Venom, Vol. 6: King in Black

Venom (2018)

by Donny Cates, Iban Coello (Illustrator), Phillip Kennedy Johnson

The horrifying threat of the King in Black, all-powerful god of the symbiote race, has loomed large for years. And after millennia of imprisonment, Knull was finally freed thanks to a rash act by Eddie Brock! Now, the King in Black and his symbiotic army have arrived on Earth! But what is Knull’s hideous agenda? And what happens to Venom when he finally comes face to face with the lord of the abyss? Eddie Brock is about to face the biggest challenge of his life…but he’s not alone. Who will stand by his side in Earth’s darkest hour? And do any of them have the slightest chance of success?

COLLECTING: Venom (2018) 31-35

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2021

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Venom vol 6: King in Black but (and here's what several of us have been SAYING about comics losing the volume number!) it will be easy to confuse it here on Goodreads with the actual King in Black event. If you would like to help us fix this problem please let Goodreads support know how you feel by going HERE and voicing your concerns.



And speaking of easy to do...
I read this first thinking that it was King in Black.
It was confusing as hell when I started reading, because at the end of the last volume Eddie and Dylan had just made it back to the 616 universe only to find that Knull had taken over.
The End.



I was expecting to pick up from there, but this opens with Eddie having been defeated by Knull, separated from his symbiote, and falling to his death.
It took me a minute to realize I was missing a huge chunk of the story and then I spent a lot of time clicking around on Marvel Unlimited trying to find the missing issue that I had skipped over. That was when I realized what I'd done and decided to just plow on ahead and read the main event after.
I made the wrong decision. Learn from me.
READ KING IN BLACK FIRST!
Not only do you miss the original setup of the story and the battle between Venom and Knull in the beginning, but the final battle between Venom and Knull. And that's HUGE because you don't know what happened, and you're just kind of guessing at how Eddie gets his new powers and what's going on with Dylan and the symbiote now.



Having said that, this was an excellent volume. I loved the story with Flash, I loved the ending with Dylan, and there's a lot of nice foreshadowing about The Maker. <--I think he's the best villain since Doctor Doom.
I thought it was an excellent ending for Cates' run on Venom, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a between the moments of King in Black volume, fleshing out that story a bit more. It's all fine. Then there's a monster 74 page 200th anniversary issue that sets up the new status quo for Venom, Eddie and Dylan. It's pretty interesting. Maybe it's just me, but they aged up Dylan quickly in that last issue to be in high school. I thought he was supposed to be much younger. Anyway, not a bad finish but the build up was quite a bit better than King in Black itself was.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool artwork decent story

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of Cates Venom run is here!

If you read King in Black this portion will make a lot of sense. If you didn't or aren't, this feels very jumbled. The structure of what is happening to Eddie on a personal level is pretty great but to get the full picture of what is happening you need the event, which makes this book a weird tie in. Where's it mostly worked in his adventures during Absoulte carnage, here it mostly relies on you reading the event.

Saying that the story itself was interesting and fun. The very last issue is the cap to Cates run and two major events and works well to set up a lot of new and interesting ideas. I love Dylan as a character and eager to see where we go with him but also Venom and also my boy Thompson. We have so many threads happening and each one is interesting.

Overall really enjoyed Cates time on venom, probably my second favorite run behind Remender's run. A 4 out of 5.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty epic towards the end!

It starts off with tying into King in Black and as Eddie is falling he recounts all the losses that he has sustained in his life and all and then goes to the God Hive which is like the nexus for the dead and there he meets with Rex and Flash and things change for the better, we see so many cool things and them fighting Knull in here and then some pretty big revelations.

Then the aftermath and Eddie's new position which is cool with him being God of the Symbiotes and all, and then teaming up with Avengers and Spider-Man. But he does hint that the Maker is getting ready for something big. Next event hint: Ultimate Universe invades? Its pretty good.

