Venomnibus by Cates & Stegman

Venom (2018) #1-6

by Donny Cates (Writer), Ryan Stegman (Artist)

Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s epic reinvention of Venom! An ancient and primordial evil surfaces beneath New York, awakening something deep inside Eddie Brock’s symbiote…and nothing will ever be the same for Venom! Cletus Kasady wreaks Absolute Carnage against symbiotes’ former hosts, Eddie faces a battle for survival on the Island of Bones, and an attack by the armored Virus sends Venom into a whole different world of terror! But when Knull, god of symbiotes, awakens and heads for Earth, can anyone survive the darkness of the King in Black?

COLLECTING: Venom (2018) 1-35, Venom Annual (2018) 1, Web of Venom: Ve'Nam (2018) 1, Web of Venom: Carnage Born (2018) 1, Web of Venom: Wraith (2020) 1, Absolute Carnage (2019) 1-5, King in Black (2020) 1-5; material from Free Comic Book Day 2019 (Spider-Man/Venom) 1, Free Comic Book Day 2020 (Spider-Man/Venom) 1, Incoming (2019) 1, Carnage: Black, White & Blood (2021) 2

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Spider Man, Horror, Comic Book, Superheroes

1352 pages, Hardcover

First published July 26, 2022

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't want to be too mean about this comic because two of my friends really love it but I thought this shit was really quite bad, for the most part. It's a shame because aspects of this run, like treating 90s edgelord characters and concepts with a degree of earnestness, or the concept of using Venom to explore relationship dynamics, really do resonate with me, but Venom by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman falls flat on its face in both aspects. In the former case, Knull is just such a lame boring character and the book spends an obscene amount of time hyping him up, telling us that HE IS COMING every other panel and constantly going on and on about how he is the darkness and the void and the night and no one can stop him and blah blah blah. Dude is the void alright, a void of personality who just shows up to go "MUAH HA HA HA!" in King in Black before chumping out at the hands of a literal Deus Ex Machina. Great character. King in Black, in particular, is so lame, I know the standards of event comics are pretty low and Marvel events are particularly uniformly crap but this isn't even making a passing grade by those standards.

And what about the relationship dynamics stuff? Well...

I don't usually make these kinds of assertions on writers but I truly think Donny Cates is a dumbass who does not really understand the implications of much of what he has written here. That, at least, is the only way I can square in my head the first 12 or so issues, which use the relationship between Eddie Brock and his symbiote "other" as a metaphor for an abusive relationship, replete with lying, gaslighting, emotional abuse and trauma, even going so far as to depict the symbiote as raping someone (though again this is never brought up so I'm going to assume that Cates is a dumbass who doesn't know what he's written here). However, the second arc IS the highlight despite it being the place where all this is revealed because it actually has some really great and powerful character work for Venom that is immediately tossed out the window in time for Absolute Carnage, wherein after a separation (because of the aforementioned abuse, y'know) Venom is reformed because...well, it's time for Absolute Carnage, and what follows is an event that is fun enough, I guess, on a head-empty-no-thoughts level, but basically sweeps all the abuse under the rug, and from there the comic is just a too-fast but still undeveloped buildup to the aforementioned King in Black event, which as we have established, sucks. It's an uncomfortable and negligent abdication of the themes of the first half of the story, and the second half just plays with fairly generic Dad Feels in a way that, along with the incredibly uncomfortable ignorance of prior abuse, makes Venom by Cates feel like the superhero version of God of War 2018, and I can scarcely think of a meaner comparison.

So, yeah. On pretty much every level, Donny Cates fumbles and falls flat on his face. Ryan Stegman, and the other artists involved, including my personal favorite Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley, generally do a great job that does more work to convince you that 90s comic aesthetics and sensibilities aren't total crap than the writing ever even begins to muster. It's not a comic without merit, particularly in the art, but I can't really bring myself to say anything much about it other than a big shrug.

[DayDay · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest comic book runs of our time. Donny Cates created the greatest in-depth story of Eddie Brock aka Venom ! I am still speechless after re-reading this again. And Ryan Stegman on artwork ?!?!! Freakin’ stellar ! Oh man what a great story. It’s so inspiring seeing this character push himself even through hardships and his past stories as child ? So good. Can’t recommend this enough. This will forever be in my re-read pile.

