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King in Black
King in Black Omnibus
Darkness reigns in the Marvel Universe! After a campaign of terror across the galaxy, Knull - ancient and malevolent god of symbiotes - reaches Earth with an endless army of symbiote dragons at his command! The King in Black is a force unlike any ever faced by Venom and the rest of the planet's heroes - but now Spider-Man, the Avengers, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the Sub-Mariner and more must battle an endless wave of darkness! Outgunned and badly outnumbered, can anyone possibly survive Knull's symbiotic onslaught? Or will they all be forced to bow to the King in Black? Featuring every epic chapter in one monstrous, black-hearted volume! Collecting KING IN BLACK #1-5; KING IN BLACK: IMMORTAL HULK, IRON MAN/DOCTOR DOOM, BLACK KNIGHT, MARAUDERS, BLACK PANTHER, CAPTAIN AMERICA, WICCAN AND HULKLING, SPIDER-MAN, SCREAM and GHOST RIDER; KING IN BLACK: GWENOM VS. CARNAGE #1-3; KING IN BLACK: NAMOR #1-5; KING IN BLACK: PLANET OF THE SYMBIOTES #1-3; KING IN BLACK: RETURN OF THE VALKYRIES #1-4; KING IN BLACK: THUNDERBOLTS #1-3; SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN: KING IN BLACK #1-5; BLACK CAT (2020) #1-3; DAREDEVIL (2019) #26-27; DEADPOOL (2019) #10; FANTASTIC FOUR (2018) #29-30; GUARD IANS OF THE GALAXY (2020) #10; MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #23; S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #2-4; SAVAGE AVENGERS (2019) #17-19; SPIDER-WOMAN (2020) #7-8; THE UNION #1-2; VENOM (2018) #31-34; and KING IN BLACK HANDBOOK.
1568 pages, Hardcover
Published December 6, 2022
32 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 12, 2023
Easily the best mainstream Marvel summer event since Bendis ridiculously splendid New Avengers-verse run. Years in the making in the pages of Venom and Venom related mini-events the King in Black looks to destroy the entire Marvel universe, and focusing on Earth. Despite way over the top destruction and world changing events that even in a Marvel reality I struggled to rationalise as credible, the personal stories of Venom, Flash Thompson, Spider-Woman, Captain America, Thor and more shone through as at last we get a great on-character event experience (bar the atrocious portrayal of Sue Storm), and we get a competent and credible united front of Avengers, mutants and the now truly back with us Fantastic Four.
Special mentions to Kurt Busiek for his incredible Namor back story in King in Black: Namor; all Gerry Duggan's work in this event; Matthew Rosenberg's King in Black: Thunderbolts; and to Donny Coates for the whole event and a great antagonist in Knull, the King in Black. Worse mini-series has to be Jason Aaron's King in Black: Return of the Valkyries :(
A seep of light in the Marvel universe for me, Deadpool and The Union cancelled, Fantastic Four back, Al Ewing killing it in the X-universe, Miles Morales getting shades of the Ultimate universe and Venom going from strength to strength; add The Immortal Hulk and Chip Zdarsky's Daredevil, maybe I won't give up my 40+ years of reading Marvel as I planned? An average of 7 out of 12, Three Stars across over 1,500 pages ain't bad?
2023 read
Special mentions to Kurt Busiek for his incredible Namor back story in King in Black: Namor; all Gerry Duggan's work in this event; Matthew Rosenberg's King in Black: Thunderbolts; and to Donny Coates for the whole event and a great antagonist in Knull, the King in Black. Worse mini-series has to be Jason Aaron's King in Black: Return of the Valkyries :(
A seep of light in the Marvel universe for me, Deadpool and The Union cancelled, Fantastic Four back, Al Ewing killing it in the X-universe, Miles Morales getting shades of the Ultimate universe and Venom going from strength to strength; add The Immortal Hulk and Chip Zdarsky's Daredevil, maybe I won't give up my 40+ years of reading Marvel as I planned? An average of 7 out of 12, Three Stars across over 1,500 pages ain't bad?