But its towards the end that things change for the better or big with Dylan becoming the next Venom, the legacy has been passed and that was probably one of the highlight of this run as it moves things forward in a major way! Plus some interesting stuff coming with flash!

This volume was quite big and has early foreshadowing of things to come and its all gonna be great and it does a great job of wrapping the whole run which is one of my favorite runs ever and I love how Cates is able to wrap things up, address his large history and finally hint at future and gives a great love letter to Venom through this run! And the art was freaking insane throughout!!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the King In Black ravages the world, Eddie Brock finds himself trapped within the symbiote hive mind. Can he fight a battle on two fronts and win? Maybe, if he has a little help from old friends. Then, it's Venom #200, and the end of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's run on the character!

King In Black was great fun for me personally; it had all the flash and craziness of a Cates event, and it hit all the big story beats. The big character moments however are contained in this volume. Eddie finally comes to terms with a lot of the baggage he's been carrying, and the return of not one but two people I didn't expect to see again made me very happy. These issues support the main King In Black story while telling their own, and I'd argue that these issues are actually more important to Venom than the big event book was.

The ending in Venom #250 is great too. It feels like the next natural step given everything Eddie has gone through, and it basically forces the next creative team to pick up where Cates left off, because there's no writing your way out of this corner. I'm very much looking forward to what comes next, for sure.

The artwork here is predominantly Iban Coello, who has been the unsung hero of this Venom run, doing all the heavy lifting while Ryan Stegman has been busy with Absolute Carnage and King In Black. His sleek, shiny style lends itself to symbiotes without question, and Venom superstars Mark Bagley, Ron Lim, Gerardo Sandoval, and Stegman himself also show up for issue 200 too.

There hasn't been a run on Venom like this before, and it'll be a long time before another one, I expect. I have high hopes for the new creative team of Al Ewing, Ram V, and Bryan Hitch, but they've got big shoes to fill.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

King in Black offers a confusing look at how Eddie Brock returned to save the day in the main King in Black event, then shifts gears to a drawn-out resetting of the Venom universe. The latter part is much better, even if the shifting artwork sometimes grates.

For the actual King in Black piece, Eddie Brock is dead...but has seemingly "awoken" in the Hive, which is the theoretical home of all symbiotes. If Eddie (and some helpful hands) can defeat Knull down below, they can...come back to life? To defeat Knull on Earth? As the living embodiment of light? Boy oh boy, it's a head-scratcher. The art's good and it's mindless fun, but it makes very little sense, just like the main King in Black event.

The Venom reset is much better because it involves actual characters having real conversations and making interesting life choices. Eddie Brock is now Knull, basically, linked to symbiotes across the universe. Cool! His son Dylan is bummed about losing his Venom powers (though he quickly gains them back as New Venom!) and Flash Thompson is in a weird spot since he was, y'know, recently deceased. The Venom universe is nicely set up for further adventures - I'd be willing to stick around beyond Donny Cates run.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story-wise, this was a big improvement over Cates' separate King in Black title. Here, we get the in-between moments and emotions that make the story hit home for Eddie and Dylan and those around them. Plus, the return of Flash Thompson (still my favorite Venom, by the way). The final issue is really a bit hit-or-miss, with artwork from just about everyone (it switches every couple of pages) and, after largely wrapping things up, a few new loose ends that might lead to new stories. As much as any Venom writer, I think Cates set out to do something different and whether he succeeded is for each reader to decide.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing another subtitle of "King in Black" might lead you to believe that this was just another tie-in to the main title, but you'd be very wrong. Venom is the book the spurned out the full crossover, so here we get a look at Eddie Brock's life during and after the King in Black event.
Highlights:
- The inner monologue of Eddie Brock starts us off as Knull has thrown him off the building to die, keeping Venom by his side. But as Eddie "dies", we see that he really just returns to The Hive, an otherworldly space where all previous symbiote bearers go at death. When you combine that with the arrival of the "God of Light" (what we would call Captain Universe in the MU), it was a great piece of background info on how Knull was ultimately defeated.
- We find out that Flash Thompson was also resurrected, similarly to Eddie.
- Since Venom defeated Knull, he obtained the powers that Knull had. However, as a human trying to observe and control the symbiote hive mind, it has aged Eddie Brock significantly.
- Now having the respect of many heroes, including an open invite to be an Avenger anytime, Eddie is asking for their help in stopping The Maker, the Ultimate Universe's evil version of Reed Richards. He has a symbiote that is incredibly powerful and could make him a threat to the 616.
- We also get to see Venom (who says he has an unpronounceable name) bond with Dylan Brock, a partnership most readers could see coming a mile away. I really hope he can keep things amazing for the character.