[Adrian Montanez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've finally finished this run. What a fantastic addition to the Venom mythos. This is one of those runs that you recommend to anyone wanting to read more about Venom other than their origin story. It's a run that redefines the mythos itself. Cates and Stegman were a powerhouse of a team, and this is definitely a significant notch on their belt.

I started this run with the trade paperbacks 2-3 weeks before the omnibus was announced. After I saw the mapping I decided that I was going to wait till I received the Omni before finishing the whole run. I can gladly say it was worth the wait to revisit this run.

5 stars out of 5.

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute blast of a read. A simple yet effective story using the comic book format to perfection. Big hulking characters fighting huge battles in splash pages just scratches an itch that you cannot get elsewhere and this comic does that with a surprisingly emotional story.

[DarthPenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every single issue.

[Jordan Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

On issue 26 nothing gay and lame so far :)
One panel of propaganda 🐑 so far

[Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just phenomenal. I had read Absolute Carnage and King in Black previously and enjoyed them; reading the full arc was a treat. Both the writing and the art are of the highest quality. Even the standalone issues and extras all tie together nicely.

PS The fact that this only counts as one book toward my reading goal is a travesty!

[Andrew Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Venom was an early childhood favorite character of mine. My older brother was a Spider-Man fan, and he told me I looked like Venom with my braces (?), so I flipped it and became a fan 😅 This collection of Donny Cates' run does so much: deeply explores the relationship between Eddie and Venom, introduces Knull and creates a lot of backstory for the symbiotes, reanimates Cletus Kasady's corpse, explores pre-Venom symbiotes on Earth, introduces Eddie's son, turns Eddie into a God, and lays the groundwork for him to pass on the mantle of Venom. The themes of reconciling the past, dealing with self-imposed isolation and/or abandonment, and giving yourself permission to grow added an unexpected depth to a character who is typically portrayed as a violent brute. It seems like every issue Eddie is separated from his symbiote, it is absorbed by someone else as something else attaches to Eddie; back and forth. It is a little repetitive, but there is enough variation and risk to keep things interesting and his relationship with his son is a good subplot. There were lots of in-universe history that I don't have knowledge of, but I have a passing knowledge of enough that it didn't really effect my ability to follow and enjoy the story. I didn't love the art in the last few issues, but otherwise the storytelling and art is consistently excellent. Donny Cates may just be the definitive run on one of the best Marvel anti-heroes. In the end, despite working with the Avengers and aiding worlds throughout the cosmos, he still feels like an outsider in the Marvel universe, which fits him just fine.

[Kyle Cooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely epic.
Symbiote dragons, total darkness.
The intro of Knull and Dylan Brock.
The constant fear and uneasiness with the "God is coming" imagery, to the horror of Absolute Carnage and then the truly fantastic King in Black.
Knull ripping Sentry in half, Thor cracking Knulls jaw clean off, Venom forging a celestial axe from Mjolnir and the Surfers board!
Cates and Stegman absolutely smashed it out of the park with this run, and this Omnibus is the perfect collection of the Venom run and 2 of the best events in modern Marvel. 10/10

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donny Cates has written, in my opinion, the best Venom run of all time. Not only is this Eddie’s redemption arc to its fullest but it also finally brings some much needed depth to the Venom lore.

I absolutely love the message that Cates has in this run: we are stronger when we are together. It’s a great truth and just a very powerful plot point for his entire run on the character.

I absolutely recommend getting this one who is a long time Venom fan like I am.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best put together Omnibus books I’ve read in a while. Most omnibus books have trouble with order and relevancy as a whole book. But this book is In Chronological order and thanks to the writers, from beginning to end, you are following one giant story and arc of Eddie Brock and his symbiotic friend.
The art is spectacular. This may be one of the top writers and artist collaborations since capullo and Snyder/ Ramos and Slott.
If you’re a Venom fan or need a good starting point, this is for you.

[Ren the Unclean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this run is just ok, carried almost entirely by the art!

