Spider-Man: Birth of Venom (Graphic Novel)

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Venom is an interesting character starting out as a newly designed spiderman costume and becoming a sentient being.

While this book definitely had some silly stuff you usually find in older comics, it was still very entertaining. The slow build-up of the issues before the creation and confrontation with Eddie Brock as Venom were a little hit and miss (mostly miss) and even some of the initial Venom engagements were merely basic superhero vs. The symbiote is the main focus here, but the book also gives the spotlight to the villains Kingpin, the Hobgoblin, the Rose, and Jack O'Lantern. I think this graphic novel would have been better off being titled something along the lines of The Alien Costume Saga (like the animated series of the '90s had named this story arc) rather than marketing it as solely Venom's origin. As a result, nearly without fail, every new issue contained an in-story summary of the last issue's events.Now, I understand putting together almost 10 years of development is no easy feat, and that some cuts had to be made, but the story still feels disconnected and its thrown-together approach doesn't mix too well. And this collection has a giant hole in its center, leaving out Gang Wars, Peter's wedding to Mary Jae, Kraven's Last Hunt, and more. He woke up to find himself tied up in a huge web ball at the bell tower of the church he previously disposed of the symbiote.

While at the church contemplating suicide, he merged with the symbiote to form one of Spidey's most lethal and powerful foes, Venom. Good story telling, somewhat disjointed as it's told in a fractured arc over several magazines over a few years, there is a lot of exposition needed between some tales to tell what has happened, and you go from Aunt May not talking to Peter to he and MJ moving in with her, so yeah, not smooth.vibes that happened with Venom and Peter at the end, which I suppose makes sense but also felt sort of out of left field after the rest of the collection. when my brother and me were old enough to read word books our mother, school librarian, would let us read no more graphic of any sort. You see, Brock thought he got the scoop when he interviewed the supposed Sin Eater for his newspaper, but it turned out that guy was just a fake.

The fact that this is Spider-Man makes it easier for individuals reading who are not big superhero fans to follow, because most people have heard of Spider-Man, so it's easier to understand the general backstory when you are reading it, even if you don't like Marvel or superheroes. In fact, the first half seems to be leading up to a climactic confrontation with the Hobgoblin, only to completely skip it once we finally know enough about the symbiote so that Venom actually makes sense. This Trade Paperback retells Venom's origin, starting with when Spider-Man got his black suit and when he got rid of it and it merged with Eddie Brock to form Venom.I do think (after Todd McFarlane takes over as artist for the series) that the Venom story (and the art) later brings Venom to the greatness that most of us think about when thinking about Venom and I really enjoyed the later portion of this collection. I genuinely find it so ugly and bizarre it's distracting to my whole reading experience, but again, I do know that's not a universal opinion. The rather old-school of Marvel writing where each character at their introduction must explain their current status got on my nerves quite a lot. From dating Black Cat, issues with his aunt, his relationship ship with MJ, all the different villains that want to kill him, Plus an alien suit that wants to bond with him. Stuff like Aunt May's fight with Peter, Black Cat's love/hate relationship with Spidy/Peter and the sudden appearance of Mary Jane and aftermath were pure family drama.

I think in a later issue in this book it Peter Parkers spider senses were explained three times in one chapter. Later Spider-Man decides to have his suit checked out by Reed Richards, and right as they're studying the symbiote, we cut to the Hobgoblin, who takes out a bunch of the Rose's men to prove he's the Hobgoblin. Growing up as a huge Spider-Man fan, I knew all the villains and had all the action figures to prove it.I can see how, back in the day, reading individual comic issues gave readers a greater appreciation for these kinds of surprises, but when it gets bunched into one big collection, the effect is lost. Although Venom's origin did not live up to my grandiose childhood expectations for his character, I did enjoy finally getting to see my favorite villain in action in his intended medium of comic books.