Marvel Comics made waves earlier this week when they announced their Fresh Start initiative that promises new creative teams, new series, and new directions. Not only will they be launching the new creative teams with new series, they will also be launching brand new number ones beginning with Venom.
Marvel’s Senior Vice President and Executive Editor discussed the Fresh Start, “Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be rolling out new beginnings for a few of our key franchises—new creative teams, new starting points, new storylines—all the big stuff that we’ve been building towards since LEGACY began.” He added, “This isn’t a clearing of the slate—while these new starts will kick off with new #1s, we’ll be maintaining the classic LEGACY issue counts as dual numbering on these titles as well. Oh, and don’t read anything into not seeing a character on the Jim Cheung piece…we can only squeeze so many characters onto there without killing poor Jim!”
Thanos writer Donny Cates will team up with artist Ryan Stegman to launch Venom into this Marvel Fresh Start. This brand new series will see Venom facing down an ancient foe, a thousand years in the making.
Artist Ryan Stegman spoke to ComicBook.com, “It’s unlike any foe Eddie, or the Symbiote has ever faced. t’s something that’s incredibly old, and unbelievably powerful with ties to not only the symbiote’s dark past but the Marvel Universe itself. This is a horror story thousands of years in the making.”
He adds this is a good place to jump into the book, “That being said, this is a story that you can jump RIGHT into with our first issue. If you’ve ever wanted to come read about Eddie Brock and his handsome fanged friend, Venom #1 in May is the PERFECT jumping on point!”
Writer Donny Cates gives us a little more information about the story, “Things are not great for Eddie as our story begins. Something has happened to his other that….well, I don’t want to spoil too much, but for the first time in a very long time, Eddie is scared of his own shadow. Something is changing between them. And it’s…disturbing, to say the least. But I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s a symbiote-focused story really. The greatest Venom stories, to me at least, are a mixture of the alien outside and the human inside.”
He elaborates, “And that’s something that’s incredibly important to Ryan and I. We’ll be delving into what makes Eddie tick as much as we’ll be uncovering the mysteries of his other. Both of these characters have so much darkness in their past, you know? There’s a reason they are attracted to one another the way they are. There’s a reason they need each other.”
It definitely looks like this new Venom story will be taking on a horror aspect and delving into Eddie Brock’s relationship with the Venom symbiote.
Here’s the official solicitation from Marvel:
In the wake of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s collapse, an ancient and primordial evil has been awakened beneath the streets of New York, and with it, something equally evil has awakened in that most Wicked of Webslingers – VENOM! Still a Lethal Protector of the innocents in New York, this never-before-seen threat could force Venom to relinquish everything it holds dear – including Eddie Brock! Join two of the hottest creators in comics today, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, for a VENOM adventure a thousand years in the making!
It sounds promising. I like the horror vibe. I don’t think I’ve seen Marvel really explore the genre in their comics for a long while.
What do you think about the new #1s, but keeping the legacy numbering? That doesn’t sound like a change at all to me. They were already doing that with the new story arcs. I know it might upset some old school collectors, but I actually think this makes it easier for folks perusing a local comic book shelf to find a place to jump in.
Marvel also seems to be doing a great job of spotting talent. Donny Cates is actually killing it on Thanos so it makes sense they would try and get his creative juices flowing on other books.
What do you think? Will you pick up Venom #1? Do you like these changes Marvel is making?
Venom #1 goes on sale on May 9, 2018.