This review is to put a score on it as a whole and to link to my other entries:
Venom, Vol. 1: Rex ⭐⭐⭐
Venom Annual (2018) #1 ⭐⭐⭐
Web of Venom: Ve'Nam #1 ⭐⭐
Venom, Vol. 2: The Abyss ⭐
Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1 ⭐⭐
The War of the Realms: Venom ⭐
Venom, Vol. 3: Absolute Carnage ⭐⭐⭐
Absolute Carnage ⭐⭐⭐
Web of Venom: Wraith #1 ⭐⭐⭐
Venom, Vol. 4: Venom Island ⭐⭐
Free Comic Book Day 2020: Spider-Man/Venom #1 ⭐⭐⭐
Venom, Vol. 5: Venom Beyond ⭐
Venom, Vol. 6: King in Black ⭐⭐
King in Black ⭐⭐

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal collection of an all-time unbelievably great Marvel Comics run. Donny Cates injected so much life into the lore of the symbiotes that this book will be foundational for all Venom stories to come from now on.

Not only did he recontextualize the history of the symbiote race, he gave us the most real version of Eddie Brock we’ve ever gotten. A broken man who finds something to fight for. A storied past filled with one tragedy after another, we see how he gets by, and how he grows.

In my opinion, this is the best run Venom has ever gotten, so if you’re at all interested in this character then what are you doing reading this review and not reading this book??? And even if you’re not a fan of Venom/Eddie Brock/Symbiotes, don’t deprive yourself on one of the most action packed, yet intimately story driven Marvel comic runs we’ve had in years!

Long story short: With highly engaging writing and impeccable art, this Venomnibus is most certainly worth your time. I HIGHLY recommend!

[Ezra Queen]

Heartracing action, killer suspense, touching emotional scenes, breathtaking art. This book has it all. Eddie's at absolute rock bottom, and at the end of the book, he's sky high. Emotionally and physically, partially to being a god. His personal journey, I think is really inspiring. And that's really just a tiny segment of the book. If you at all like venom, you MUST read this. It's beautiful, comprehensive, and character defining.

[Andy Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is basically a huge turning point for Eddie and Venom. Loved it and if you are curious about the character at all I can't suggest this enough

[Gonzalo Milano · Rating 2 out of 5]

“La infinidad de mis tierras no eran suyas para arrasar, reformar y renacer”.

Es la historia favorita de Donny Cates: agarrar un personaje que no tuvo el protagonismo necesario o el enfoque preciso y reformarlo para poder darle la relevancia que él cree que se merece. En este caso, utilizar el potencial de los miles de renacimientos que tiene el personaje como combustible para contar algo con todas las historias secundarias que flotaban por ahí en un limbo inconsistente.

Como en muchos volúmenes particulares de cualquier escritor, vamos y venimos entre eventos que complican la progresión de los personajes y el tema que quieran tratar sobre el mismo. En este caso puede que sea todo obra de Cates, ya que es él quien posee el grueso de la serie y el resto de los eventos. Pero no estoy seguro de cómo funcionan las jerarquías narrativas en Marvel con la mirada de Joe Quesada y dónde está la autoridad que baja línea sobre qué hacer al finalizar cada arco exitoso. Lo que digo de la inconsistencia se demuestra cuando ignora la primera gran separación en favor de luchas sin sentido o sucesivos arcos dramáticos que no tienen mucho que ver con este viaje introspectivo del personaje que se nos vendió en un principio. Lo siguiente a esto es un sucesivo loop que nos lleva invariablemente de una separación depresiva a una unión necesaria para la trama, donde no existe conclusión verdadera, progresión o plan de recuperar el hilo.

Si tuviera que decir específicamente la idea que Cates toma para el personaje, la más obvia parece ser las variadas cualidades abusivas o negativas de los vínculos en forma figurativa, tanto como literal. Es una historia sobre las relaciones, que hace mucho énfasis en los espacios oscuros donde uno puede caer a partir de la soledad y cómo terminamos, en el peor de los casos, apegados a la peor de ellas. Se puede sentir en carne viva, y por primera vez, un llamativo Eddie que atraviesa una relación conflictiva con su otra mitad, consumiéndose entre mutuos y tolerados abusos para no entregarse al oscuro aislamiento que tanto temen.