Overall, this Volume was essential to the enjoyment of the main King in Black book. Venom is finally getting his due in all forms of media, and I am glad to see the Lethal Protector riding high for Marvel.
Strong recommend. Now is the time to jump on the Venom bandwagon if you aren't already here.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting end to Donny Coates’s Venom run that relies heavily on reading the King In Black event first to make sense of everything. The giant issue #35, which is also the 200th Venom issue ever, sets up the new status quo following the huge event and sets a fresh direction for the incoming writer. A solid end to a great run.

[Jirka Navrátil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ano takto si představuju dobrý Marvelovský event. Scary záporák, zvraty, dobře napsané postavy a kvalitní a hlavně dobré zakončení, které jsem nečekal. Cates je borec.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tie-in book for the King in Black doesn't make the most sense on its own, but it does try to address two main things. During the big event, we see Eddie's struggles within the Hive once he is is separated from his symbiote and is "killed". After the event, we explore Eddie's status as the new god of the symbiote and the new reality of things. Of course, Eddie is still wary of another threat on the horizon.

Cates really had big ambitions for the symbiote side of the Marvel Universe and it's interesting to see how far the got to go with all this. I may need to re-read everything from Absolute Carnage maybe just to make proper sense of all this in context.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Venom run by Donny Cates was very good. The art was great, and Cates didn't do run of the mill type stories but deeper stories that really helped evolve the character.

This final volume of the series expanded on the King in Black event and then gave us a new beginning in the final issue with several new plots introduced.

A good volume, and a good series overall.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre conclusion to a mostly good Venom series.

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this and the main King in Black book alternating issues, and they both lose a star for not being able to stand on their own. It should have been one oversized trade. I don't think Venom makes much sense on its own without the main story happening, and the main event is really Venom's story, so it'd be a shame to miss out on his important bits. In particular, Venom #35 is the denouement for both three years of Venom comics and the event as a whole, finishing Eddie Brock's journey for the moment and giving Dylan a great starting point. It's not quite perfect, but it's a close thing.

[Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a really good end cap to Donny Cates run, with the slight caveat being that you need to read the King in Black main event book to get the full scope of Eddie’s dramatic changes.

I was also surprised by the ending of the book itself as it sets up a lot of different things for Marvel to play around with in regard to Eddie, Dylan and another character that I won’t spoil. I applaud Cates for keeping the run consistently enjoyable and for bringing an emotional vibrancy to the story of Edward Brock, and Stegman for lending his art to the story and creating some awesome looking costumes and set pieces

[Ondra Král · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tak jsem konečně sjel celého Catesova Venoma (před tím jsem četl první 3 booky + eventy) a nějak nechápu ten hype. Jako ano, je to nejlepší série s Brockem, ale laťka byla sakra nízko. Nejsem moc fanda symbiontů a bohužel se veškeré dění točí buď kolem toho, že nějaký symbiont dělá někde bordel nebo že Brock mluví o tom, jak musí chránit Dylana. Pořád a pořád dokola.

