a ani v roce 2023) už číst nechci, takže jdu s hodnocením trochu níž (i díky místy hnusné kresbě).

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh. Nothing of note happens. It’s basically an interlude and can be skipped.
Short part is Eddie fights some aliens and the story doesn’t progress at all.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never sure about hating on a prolific writer like Cullen Bunn. I took a dislike to his work early on, and have carried that torch ever since - avoiding any book he’s assigned to, assuming it’s all as bad as the early samples I’d tried.

When I set out to read nearly everything Carnage related in hopes of enjoying every Easter egg, subplot and throwaway morsel of Absolute Carnage, I came back to Cates’ run-up works in Venom and decided what the hell, how bad could three issues be - what with an agreement that Cates and Bunn probably had not to screw up the momentum Cates had built over the previous 12.

And for all the constraints Bunn had to work with to fit these issues into Cates’ version of Brock *and* make this sorta work in the War Of The Realms event, it isn’t half-bad.

But the core conceit for how Brock “powers up” to stand toe-to-toe with giants and elves - that he just has an endless well of rage to draw on - seems jarringly ham-fisted and not at all where I see Eddie in the last few years. That’s not even remotely congruous with the place Eddie lives now, and feels like a lazy choice by a writer who’s just busting out their page rate, not taking care to find truth in the story.

I’m told the one-shot by Frank Tieri is important to the event, but damn could they have given the job to someone whose prose isn’t this purple? Terrible.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

The one thing you learn about event books is that the tie-ins are not the best and I've sadly read too many of them now. Venom is the next book in line and Cullen Bunn is the author in charge. Cullen Bunn has gained a lot of traction within my library with Hallow County and now Rogue Planet. The issue I've found with Cullen Bunn's work on the Marvel series hasn't clicked with me. Venom isn't a character I've had a lot of exposure with and that didn't help me with reading this book. I had made the promise to myself to read all the War of the Realms series but it's proving to be tough work.

Why the 2.5?

This is another short and cheap looking book. The tie-ins might appeal to the fans but I can't stay invested outside of the core storyline and I think I've read one or maybe two okay tie-ins now. Cullen Bunn is best with the independents but obviously that doesn't pay the bills. I wasn't a big fan of this book but others might know more and it might be great for them. I'm cold going into this book and outside the film versions of the character I'm not a huge Venom fan but that may change with Donny Cates volume 1 I just received.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a crossover with the War of the Realms event, which I haven't read yet. This volume doesn't really require having read anything else to understand, however. I usually don't like it when Marvel events crossover into other titles since it sometimes feels like a cash grab. In this case, it makes sense as the event involves the entire world so it only makes sense most titles would have some type of crossover with the series.

Overall this wasn't an important part of the crossover, but was still decent.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a decent flow, but there was no lead in to the story from the previous volumes, other than Eddie's son. I suppose this is one you have to read the connecting comics to get the full lead in, ect.
The Web Of Venom story was ok, but again, I am missing a lot of backstory. The art is ok, I like most of the character designs.
If you're a Venom fan, try this out!

[jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

not gay enough

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cool stuff but nothing that is amazing and it plays a better role at just being setup for other stories.

[John_H92 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the strongest venom story yet. The Absolute Carnage issue was decent though. I enjoyed the John Jameson stuff.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your time or money on this, skip it and jump straight to volume 3, this is garbage!

[Sonia Gilbertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The War of the Realms tie in was not bad. I just didn't care for the other two issues.
Especially the Cult of Carnage issue. Its supposed to take place in Colorado, where I'm from, but it looks like no town in CO I've ever seen. The artist just drew a generic small town then put hills in the background. He could have at least googled the Rocky Mountains. Also what small, rural town has a zoo?

[N a N D O R · Rating 2 out of 5]

No más Venom...

[Andrew Shaffer]

“Venom? I hardly know ‘em!”

[Harsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVED the first 2 volumes of Donny Cates' run on Venom. This being the next instalment, I was excited. However, getting into this, I had my expectations tempered. Mainly on account of this not being written by Cates and having a different art style, and being not part of the main story line. So I braced myself for an average story, based off reading the other reviews on here.

But this was better that what I had expected. It's akin to what a filler episode would be like in a long-running TV show or anime. A fun side-quest where we get a story where our central characters are thrust into, a different plot that has little to no bearing on the overarching story, but one that helps deepen the primary characters by allowing us to hang out with them. It just so happens that this filler is part of another large-scale Marvel Event storyline, where we get to see the POV of those events from Eddie's corner of the world.

And even though this isn't necessary to Cates' run, I would recommend this be an essential read (especially if you're going to tackle the whole run, that is). It just lets you stay with Eddie and Dylan in the interim period when the Venom symbiote has left him and how he's been coping since the events of Vol. 2.

However, I missed Ryan Stegman's art here. But I get it. I presume this is more similar to the War of the Realms' art style, to keep it in touch with THAT side of the plot? I don't know, I'm speculating. But the art here, though good, was very "clean" and "blockbuster cinema", which was a bit of a culture shock for me coming to this after reading the first 2 John Carpenter, Horror / Sci-Fi art style of the first 2 arcs.