2023 read
January 8, 2023
Jako u Absolute Carnage Omnibus zde nebudu nic psát o ději a jak se mi líbí.
Stejně jako u Absolute Carnage Omnibus, člověk co vymýšlel jak bude tenhle omnibus zpracovaný je absolutní čurák. Klsika - nejdřív Event, potom Venom, potom hovna kolem. Kdyby do toho omnibusu nedali ty sračky kolem, které reálně nikoho moc nezajímají a udělali issues podle reading orderu, nebál bych se dá 5/5. Takhle dávat 2,5/5.
Stejně jako u Absolute Carnage Omnibus, člověk co vymýšlel jak bude tenhle omnibus zpracovaný je absolutní čurák. Klsika - nejdřív Event, potom Venom, potom hovna kolem. Kdyby do toho omnibusu nedali ty sračky kolem, které reálně nikoho moc nezajímají a udělali issues podle reading orderu, nebál bych se dá 5/5. Takhle dávat 2,5/5.
December 25, 2022
When read as a collection of short stories that take place in the same universe, with some incongruities between tellings, The King in Black omnibus expands on mythologies present in Jason Aaron's run of Thor and the subsequent run on Jane Foster's ascension into Valkyrie while also tying into the broader spectrum of Marvel comics that I couldn't help but question whether the stories relayed in this volume might be a blueprint for where the MCU is heading. The cost of the book is steep though, and anyone expecting a clear narrative through line told in chronological order may find themselves confused as Marvel decided to group each storyline together rather than provide them in publication order. Highlights in this volume include the issues focusing on Namor, the Thunderbolts, and an unconventional team-up between Doctor Doom and Iron Man involving an antagonist whose identity I will not reveal here. I may love this omnibus, though I recognize it to be far from flawless.
January 2, 2023
Good holiday break entertainment, which is all I really wanted from it, so easily a 4 star read. A lot of unnecessary tie-ins, but not all of them were wasted and it made me read titles I wouldn’t ordinarily.
November 15, 2024
Alors, l'histoire débute avec l'invasion de la Terre par Knull, le dieu des Symbiotes. Il envoie d'abord ses espèces de dragons symbiotes pour trouver le fils de Brock, Dylan. Les Avengers, en voyant cette nouvelle invasion fait le rappel de toutes les troupes et pas seulement les Avengers. Tony Stark, de son côté, prévoit d'utiliser des objets qu'il a conçu comme des bombes car les Symbiotes sont vulnérables à certains sons et au feu.
Tony Stark en appelle donc à d'autres super-héros pour l'aider : les X-Men, Blade, Magnéto, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Carol Denvers, Spider-Man, Namor, Sentry, Jane Foster (version Thor) ... Par contre, je n'ai pas vu Hulk dans l'histoire. Bref, l'histoire se concentre donc sur le combat entre les super-héros et les forces de Knull (et Knull lui-même forcément) mais la situation s'envenime car le puissant Sentry est rapidement mis K-O par le dieu des symbiotes. Brock tente aussi, à sa manière, de sauver le monde et son fils, qu'il a mis en sécurité dans un bunker.
Le combat semble perdu d'avance, Knull fait intervenir des Célestes qu'il a corrompu avec ses symbiotes et alors que les super-héros sont débordés et finis, Jean Grey arrive à entrer en contact avec l'esprit de Knull et y découvre plusieurs secrets de la vie passée de Knull et comment le vaincre. De plus, voilà qu'un personnage mystérieux arrive : le surfeur d'argent. Qui va gagner ? Qui va perdre ? Qui va malheureusement succomber ? Le combat final arrive et seul un King in Black sera debout à la fin.