Sinceramente, no veo la razón de haber alargado tanto el volumen y los eventos a esta cosa amorfa a la que llegamos para el final. Hubo tantos números aleatorios publicitando el King in Black que se esperaba aquel personaje representante de todo lo que se había intentado decir previamente. Un punto culmine que uniera aquellas primeras partes de Venom con un final cohesivo y dramático que no se internara en la típica acción desmedida de Carnage. Pero no… primero que hubo un estiramiento artificial desde el final de Absolute Carnage, donde ya conocíamos el potencial del poder de Dylan, pero que no terminan sirviendo absolutamente para nada. Y después, no creía que viviría para generarle dos clichés nuevos a mis ojos, siendo el primero los paneles donde Eddie se hunde en un limbo para al instante resurgir y seguir luchando. Y ligeramente posterior a esto, ganar extraordinarios poderes que perdería ni bien el villano fuese vencido, incluyendo la barba. Esto último da lugar a unos números frenéticos e igual de repetitivos que los anteriores, con héroes de cartón que aparecen y deus ex machina calcados del shonen de turno. El Capitán Universo ese se merece la comparación con el Gear V de Luffy, ya que no había visto a un personaje caer tantas veces contra el mismo tipo, simplemente para conseguir el poder de los dioses a último momento.

También muchas veces flexea sobre cuánto sabe del personaje, trayendo algo que quedó en desuso durante 20 años para darle nueva vida y significado. Pero mi teoría es que muchas de esas veces es para hacerse el canchero, como la isla esa fantasma donde se interna o el anual donde se visitan distintas épocas del personaje. Y estas son como las más obvias; hay muchas que, o bien se me escapan, o son pavadas que no veo más relevancia que para acentuar mínimamente la importancia del lore o “cariño” por el personaje.

El epílogo puede ser un tanto triste y conmovedor, pero supongo que siempre pasa cuando pasas mucho tiempo con algo, te haya gustado o no. Todo ha de finalizar con un dios que es aceptado por la colmena como una relación de iguales, sabiendo que nunca más estarán solos, pero con ese sabor extraño en la boca que te produce el no haber visto una progresión positiva y tangible entre el simbionte y Eddie.

Odio con toda mi alma que todos los números comiencen con 3 páginas de previously.

El arco de Absolute Carnage prometió mucho más de lo que entregó. Me re veía leyendo historias sobre las minúsculas conexiones con otros personajes y el simbionte, pero quizás se encuentran en los tie-ins y no me gusta irme mucho del ómnibus este.

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A BOOK!

I had been waiting for this one since it was announced and finally read it, jesus what a ride it was, its like next level of writing!

The way it introduces the character of Knull and Eddie's big fight with him in the first arc and then slowly seeing how big it is and "God is coming" and from there to go to the big climactic moments and then "The abyss" arc which introduces Dylan was even more awesome as it flips the world of Eddie upside down and introduces his son and from there going to see what it means for him now, fighting Jack-O-Lantern during WOTR and getting dreamstone and all that!

And then it doesn't stop and then comes "Absolute carnage" and what an epic story this was, it dials the scariness and horror that is Cletus Kasady to next level and I freaking love it, what an amazing scene it is to see this madman rip through everything and challenging Eddie and Spider-man to next level and the startling conclusions and how that leads to even more crazy arcs down the line!

Venom Island and Venom beyond were both awesome, if one was psychological warfare and body horror, the other is a fun multiversal battle and the nightmare dystopia in such stories usually but the way it introduces new enemies Virus and Codex into it is awesome and its such an emotional story and gives the series the much needed emotional levity it needed to be even better. Its something which makes you love Eddie even more but this is more about Dylan and like building his character and you really start caring for him by its end!

And then the climactic showdown in "King in black" and my god what an event, its one of those epic movies after the buildup and the big summer showdown as its no hands barred fight between Venom and Knull with the entire Marvel universe coming now, be it Spider-man, Avengers, X-Men,etc like all of them and how will they beat the darkness is so worth reading and so many surprises and deep pulls and fascinating pay-offs and even better conclusions!