But the story in this collection that truly shone, was the Cult of Carnage one-shot. A preamble to the next major story arc in Cates' run, Absolute Carnage, this story was the highlight here. It had a potent small-town horror/mystery vibe signalling the coming of Carnage and setting up expectations of how the next arc would go. That was a great aperitif to help me be ready for the main course that is coming up next. The art here, too, though even more different than the "War of the Realms" story, oddly fit better. It had a Twin Peaks-ish vibe here, which worked better, I felt.

So yeah. Overall, decent collection and one that helps you get mildly excited for the next arc, which I will be immediately reading.

[Ren the Unclean · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a crossover event set right during a time when there is no real Venom (the symbiote and Eddie are separated) so it doesn't have much to go on. I read it just because it is part of the Cates/Stegman Venomnibus (didn't have the Cult of Carnage one-shot like this version does), but it doesn't have much to do with anything else and feels pretty superfluous.

The solution Bunn has gone with is to have an Asgardian witch (the Asgardians are apparently the ones having the war of the realms, I don't really know the event) arbitrarily grant Eddie a suit of magical armor that basically works like Venom.
He uses this to fight Jack O'Lantern (also granted Asgard powers, for some reason) while frost giants and elves or whatever are attacking New York City.

It is all very contrived and dumb. It feels like the worst kind of crossover event issue to me, where there is no reason for it to exist.

The art is fine and I am sure it fits the event, but it leans a bit too much towards the generic modern Marvel style for me.

Skip these issues.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
Not tons to this Volume, as it seems to be only a small collection to allow Venom to participate in the "War of the Realms" event. Eddie, having the symbiote taken from him, is no longer Venom. A witch, wanting to cause some chaos, gives Eddie a dreamstone, which will allow him to become whatever he dreams of... which is obviously Venom. Giving a dreamstone also to Jack O'Lantern, the two of them fight it out. Venom gives the power of his stone to normal people and they are able to use it to defend themselves from some trolls.
The Volume also includes a side story set during the "Absolute Carnage" storyline. A small town basically gets harvested for "Knull" symbiote parts (see main story).
Overall, always nice to see Venom in action, but this Volume was missing the inner dialogue that makes the stories always a bit more compelling.
Recommend. It's honestly short enough to be pretty good.

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Up to this point, I have really been enjoying the Venom arcs. This run, though, seems like filler material. Three Venom issues that loosely tie into the War of the Realms, but not really. The one redeeming factor of this run is the awesome artwork. The Norse Venom look is really cool, but plot-wise, I expected more. As for Cult of Carnage, it seemed like filler material. The entire issue was mediocre, didn't advance the story much, and although I know it is a preview of Absolute Carnage, it is still just mediocre. I don't care about the characters (John Jameson and Misty Knight), the artwork isn't bad, but there is nothing that makes it out to be great, and the plot just fell flat. Meh. Easily skippable on all fronts!

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something about this volume was a little lacking, but not just the page count.

War of the Realms provided the creative team to try something well outside of the normal and I can respect that. And I did enjoy the art and new suit designs for sure. But while they pulled off the flashy bits well, the deep and personal pieces fell very flat at times I wanted them to have way more impact.

Good, not not the best of the series, for sure. But, honestly, that's kind of what to expect from Bunn. Bunn's a good fill-in writer. Not excellent. Not great. Good.

[Ben Zimmerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a big dumb event comic. My favorite part was when Venom took a bite out of a giant's neck then said "Mmm. Minty." It was just completely jarring to see that weird joke in the midst of all the absurd ultraviolence of this comic and it made me laugh. Other than that the best thing I can say about Venom: War of the Realms is that you can skip it and move on to the rest of the series without missing anything important. At the end of this comic everything returns to exactly the way it was at the beginning.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The War Of The Realms comes to Venom's part of NYC and its a decent tie-in that sadly doesn't add much to the overall book. Asgard's war effects Eddie and Dylan and its decent as it shows Eddie trying to learn to be a father. There was some wonky Asgardian magic that was pushing the story along and it was just okay. The Carnage story was solid although it didn't have anything to do with TWOTR storyline. The art was very good throughout. Overall, an okay little filler arc during a crossover.

[Alex Sarll]

There's a solid idea at the heart of this - that even with Asgardian magic at his disposal, Eddie Brock is too fucked up to do anything but keep repeating the same behaviour that got him into this mess in the first place. But it still can't help feeling like an interruption, right down to Cates handing the character back to Cullen Bunn for the duration. Also features a vaguely folk horror one-shot chiefly notable for summing up the preamble to Absolute Carnage as "playing spine Pokémon".

[Jeff Lorentz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unessential as a crossover to war of the realms, but since I read this in order with the rest of the venom run it worked fairly well. Nothing important, since it had a guest team working on this story. Only for completionists and diehards. Most interesting piece was the "cult of carnage" one-shot in the back of the book, serving as a prequel for absolute Carnage, the next chapter in this venom series. The only thing this book accomplished was to get me excited to read Absolute Carnage.

[Marcos Lopez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more of a filler or side story to the series. Wasn't a big fan of Eddie's new found power with the dreamstone. Basically an Asgardian version of Venom, but without the actual symbiote being there. Eddie is in full control and wonders if his previous violent behavior was due to the symbiote or actually himself. I honestly skipped through the Web of Venom version, I figured Carnage would return.