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Donny Cates’ Venom Reading Order

Introduced during the first Secret Wars comic book event in the ‘1980s, this alien symbiote was Spider-man’s black costume for a short period. When Reed Richards realized it was more than a piece of intelligent fabric, he helped Spidey to get rid of it. Following its rejection, the alien symbiote tried to get back to Peter Parker but ended up bounding with Eddie Brock. This reporter for the Daily Globe wrote a story exposing the identity of the Sin-Eater but Spider-Man revealed it was not the truth and Eddie lost his job. At the end of his rope, Eddie met the symbiote. Together, they became Venom.

Friend or foe, Venom changed over the years and became a major Marvel player. He went from Eddie Brock to other hosts but came back to Eddie. When Donny Cates took over the writing duties on his title with artist Ryan Stegman, Venom got back to Eddie who was searching for redemption. To do that, he aligned himself with heroes. During his fight with a cosmic monster, he discovered the real origin of the symbiote, opening a new way in the mythology of this iconic character.

What to read before Venom by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman?

There are a lot of Venom stories (we have a big article about that) and some are referenced in Donny Cates’s comic book run on Venom. That said, it’s a new start, a new mythology, and a friendly entry point for new readers.

However, you may not be familiar with a character named The Maker who plays a part in this story, so check out our article about this Ultimate Reed Richards.

Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom Comics Reading Order

Before going into a detailed reading order for Donny Cates’s Venom Comics, there are two collections available that collect this complete comic book run in hardcover books.

Venomnibus: Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman

Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman’s Venom comics have been collected in one big Omnibus. It’s clearly the easiest way to read this run, but not the only one.

  • Venomnibus by Cates & Stegman
    Collects Venom (2018) #1-35, Venom Annual (2018) #1, Web of Venom: Ve’Nam (2018) #1, Web of Venom: Carnage Born (2018) #1, Web of Venom: Wraith (2020) #1, Absolute Carnage (2019) #1-5, King in Black (2020) #1-5; material from Free Comic Book Day 2019 (Spider-Man/Venom) #1, Free Comic Book Day 2020 (Spider-Man/Venom) #1, Incoming (2019) #1, Carnage: Black, White & Blood (2021) #2.

Venom by Donny Cates: The Hardcover Collection

The Venom comics by Donny Cates and Ryan Stregman were in part reprinted in a hardcover collection. It’s only the comics from the main Venom series, no events or spin-offs.

The Complete Donny Cates’s Venom Reading Order

An ancient and primordial evil has been awakened beneath the streets of New York. With it, something equally evil has been awakened in that most wicked of web-slingers: Venom! The symbiote may still be a Lethal Protector of innocents in New York, but this never-before-seen threat could possibly force Venom to relinquish everything it holds dear — including its human host, Eddie Brock!

Donny Cates' Venom Reading Order IconThis is when The War of Realms comic book event takes place. Venom was in two places at the same time. In the storyline published in the Venom: War Of The Realms TPB collecting Venom (2018) #13-15 (and Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage #1), Cullen Bunn took over and wrote this three-issue story arc that you can skip. The other storyline is with the War Avengers and … it doesn’t make sense with the actual story of Venom. Great event though, but there’s nothing interesting for Venom readers.

Donny Cates' Venom Reading Order IconWe are jumping from one comic book event to the other. This time, it’s a special Venom. It’s Carnage meets Knull vs Venom, Spidey, and the rest of New York’s greatest heroes. It’s called Absolute Carnage. If you just want the Venom comics, you’ll need those two trade paperbacks:

The Absolute Carnage event is now fully collected in one omnibus edition.

King in Black! The sequel to the Absolute Carnage comics event. King in Black is the culmination of Donnis Cates’s Venom story: ” After a campaign of terror across the galaxy, Knull reaches Earth – and he hasn’t come alone! With an army of hundreds of thousands of symbiote dragons at his command, the King in Black is a force unlike any Earth’s heroes have ever faced. Eddie Brock, A.K.A. Venom, has seen firsthand the chaos that even one of Knull’s monsters can wreak. Can anyone possibly survive this onslaught?” You can follow our guide to reading our guide to the King in Black event. For the shorter version, you can simply read the following comic collections:

Venom by Donny Cates Reading Order Icon

After Reading the Venom Comics by Donny Cates & Ryan Stegman

After Donny Cates ended his Venom comic book run with a bang aka The King in Black Saga. After this event, Al Ewing and Ram V teamed up to take over the title with a new narrative approach. It’s not a reboot though, but a direct sequel dealing with Eddie Brock’s new status quo, Venom and Dylan Brock’s relationship, and the extended mythology about the symbiotes. It starts with the following comic book, but you can learn more with our guide to Ewing’s Meridius Saga.

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