Knull je fajn, ale King in Black docela zklamal. Má to působit děsivě a lovecraftovsky, ale skrz ty deus ex machiny to moc nefunguje.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4
The King in Black event was pretty mediocre. It had a lot of problems. But the final Cates Venom issue was pretty great. It really capitalized on and demonstrating the Brock character arc in a more subtle and less meladromatic way. It saved the whole story.

[chris]

yeeaahhh volumes 1 and 2 were really It for me.... could have just read them and been happy

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the hollow disappointment that was King In Black, I had no expectations for this. After all, why should I? Sure I loved Vol. 01, 02 and Absolute Carnage (and Vol. 04 was pretty good). But after a spaced out and delayed release schedule with disappointments like Vol. 03, 05 and King In Black, I really did not care for this series anymore. And it’s a shame cause Rex was one of the books that got me into reading in the first place.
And so with no expectations and a stupid compulsive need to complete the series, I picked up this volume, reread King In Black and then went for it
Goddamn I’m glad I did
This is the ending we deserved. It ties up all the loose ends that KIB left hanging and does it beautifully.
My only complaint is the art. I just don’t think Coello is a good artist. But other than that, everything in this book is fantastic

SPOILERS STARTING HERE

Fuck me it’s great to see Rex and Flash Thompson back again. And I gotta say I was real worried at the end of KIB with how overpowered they made Eddie Brock, but with a new Venom in the form of Dylan and a new team with Al Ewing and Bryan Hitch, I will be buying the new Vol. 01 in April.

SPOILERS ENDING HERE

Like I said, this is the ending that we deserved, not King In Black, not some “going through the motions”, discount Absolute Carnage, hollow mess of an event book. But this, a character driven book that left me smiling at the end.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion to a very well done creative run. I didn't care at all for Venom before, but Cates made me care about Brock and he transformed Venom into something else more palatable (although after reading this volume it's stealing a little bit from Batman Beyond.)

Issues 32-34 give a slightly different perspective to the end of the King in Black event. It's definitely more personal and one of my favorite parts is when Spider-Man is talking to Dylan. An incredibly heartfelt speech that is so true to the character of Peter. These issues completely change the world of Venom, for Eddie, for Dylan, and for another character previously thought dead.

Issue 35 is an extra length issue that serves as an epilogue and gives a taste of the new direction for each of the characters. It's drawn by multiple people and most are...less than average in ability.

Cates successfully transformed a villain/anti-hero into a hero and this will be a landmark run in the history of Marvel.

[Juan Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un Tie-in perfecto y complementario al evento principal, que puede no ser imprescindible pero que es extremadamente recomendable llegados a este punto. Su último número, de más de 100 páginas es canelita en rama. Con todo esto, Donny Cattes ha firmado una etapa para el recuerdo. Una oda de como hacer historias con personajes trillados y aburridos. No sé cuantas veces más podrá reinventarse un personaje (recordemos que Venom ha pasado de traje, a villano, a antiheros, a soldado/spia, a agente espacial, a héroe y, ahora, a algo más...), pero yo estaré ahí para la siguiente.

"Eddie Brook, the man of a thousand second chances".

[Xroldx · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of Venom for Cates and Stegman/Coelho. One should read this book next to the King In Black tpb as not everything makes sense standing alone.

Cates run on Venom was exciting with above average artwork.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 5 out of 5]

:')

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the actual ...?!?!

Volume 6, the final in the Donny Cates epic King in Black series ... and it just SKIPS THE CONCLUSION?!?!

This is absolutely one of the WORST things about comic books - to get the end of this story I have to go read another series. Why even have the last chapter in here when it takes place AFTER?

So yeah, despite 4/5ths of this being epic, this was insanely disappointing. I'm so bummed.

Such a great storyline but have King in Black handy so you're not disappointed like me.

[Adam Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good end to the arc. It's a bit all over and busy, but it's still really good!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing Venom and King In Black mini as god intended: together, just like they were written.

Donny Cates plays for keeps, upping the ante here. Sentry? Eddie? Asgardians? Celestials? Heralds?

