Fans of in-print comics will be pleased to know the Marvel Unlimited Death of the Venomverse tales are getting collected in an extra-sized comic this week titled Edge of Venomverse. Featuring eight stories, the epic recruitment of new Venoms continues in these tales, with Carnage on the hunt to kill as many Venoms of the multiverse to even the odds. With writer Clay McLeod Chapman and Phillip Sevy crafting the majority of these tales, the horror is intense.
If there was a resounding purpose to these tales, it’s that it’s filled with clever ideas. The first tale is proof of that, with Sevy and Chapman sending a priest to investigate what he thinks is a demonic possession. Considering what a symbiote can accomplish, it’s a logical thing to believe is happening. It’s also one of the lengthier stories.
The second story involves cryogenic freezing, with a character losing their head in the process. It’s the kind of idea that’s suited to the smaller story format, with the hook being a gory joke.
Third up by Sevy and Chapman is a story set in a universe where Eddie Brock is the president. Another interesting “What If…?” style twist, with the first Carnage sighting in this one-shot. Much like most of Sevy’s stories, there’s a heavy, dark inking style that suits the horror edge and Venom-like tales.
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Thrown into the mix of these stories are two cute tales, one about symbiotes infiltrating a pet shop. Its cute visual style has a cartoon strip look and feel, with a fun ending. The other involves a symbiote clown working a child’s birthday party, with a rather gruesome finish.
Other tales involve conjoined twins who undergo the symbiote treatment, and a sinister figure who haunts run-down storefronts using a green symbiote. It’s another example of tales you’ve never seen before.
An ongoing gripe I have with printed comics made for digital vertical reading is that sometimes it’s obvious the panels don’t fit into a conventional page layout. Generally, the look isn’t bad, but the boxy vertical panels sometimes don’t quite fit across a page. Generally, layouts are the best they could do with what they have. As for the stories, these aren’t essential to understanding the larger event, but they’re enjoyable in their own right.
Edge of Venomverse’s collected stories highlight the strength of short-form horror comics: quick, brutal, and endlessly inventive. Chapman and Sevy lead the charge, working on most of the stories in a collection that delivers a range of scenarios, from chilling to absurd, that expand the symbiote mythos in unexpected ways. While the layouts occasionally betray their digital-first roots, this oversized package is a must-read for Venom fans who crave variety and imaginative spins on the multiversal carnage.
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