Venom fans, get ready to dive back into the symbiotic madness as we bring you the second installment of Venom Unleashed! After an overwhelmingly positive response to our first edition—thanks to your fan survey submissions—it’s clear this column is a massive hit. This time, we’re thrilled to once again chat with Jordan, editor extraordinaire, who, alongside the dynamic creative team of Al Ewing and Carlos Gomez, is cooking up one of the most buzzworthy Venom arcs in years.
From Marvel water cooler talk to fan theories about the All-New Venom’s identity, we’ll peel back the layers of mystery surrounding this gripping storyline. We’ll explore the creative process and favorite moments and even tackle the wildest fan-submitted catchphrases for the new Venom. And, of course, we’ll dig into the juicy details of All-New Venom #2—from surprise appearances by classic villains to tantalizing clues hidden throughout the series.
So buckle up, symbiote squad, and join us as we dive into the world of Venom Unleashed! And don’t forget to check out the exclusive art and fan survey at the end to let your voice be heard for our next column. Let’s get venomous!
Courtesy Marvel Comics
AIPT: Jordan, what a pleasure it is to have you back for the second edition of Venom Unleashed! Judging by the fan response to our survey and all the clicks the first column got, we’ve got a bonafide hit on our hands!
With the first issue out, what are folks saying at the Marvel water cooler about what you, Al Ewing, and Carlos Gomez are cooking up?
Jordan: Folks here have been hearing about this story at planning sessions for ages–had to clear all the characters we wanted to use as well as making people aware of who it IS under there, both at editorial planning meetings and at larger Marvel summits. And the response at those has always been really positive.
In addition, every Friday, we share art on a publishing channel just for fun, and whenever I share a page or two of Carlos’s, people love them. I remember fondly when I shared the giant tongue scene from issue 2 a ways back. So overall, I think people have been digging it!
AIPT: As far as who All-New Venom is, our fan survey definitely shows a strong leaning toward Rick Jones as Venom (with over 35% voting for Rick and Luke Cage in second with 20%!). Care to comment?
Jordan: That is for sure a possibility! Rick is terrific, and I think he needs to be in more comics. He doesn’t super fit with the current Hulk series, but I am glad we are able to feature him. One of the first comics I worked on when I got to Marvel as an assistant editor was Marvel Adventures Hulk, which was an all-ages comic about Hulk traveling around with Rick Jones and Rick’s pet monkey.
I actually tried to get Al to give Rick a pet monkey, but we didn’t have the space. YET. I actually own a page from one of those issues–Banner, Rick and Monkey are hiding behind a rock, spying on a villain. I want to say Blastar? And they need Banner to get angry and transform, so the monkey pokes him in the eye. David Nakayama drew it! It’s terrific.
AIPT: Nakayama is one of the best in the industry today, and he doesn’t disappoint.
People wrote in who they think the new Venom is outside of the four suspects, including some who say it’s MJ, Paul, and…Randy Robertson!? I didn’t see that one coming, nor did I see Rivers Cuomo popping up in this survey, either! Care to comment on those picks?
Jordan: Ha ha–those are all great possibilities. I know I have seen a lot of angry posts about people assuming one in particular is correct, and I do not mean Rivers. I am delighted to hear he got a call out, though. I did say, back in “Venom Monday” that I was going to try to get Bruce Springsteen into the symbiote, though…could that be the answer? Has anyone checked if All-New Venom is quoting any lyrics?
Some day… maybe!
AIPT: We know Bruce could easily be in the area for a Symbiote encounter.
Back to the survey, there were also over 80 submissions for possible catchphrases for the new Venom. If you had to pick, do any tongue wag their way into your heart?
Jordan: Hahahaaa, delightful. I understand why there are so many “Venom time” / “Venoming time” suggestions, but there being TWO “It’s Slobberin’ time’s makes that a contender to me. But my youth watching Darkwing Duck is gonna make me land on “Let’s Get Venomous” if I HAD to pick.
