Oddly, the main event issues play more with the Venom symbiote and do set the stage for Venom #16. There are three Venom tie-ins (issues #13 to #15 – not by Donny Cates or Ryan Stegman) that I’d call inessential. I’d call this Thor-centric Marvel Universe event 1) a real good time and 2) peripherally relevant to Absolute Carnage.

If you read nothing else prior to the event, it should be these issues of Venom, in the below order.

Having read the first three issues of Absolute Carnage, I can confirm it’s a relevant, succinct explanation of a lot of the continuity at play in the main event! Venom by Donny Cates and Ryan StegmanĮven when Carnage isn’t present in the story, the entire 2018 Venom series (launching with Marvel Fresh Start) is building story elements that will play a role in Absolute Carnage. This is Marvel’s 2019 attempt to provide a “Road To” reference guide of Carnage’s actions across the Marvel Universe. As you’d expect, only Carnage U.S.A. is a focused Carnage story, whereas 2004’s “Breakout” is a small supporting role, and Venomized is a supporting role. While there are more appearances, the below three stories are the most frequently referenced throughout the ensuing build to Absolute Carnage in the pages of Venom.

Whereas it’s true that in both the 90’s and 2000’s, death follows Carnage, in the 90’s it was the death of innocents, and in the 2000’s it’s frequently been the savage symbiote himself. Rising star Donny Cates and blockbuster artist Ryan Stegman transform the world of Venom! An ancient and primordial evil has surfaced beneath the streets of New York.Click for the full visual reading order! Road To Absolute Carnage The 2000’s Carnage SuiteĬarnage has had a fairly strange 2000’s. With it, something equally disturbing has been awakened in Venom, that most wicked of web-slingers! The symbiote may still be a lethal protector of innocents in New York, but this never-before-seen threat may force Venom to relinquish everything it holds dear - including its human host, Eddie Brock! Eddie and the symbiote summon the strength to defend New York against the most powerful foe they’ve ever faced, but one more thing stands in their way: Miles Morales, the newest Spider-Man! And relations between Eddie and the symbiote become ever more strained when new questions about the creature and its otherworldly origins come to light!Ĭollects Venom (2018) #1-12. Rising star Donny Cates and blockbuster artist Ryan Stegman transform the world of Venom! An ancient and primordial evil has surfaced beneath the streets of New York.

Venom by donny cates vol 1