And by the end an epic status quo thats gonna be exciting to follow what happens of it from here! The 200th issue was awesome and really is like passing of he torch and I love the new status quo for both Eddie and Dylan and it will be fascinating to see how it goes from there and it also hints at things to come so yeah thats an added bonus!

OVERALL, one of the best Marvel runs period and this collection is greatly mapped, and will hit you in all the right spots. Its got a great beginning, amazing middle filled with some of the best marvel stories ever and an amazing end, its usually hard to stick the landing sometimes but Donny does it really well here and its a good read, and so worth it and truly an unique experience and I have read it in single issues and trades but reading in this format was so worth it!!

Its one of my fav series and I will be rereading it quite a few times feels like and yep I will recommend it to you all too!

Let's not forget the epic art of Ryan and Iban and even Mark in one story arc, its so awesome and truly the best of the career especially Ryan who does a bunch of them and the two events, he makes each page look a million bucks and truly makes it worth your while!!

So yeah do read it and enjoy one of Marvel comics at its peak!!

[Luka Vučić · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, that was terrible.


When I first bought this series I was coming into it with a decent level of expectation, as it was often recommended by internet and also by my fellow comic book readers. Now that I finished it, I can say that this run exemplifies many things that I dislike in comics.

My main problem with whole run is that it’s desperately overwritten, both story and charater-wise. In fact, many times during the run I felt like storylines were originally intended for Flash Thompsons’s Venom, Cates tries to sell Eddie Brock as some overly complex character burying your with more than enough of repetitive inner monologues, unnecessary lore additions and generic character arcs leading to the “world saviour” goal line. I actually enjoyed specific extended lore around symbiotes but making Knull such a High level threat made him seem more suitable villain for a Big crossover Avengers event than final boss to a Venom story.

The art is a story of its own here. This storyline is generally well-received and special praise is particularly given to Stegman’s art which was present in most issues of the run. Now art in comics is probably the most subjective part of the experience for every reader, over time you will develop affection for certain styles and dislike for others. Stegman’s art is what I like to call “wallpaper art”, he draws kind of pictures that ooze cool factor, kind of pictures I would put on background of my phone display or make a poster for bedroom. In a Comic book though, it fails sooo hard to bring you in the pages because it geniuenly too pretty and lifeless, even when we see charcters injured or hurt, you feel nothing. Fight scenes are genericly written and drawn as well, since Stegman cannot portray movement and impact on pages. Some people like to pin these complaints to the simple nature of digital art but there are many artist who draw digitally and deliver. Just Look at the work of OPM’s Yusuke Murata who uses digital Tech in his art, pages are clean as a whistle, chracter design is bonkers and when movement, violence or emotions are shown, you feel intesity to the max.

And pacing ofcourse was a cherry on top, stories like Venom Island and Venom Beyond were 5 Chapter long bathroom breaks between the events.

Lesson I got from this Comic book run it to leave Cates’ and Stegman’s works to the people that so highly praised this one, because obiviously we do not have the same taste. Cheers✋🏻. 1.5

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This book was fun and did a lot for Eddie and the Venom lore. It had wonderful art throughout the book and when Eddie and Dylan spent time together, it was great.
Though, this brings me to some of my issues with this run. I really wish Eddie and Dylan had more time together and just had normal day to day life moments. I understand it's not as exciting, but it felt like every 5 minutes something HAD to happen and it ruined some of more emotional/impactful moments, in my opinion. The amount of random shit that happens in this book is honestly insane and, again, takes away from the father and son focus. After a while, I got tired of hearing Eddie how he would be there for Dylan and then something happens where Eddie has to go fight. Really big issue I had with this run.
The events in this book also are more towards the weak side of things. Both Absolute Carnage and King in Black had great moments, but it didn't feel like it reached the heights it wanted to. King in Black overall felt better as Eddie, Dylan, and Venom (the symbiote) were the focus and were written great. The ending felt good, though it's weird to think all this was written for someone like Eddie Brock.

In short, I enjoyed reading this run, but I do wish it could've focus more on the characters themselves rather than a little focus on characters while a big event or fight happened. Still, there was a lot of great moments spread out with real heart. Despite the issues I have with this run, it did leave me caring more for Venom, Eddie, and Dylan. At one point even, I almost teared up.

