Marvel Comics has been on a tear with origin story collections of late, with Deadpool and Agatha Harkness getting “The Saga of…” collections, and now it’s Venom’s turn. If somehow you haven’t heard of Venom or just want his first most important tales collected in one book, this is for you.
Venom: The Saga of Eddie Brock collects Amazing Spider-Man #300, #315-317, #374, Spider-Man The Trial of Venom #1, and materials from Amazing Spider-Man #375. If you’re surprised at how much the collected issues jump around, don’t be. This was originally a villain that was like a horror monster, showing up to wreak havoc and push Spider-Man to the brink.
The first 118 pages of this 192-page collection feature art by Todd McFarlane. The style of Venom is a lot less goopy, making him a bigger threat, but also more of a man in a skintight suit for Spider-Man to face off against.
Mark Bagley is an excellent artist!
Credit: Marvel
This story arc has Eddie Brock tormenting Spider-Man to the point where he shows up at Aunt May’s house and threatens Spider-Man’s personal life like no other villain has. The art is spectacular, especially for the time, and the story comes to a close as if Venom is put down on an isolated beach, never to escape.
That is, until his trial with art by Jim Craig. With Daredevil teaming up with Spider-Man, the two heroes barely get Venom back into his prison cell. Possibly the most important aspect of this issue was how Craig drew Venom with a giant mouth, long tongue, and a ton of jagged teeth. He was much more monstrous, complete with green dripping drool.
Wrapping up the collection is the return of Venom with art by Mark Bagley. This has the two heroes going toe to toe and Venom seeking to kill Spider-Man once and for all. It’s a defining chapter as it has the two duke it out and come to a stalemate. It’s the first time Venom was left in a place where a creative team could use him elsewhere and further develop the famous symbiote and the eventual turn from evil villain to misunderstood anti-hero.
Venom: The Saga of Eddie Brock is for Marvel fans who don’t have Venom’s first stories collected in one place. It’s a tight package, revealing a truly evil baddie that eventually got over Spider-Man.
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