Thankfully, I do not have to pick! Phew.
Just a small sampling of submissions.
AIPT: Alright, let’s get to the brass tax of it all and dig into All-New Venom #2! I can’t say I had the Death-Throws popping up on my bingo card. How did this motley crew get involved in the second issue?
Jordan: Al Ewing! Al is clearly a fan, as this is not his first time tangoing with this team of toughs. And who wouldn’t be a fan? Classic-themed villains, but they have the sense to take their organization seriously and take care of their members.
Like I always said, when people would bring up problems with the Krakoan system… the answer is more bureaucracy!
The Death Throws.
Credit: Marvel
AIPT: Do you have a favorite member of this iteration of the team?
Jordan: Well, I think my favorites are the newbies who, as of this issue, did NOT make the team! And if I had to choose between THEM–why are you forcing me into all these hard choices this issue?–I would say that as delightful as Heave-Ho and The Tosser are, Chuck Stuff wins my heart.
AIPT: I promise not to make you choose so much next month!
Now that we have two issues out, can you confirm or deny there are clues hidden anywhere in the series as far as who Venom is? Be it dialogue or maybe something in the background?
Jordan: There are, for sure, clues in both issues. There are also red herrings, but there are explanations for all of them over the course of the arc. The script for issue 5 where the clues are all mapped out and confirmed has been written and is being drawn as we speak.
AIPT: Rick Jones is wearing another Marvel shirt in issue #2. Tell me, how much goes into figuring out his t-shirt options for each issue?
Jordan: I believe Al called for the Marvel Comics shirt in issue 1 and a Hulk shirt in issue 2. Carlos chose the designs, though, if I recall correctly. And then, in issue 3, we all discussed what shirt Rick would be wearing next in our email exchanges. Once the fun was established, we wanted to all get in on it!
AIPT: Paul is a hot topic amongst online communities, and it seems Dylan is not a big fan of him either. What is it about Paul that makes him an important glue that holds this new series together?
Jordan: Paul and MJ really worked well for us as a place for Dylan to fit into things. With Dylan acting as our “detective” for this mystery, Paul and MJ as his “assistant” and “sidekick,” respectively, seemed like a perfect fit. As I am sure readers will know, Al is really terrific at picking up on characters and writing them as really well-fleshed-out people. His work on X-Men Red really showed that off–people who only got to be in the book, even very briefly, like, say, Craig from NASA, really got a chance to shine, while the characters with big focuses like Storm and Magneto got spectacular showcases.
I cannot wait for Al to sink his teeth into these two.
Courtesy Marvel Comics
AIPT: Given the cliffhanger of All-New Venom #2, it seems we’re one suspect down as far as who Venom could be. Does this mean we may lose a suspect in each issue going forward?!
Jordan: It is a pretty safe assumption. :)
AIPT: Okay, fun question time.
If a symbiote decided to bond with an inanimate object—like, say, a toaster or a traffic cone—what would it be and what kind of personality do you think it would develop, and how would Venom react to having it as a sidekick?
Jordan: Huh. How about if a symbiote bonded with a smartwatch? It COULD look like a normal smartwatch on his/her wrist until it’s time to “Get Venomous,” at which point the band would break into 8 legs, and it would be a spider. But Venom would be able to talk with it and use it to get information from the internet, or make phone calls, or, I don’t know, whatever other things you do with a smartwatch. Ask it what song is playing in a restaurant? Do they take pictures yet? Oh, and I guess tell it to go jump onto some civilian and then symbiote over them to protect them and get them to safety. Venom would still be the muscle, but Watchy would be the “man in the chair,” except not a man and not in a chair.
Some day… maybe!
And that’s it for the second edition of Venom Unleashed! Check out the art for the upcoming third issue out February 12th, below!
The next edition will return on Wednesday, February 12th, the day the third issue drops into comic shops.
Before you click away, take a moment to answer our All-New Venom fan survey below! Next month, we’ll share the results!
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