[Daniel Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I enjoyed the experience, I must confess that I yearn for an alternate universe where this particular run wasn't such a crucial component of the Marvel universe's grand architecture in 2019/20. Don't get me wrong, I certainly had my fill of Knull fatigue back then, and I still maintain that he's not exactly the most captivating antagonist out there. Sure, he created a few cool moments, but in the grand scheme of things, he felt mostly hollow and lacking in comparison to the guy who clearly served as his inspiration (Gorr, of course).

All that being said, reading the book still delivers crazy fun moments. By the time I reached the end of it, I found myself thoroughly immersed in its charmingly offbeat world. That last issue, in particular, was an absolute fever dream of buck-wild storytelling, packed to the brim with action and emotion that left me satisfied.

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific ending to the best Venom run ever in my opinion. It reinvents Venom in a really interesting way, building a whole mythos around the concept of symbiotes. It builds on everything that came before without needing to know everything beforehand. Any references to previous stories are explained well enough. I don't know what to say in the end it just left me with a lot of emotions, sad for Eddie and Dylan, I was happy seeing the symbiotes living together, scared with Dylan's reaction to the bullying, and intrigued with the ending. The story pushed what I thought a Venom story could be as far as I think anyone possibly could. Overall this book did a fantastic job of finishing this chapter of these characters and setting up what comes next. This whole run was a must read for anyone even slightly interested in these characters.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly the best book I've ever read about Eddie Brock, it has its ups and downs but mostly sticks the landing, with some fun writing alternating between the main series and the king in Black miniseries. There is one major Deus Ex Machina near the end that sort of took the wind out of the sails, it would have been more effective if that had been introduced earlier in the series (instead of relying on comic book lore from days gone by).

The art is largely consistent and very "venomish" but not really my favorite, It's just hard to follow with all the symbiotes everywhere doing blobby goo stuff.

[Ryan Devlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knull, the king in black is so bloody cool. This books worth picking up just for him.

Standout guest characters mean most issues are an easy read. The Maker, Carnage, Spiderman, Flash Thompson as AntiVenom & Venom? Epic to say the least. Eddie brock as Venom has some of the best writing I've seen, showing the ups & downs having a symbiote can have, showcasing not seen before abilities.

Absolute Carnage issues were awesome too.

Overall glad I picked it up, one of the best Marvel Omnibuses IMO.

[Kyle Spishock · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Donny Cates arc is arguably the best “Venom” run. It’s a shame the movie trilogy didn’t have the balls to film a true adaptation.

Eddie Brock, now with PTSD and a son, has to deal with the inevitable arrival of Knull- the creator of the symbiotes. The duration is action packed and poignant, dipping deeper into Brock and his alien familiar like never before. The notable absence of the complete “King in Black” run can be a little confusing, but it’s not needed in order to stay on track with the narrative.

I wish Cates continued.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I order this from my comic guy and forget about it until it came in? Yes.

Did I get majorly sidetracked and take over a year and a half to read beyond issue #5?

Yes, but I absolutely devoured it once i picked it back up, and WOW, this was absolutely fantastic. All sorts of twists and a million cool moments. Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman created a masterpiece here. It's easily the best comics run I have ever read.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

geez it starts so strong, but i felt a drop off post absolute Carnage. some of the fill in artists weren't great.
a shame that cates didn't end up writing the new ultimate line. a clear set up for it here.

king in black I enjoyed how the venom tie ins deslt with something related but not necessary to read. well written event. knull did do a lot but because he was only around for those five issues. had to be a threeat but then knocked out quick.

[Zachary Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of venom since I was a little kid first getting into comics. It’s clear how much love Donnie Cates has for the character and the desire to answer all the questions he had about venom. This is a wild epic run that goes through two comic events and ends with a satisfying g conclusion.

[Communist Mimikyu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cates has really good ideas and concepts for the characters he writes, but an undying need to make everything super "le epic" and overally bombastic

he also does that thing i fucking hate where a character goes "erm? did THAT just happen!?!???" when something kind of cool/surprising happens

[Nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is without a doubt, the best venom run
it has some hinks here and there, especially early on, but when it gets going, it don't stop

[Neon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely epic from start to finish.