Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

by John Byrne, Tom DeFalco, David Michelinie, et al.

Amazing Spider-Man 252-259, 300, 315-317; Web of Spider-Man 1; material from Secret Wars 8; Fantastic Four 274; Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 100; Amazing Spider-Man 298-299, Annual 25

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B005MWK7UO
• ISBN13: 9780785124986
• Release Date: June 2013
• Publisher: Marvel Universe
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.6" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

good

this graphic novel is goos if you really need to know the history of venom but at times it gete REALLY boring but at the end you will be happy

The Venom flows

With Spider-Man 3 looming, fans will finally get to see Venom on the big screen. However, for those who have less experience with the old Spidey comics, this TPB serves a big purpose. Spider-Man: Birth of Venom showcases the original stories that have been condensed and adapted for the mega budget film, as this large TPB focuses on the seperation of Peter Parker and the black, alien costume that turns out to be a symbiote. Soon after, the symbiote bonds with the disgruntled Eddie Brock, and Venom is born. Like previous reviewers have stated, these issues were crafted before Venom was massively overexposed and re-written as a dark hero. This TPB showcases Venom as the best Spider-Man villain since the Green Goblin from the Lee and Conway days, and features a variety of talent including a pre-Spawn Todd MacFarlane, legendary John Byrne, and the great Mike Zeck. Some of the dialogue and writing, namely from Tom DeFalco, is a bit dated, but the good definitely outweighs the bad here. All in all, Birth of Venom is a significant chapter in the aching Spider-Man saga, and this TPB should definitely be given a look by Spidey and/or Venom fans new and old.

A great collection of Venom's beginnings

If you're interested in preparing for the Spider-Man 3 movie with a little Venom history, this is the place to start. From the very first appearance of Spidey's black costume during the Secret War (the first and best) to a genuine knock-down-drag-out battle involving Venom and Spider-Man, this collection has a good start. Keep in mind though, it's only a start. If you already own the collection "Spiderman Versus Venom", you don't really need this one. There are several crossover issues from both books. And Venom really doesn't play a strong part until about halfway through this collection. We do get a lot of backstory about how the symbiote costume started controlling Peter and how he ultimately rid himself of it before it joined with Eddie Brock. To me, though, Eddie Brock's Venom makes the whole thing worth it. This was before he became the tamer, good guy version of himself later in the comics. This was Eddie when all he wanted to do was eat Spider-Man's liver and such. He was a genuinely scary villain, and probably the best foe Spidey faced during the 90's. I have no doubt there will be a volume 2 of this coming out later because of the abrupt end we have. Don't get me wrong, the story is finished, but there was a lot more history between these two later on. Again, a great collection to get you the Venom backstory. Just remember you'll be flipping quite a few pages before he actually shows up.