En conclusion, ce fut un excellent comics mais c'est, comme souvent, très difficile de tout résumer sans d'un côté spoiler et de l'autre, raccourcir un peu l'histoire pour la résumer justement. En tout cas, l'action est bien présente, les combats sont vraiment superbes, les coups sont rendus coup pour coup de fait et la bataille est générale, tous les super-héros sont sur le pont et personne ne reste derrière. Bien sûr, comme je le disais plus haut précédemment, tous les personnages du comics ne seront sûrement pas dans le film Venom 3, je miserai 1 million d'euros dessus. Car entre les ayant-droits, qui possède telle licence, tel personnage, qui a décidé de « louer » le personnage pour autant de film etc ... Ne serait-ce que les 4 Fantastiques, le personnage de Spider-Man, Blade et les Avengers en général, à voir quels studios possèdent quels personnages etc donc c'est pour cela que je suis sûr qu'il n'y aura pas tous ces personnages. Je me doute qu'il s'agira d'une « libre » adaptation, je n'ai rien contre mais voilà, c'est un peu dommage de ne pas retrouver certains personnages.
Tony Stark en appelle donc à d'autres super-héros pour l'aider : les X-Men, Blade, Magnéto, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Carol Denvers, Spider-Man, Namor, Sentry, Jane Foster (version Thor) ... Par contre, je n'ai pas vu Hulk dans l'histoire. Bref, l'histoire se concentre donc sur le combat entre les super-héros et les forces de Knull (et Knull lui-même forcément) mais la situation s'envenime car le puissant Sentry est rapidement mis K-O par le dieu des symbiotes. Brock tente aussi, à sa manière, de sauver le monde et son fils, qu'il a mis en sécurité dans un bunker.
Le combat semble perdu d'avance, Knull fait intervenir des Célestes qu'il a corrompu avec ses symbiotes et alors que les super-héros sont débordés et finis, Jean Grey arrive à entrer en contact avec l'esprit de Knull et y découvre plusieurs secrets de la vie passée de Knull et comment le vaincre. De plus, voilà qu'un personnage mystérieux arrive : le surfeur d'argent. Qui va gagner ? Qui va perdre ? Qui va malheureusement succomber ? Le combat final arrive et seul un King in Black sera debout à la fin.
En conclusion, ce fut un excellent comics mais c'est, comme souvent, très difficile de tout résumer sans d'un côté spoiler et de l'autre, raccourcir un peu l'histoire pour la résumer justement. En tout cas, l'action est bien présente, les combats sont vraiment superbes, les coups sont rendus coup pour coup de fait et la bataille est générale, tous les super-héros sont sur le pont et personne ne reste derrière. Bien sûr, comme je le disais plus haut précédemment, tous les personnages du comics ne seront sûrement pas dans le film Venom 3, je miserai 1 million d'euros dessus. Car entre les ayant-droits, qui possède telle licence, tel personnage, qui a décidé de « louer » le personnage pour autant de film etc ... Ne serait-ce que les 4 Fantastiques, le personnage de Spider-Man, Blade et les Avengers en général, à voir quels studios possèdent quels personnages etc donc c'est pour cela que je suis sûr qu'il n'y aura pas tous ces personnages. Je me doute qu'il s'agira d'une « libre » adaptation, je n'ai rien contre mais voilà, c'est un peu dommage de ne pas retrouver certains personnages.
January 22, 2023
All Hail the King!
This was a great Marvel event. I read through this omnibus right after reading the entire Venomnibus and the Absolute Carnage Omnibus. In my opinion, this was a great way to read this story. The whole Venom run and AC helped built this event in an amazing way. It didn't just half-@$! a few references here and there and call it a build-up. The couple of arcs that didn't do a ton of build-up were placed strategically to avoid becoming boring and were decent arcs on their own.
Now when it comes to the mapping of this omnibus, I feel like this didn't have the best reading order. Nothing was extremely out of place, but it was a little distracting. I did hate having to jump around because the mapping is almost non-existent. Even the Venom and King in Black issues were split up instead of in order. Had to actually look at a reading order online to make sure I got the tie-ins right.
All that bad stuff is secondary to the story though. It was a fun read, it was cool, and it was interesting. I felt that Eddie really grew through these 35 issues and this made the ending feel like it was earned instead of just written for the heck of it. The main series and Venom were truly spectacular. The characters felt real. The stakes were high. The fights were fun. Knull felt like a very real threat. The artwork was top-notch through and through. The tie-ins for the most part did what I wanted. Some were just for fun, and some really added to the story. There were a couple that didn't add much to the story but were at least interesting enough on their own (either that or I really need to read more Namor to understand Marvel Atlantis).