Assembling this many toys on the field is an exercise in ebullient restraint; getting them suitable roles to play and not just stumbling into each other? There’s a real trick, and Cates does a fine job of it.

But really this whole misadventure is the story of Eddie and Dylan, and how they’re torn apart to make it possible for them to come together again. Everything else - Parker quips, cosmic forces, goo-dipped swords - is just set dressing.

I tried to get excited about reading this event when it was first launched, and I think there were some negative voices crying about YetAnotherTooOverEngineeredMarvelEvent that got me turned off. I’d read a few of the peripheral tie-ins (Thunderbolts, Black Cat) and enjoyed them but assumed I stumbled into the only redeeming fun bits.

Then my buddy Colton raved the hell out of KiB a couple of months ago, to the point of me feeling ashamed I’d rejected this event on others’ judgment, despite having loved so much of Cates’ work so far.

And King in Black is no exception. It’s a well-earned culmination of the groundwork laid by Jason Aaron and Donny Cates, making a decent mythology and a cataclysmic menace out of a symbiote who’s been exploited and event-poisoned more often than even overexposed characters like Deadpool and Wolverine. I dunno how much Marvel had to pay these dudes to craft stories this good, but it was cheap at twice the price.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would. In the beginning, I'm reading it, and Eddie Brock seemingly dies, and my thoughts were, "Ugh, seriously? Another comic killing off a beloved and major character just because it doesn't know what else to do to keep readers interested? Cheap." In fact, I didn't come back to this book for a couple of weeks. (Honestly, I just wasn't in the mood for any sort of remotely depressing storyline.) But then I decided, that, no, I started it. I needed to finish it. And while some of the symbiote stuff seemed far-fetched and hard to follow (I'm assuming it is less so if you read all the "King in Black" tie-ins), the end result was actually... really interesting. Eddie Brock is now the center of the symbiote hivemind. He has "god" level powers (which I think is a super-exaggeration and I kind of don't like when comics use that label, but I get the implication), and he's trying to raise his son with the help of his Other. It's a weird family dynamic that is also really endearing... and I love me a good family-centered story. The fact that Dylan is seemingly the new Venom just seems... interesting... to me. I was afraid that I would really not like the direction, but since I'm kind of new to Venom anyways, the idea is just... intriguing. (Though the family factor definitely helps.) All in all, this ended up being a pretty solid read.

[Javier Lárraga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un buen complemento para el final de King in Black.
Venom: King in Black recopila los numeros de la serie regular de Venom que transcurren a la par del crossover de King in Black, los cómics de este volumen a grandes rasgos es el evento completo desde la perspectiva de Eddie Brock y épilogo que sirve como final verdadero a la etapa de Donny Cates en el guión y Ryan Stegman en los lapices.

Por la naturaleza del volumen, sin spoilear puedo decir que creo que los últimos números si estan a la altura del run entero de Donny pero solo como algo accesorio, por si mismos no creo que logren levantar la historia, apenas hay algo de acción y hay mucha falta de contexto si no leiste el crossover y son contadas las participaciones de Venom, de Eddie hay bastante eso sí.

Sin duda alguna recomiendo este último volumen si vas al día con Venom y con el evento, como epílogo es absolutamente necesario para saber que ocurre después del final de la saga de Knull.

[Michael Rivas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole series after the second trade paper back has similarities which never really distinguish itself well enough to seem that particular action was important. While reading threw these turns we know it’s important because we recognize how the story is changing but I was never pulled in.
While the series had its moments which pulled on my heart strings, the main antagonist is defeated and I simply read threw it without batting an eye.
The last issue really brings things around full circle, though kind of cliche.
Over all I’m glad I read it because I’m a venom fan though I’m let down. Maybe partially because I’m really a DC guy and seeing some of the Marvel story play out didn’t excite me the way it would true Marvel fans or maybe the preference at Marvel is not the same preference for me.