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Absolute Carnage Reading Order

Absolute Carnage Reading Order

Written by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, Absolute Carnage is an event taking place in the Marvel Universe, and more precisely in the Venom continuity (go to Donny Cates’s Venom Reading Order).

The story is set around Cletus Kasady’s return as Carnage. After being resurrected by a cult dedicated to the worship of the god Knull and being bonded to the deific primordial Grendel symbiote, he makes his come back to New York in order to collect codices, traces left inside those who wore a symbiote, even once – and that’s a lot of potential victims, even for him!

Naturally, Kasady’s new reign of terror spells misery for Spider-Man and Venom – but the devastation is felt by Miles Morales, the Avengers, Deadpool, Ghost Rider, the Immortal Hulk, and more! But what is Kasady’s horrific endgame? Experience a new level of crazy as Carnage runs wild!

Venom and Spider-Man (Spidey’s Reading Order) must team up to stop him, but they will need even more firepower to achieve that. The heroes of New York City have to join the fight.

What to read before Absolute Carnage?

To understand the Knull mythology used to explain Cletus Kasady’s actions, you need to go back to the beginning of Donny Cates’ run on Venom—and read the first two TPBs collecting 12 issues.

After that, as a prelude to the Absolute Carnage Event, Marvel published a series of one-shots under the banner “Web of Venom”, that you can find in :

  • Venom Unleashed Vol. 1
    Collects Web of Venom: Ve’Nam #1, Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1, Web of Venom: Venom Unleashed #1, Web of Venom: Funeral Pyre #1.

Absolute Carnage Reading Order:

Absolute Carnage Reading Order by Collected Editions:

You can find all of the issues of this event in one big and beautiful omnibus Edition:

  • Absolute Carnage Omnibus
    Collects Absolute Carnage #1-5, Absolute Carnage Vs. Deadpool #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Captain Marvel #1, Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man #1, Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Of Vengeance #1, Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Avengers #1, Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus #1, Absolute Carnage: Scream #1-3, Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1, Amazing Spider-Man #29-31, Venom #16-20, And Absolute Carnage Stinger Pages.

Absolute Carnage Reading Order Omnibus

But also in a series of TPBs, as follows:

Absolute Carnage Reading Order Icon

Absolute Carnage Reading Order Issue by Issue:

The must-read issues are the ones from the Absolute Carnage series and the Venom regular series.

  • Absolute Carnage #1
  • Absolute Carnage: Ghost Rider #1
  • Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man #1
  • Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1
  • Absolute Carnage: Scream #1-3
  • Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool #1-3
  • Venom #17
  • Absolute Carnage #2
  • Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1-2
  • Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1-3
  • Absolute Carnage: Avengers #1

Venom by Donny Cates Vol. 3 - Absolute Carnage Reading Order

  • Venom #18
  • Venom #19
  • Absolute Carnage #3
  • Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #3
  • Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1
  • Absolute Carnage #4
  • Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus #1
  • Absolute Carnage: Captain Marvel #1
  • The Amazing Spider-Man #30-31
  • Absolute Carnage #5
  • Venom #20

Absolute Carnage Reading Order Icon

After Absolute Carnage

When everything ended, the aftermath of the Absolute Carnage event was addressed in Venom #21-25 (Venom by Donny Cates Vol. 4: Venom Island), and in Web of Venom: The Good Son #1. New series emerged:

The real follow-up is The King in Black (Reading Order), a 2020 crossover that takes up the story of Knull.

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