Overall though I was happy with the tie-ins. They added to the event, but they weren't necessary to understand what was happening (exactly what a tie-in should do in my opinion). They weren't all great, but I didn't think there was anything actually really bad. The artwork in the tie-ins was above average for a big event like this. Some events have a few random tie-ins that just feel very very out of-place artwork wise and that can be jarring, but I never got that feeling here at all.
Overall this has been a very satisfying run.
4.0 stars out of 5.
This was a great Marvel event. I read through this omnibus right after reading the entire Venomnibus and the Absolute Carnage Omnibus. In my opinion, this was a great way to read this story. The whole Venom run and AC helped built this event in an amazing way. It didn't just half-@$! a few references here and there and call it a build-up. The couple of arcs that didn't do a ton of build-up were placed strategically to avoid becoming boring and were decent arcs on their own.
Now when it comes to the mapping of this omnibus, I feel like this didn't have the best reading order. Nothing was extremely out of place, but it was a little distracting. I did hate having to jump around because the mapping is almost non-existent. Even the Venom and King in Black issues were split up instead of in order. Had to actually look at a reading order online to make sure I got the tie-ins right.
All that bad stuff is secondary to the story though. It was a fun read, it was cool, and it was interesting. I felt that Eddie really grew through these 35 issues and this made the ending feel like it was earned instead of just written for the heck of it. The main series and Venom were truly spectacular. The characters felt real. The stakes were high. The fights were fun. Knull felt like a very real threat. The artwork was top-notch through and through. The tie-ins for the most part did what I wanted. Some were just for fun, and some really added to the story. There were a couple that didn't add much to the story but were at least interesting enough on their own (either that or I really need to read more Namor to understand Marvel Atlantis).
Overall though I was happy with the tie-ins. They added to the event, but they weren't necessary to understand what was happening (exactly what a tie-in should do in my opinion). They weren't all great, but I didn't think there was anything actually really bad. The artwork in the tie-ins was above average for a big event like this. Some events have a few random tie-ins that just feel very very out of-place artwork wise and that can be jarring, but I never got that feeling here at all.
Overall this has been a very satisfying run.
4.0 stars out of 5.
November 20, 2022
Really like a 3.5/5, my main complaint is that this event is just way too long. And if you take in account that it’s technically a direct continuation of the Absolute Carnage event it’s even longer. Thankfully (because I didn’t read it) this event does a great job mentioning the events that were important in that event so I didn’t have to read it and I felt very informed this whole time. The issue here is that there are so many damn tie-ins from all across the Marvel Universe but they’re all inconsistently doing the same thing. In almost every single one there is a person or a team of sorts fighting one of Knull’s dragons and beating it. The amount of times I had to hear what their weakness was was far too many. But as I said it’s inconsistent, in one of the tie-ins an electric blast is delivered to a dragon and the symbiote leaves it and the dragon underneath is free. But literally a few issues later it’s said that these aren’t infected dragons just symbiotes taking the shape of dragons. I also read this in the order Marvel suggests on their app and the Avengers tie-in is placed almost before the end and is full of spoilers because it takes place the day after they win. A single page, the first page, takes place during the main fight so I guess it gets placed before King in Black #5. This event was very intense and I think will be completely enjoyable if you just read the main event. The only pieces that are fairly important in the end are the Black Cat tie-ins, the Venom tie-ins (obviously), and a couple other small issues here and there. But the main event is pretty cohesive and accessible completely on its own and will save you so much time.
November 30, 2023
Once again, the Marvel editor who handles all these modern crossover omnibuses lazily reprints the TPB’s with no attempt whatsoever to put the issues in any kind of reading order. And once again, I had to go to MarvelGuides.com and flip back and forth with NO page numbers to use as my guide. So there was no way this was getting more than four stars out of me.
That said, the weakest part of the overall story was the eponymous villain. If I want to show someone a story the proves Marvel’s rogues gallery isn’t as two-dimensional as they seem in the movies, this is not what I’m pulling out to prove them wrong. So there goes another star.
But overall…I really loved this. It was great reading how all these disparate parts of the Marvel Universe handle a major crisis happening right outside in their own front yard. And with the exception of the Valkyrie tie-in all the stories were great in their own right on top of filling in the pieces to the main event. Nothing felt superfluous and if any tale wasn’t necessary, it was at least entertaining. (Again, with the exception of the Valkyrie tie-in which I found nearly incomprehensible.)
If you’re reading this for the first time, I suggest doing so digitally. If you just want the main event, the Venom by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman Omnibus is a better vessel for that. But as a collector and completist, I’m very satisfied with this book despite a boring villain.
And that damn lazy editor…again.
That said, the weakest part of the overall story was the eponymous villain. If I want to show someone a story the proves Marvel’s rogues gallery isn’t as two-dimensional as they seem in the movies, this is not what I’m pulling out to prove them wrong. So there goes another star.
But overall…I really loved this. It was great reading how all these disparate parts of the Marvel Universe handle a major crisis happening right outside in their own front yard. And with the exception of the Valkyrie tie-in all the stories were great in their own right on top of filling in the pieces to the main event. Nothing felt superfluous and if any tale wasn’t necessary, it was at least entertaining. (Again, with the exception of the Valkyrie tie-in which I found nearly incomprehensible.)
If you’re reading this for the first time, I suggest doing so digitally. If you just want the main event, the Venom by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman Omnibus is a better vessel for that. But as a collector and completist, I’m very satisfied with this book despite a boring villain.
And that damn lazy editor…again.
June 30, 2024
This is a really mixed bag of an omnibus. The main event is great, but it's a little weird to have the Venom issues after that take place during (the Cates & Stegman Venomnibus formatted this way better). They're a little different than the tie-ins in that they're integral to the story.
The rest of the tie-ins are a mixed bag, there's some that are really great (Gwenom vs. Carnage, Black Knight, Iron Man/Doctor Doom) some that are just okay (most of them), and a few that range from either bad (Fantastic Four) to giving the feeling the writer wanted to do anything other than write this event (Namor).
It's another one that's really not worth investing in unless you're a completionist. Just the trades would do you fine if you just want to read the major stuff.
The rest of the tie-ins are a mixed bag, there's some that are really great (Gwenom vs. Carnage, Black Knight, Iron Man/Doctor Doom) some that are just okay (most of them), and a few that range from either bad (Fantastic Four) to giving the feeling the writer wanted to do anything other than write this event (Namor).
It's another one that's really not worth investing in unless you're a completionist. Just the trades would do you fine if you just want to read the major stuff.
December 24, 2022
This is a great line wide crossover! It was a well built story and filled with nice art. The work was a nice nod to the Inferno and Onslaught crossovers of the past. I liked the way the main plot intersected so many characters and opened new threads of older plots. My only complaint was the somewhat ease with which the main villain was dispatched. I’d have liked to see a more drawn out battle.
February 6, 2023
The main event, King in Black, is a great story with some really cool moments and art work. However, many of the tie-ins, like in many marvel event omnibuses, fall flat. There are some great ones and there are some lack luster reads
April 17, 2023
The king in black main story is brilliant. The thing that let's this omnibus down, is there are a lot a rubbish and pointless tie ins to it. It's a good read though but was just too long and a bit of a money grab at times for marvel.
March 26, 2023
Great main story and the side stories gave a lot of perspective on how the world was being affected
Read
October 20, 2023Some great stories in here but since it’s a compilation it has a lot of characters I just wasn’t interested in.
April 6, 2024
It's not essential reading, plus the mapping is terrible. Just get the venomnibus by Cates
October 24, 2024
First Omnibus Read
December 4, 2025
La historia principal es genial pero estoy harto de que los tie-ins esten desordenados
February 5, 2025
This crossover storyline is good. Several sentences in dialogue in this Kindle eBook aren't grammatically correct. I don't like that Valeria Richard was mean to her brother Franklin. I also don't like that Kang was mean to Spider-Man. Four stars.
October 7, 2024
Cool omnibus, but not all comics good
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews