Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection : Venom

From one of the all-time-great Spidey eras comes the introduction of the iconic Venom!

Meet Spider-Man’s deadliest foe! The web-slinger may survive a mind-bending glimpse at life in the Mad Dog Ward, a run-in with Doctor Octopus and a Chance encounter. But the lives of Peter Parker and new bride Mary Jane will be turned upside down when his former symbiotic costume and disgraced reporter Eddie Brock combine their mutual hatred of Spider-Man to become Venom! In time for adventures with Silver Sable and Sandman, Spidey returns to the ol’ red-and-blues — but nobody ever drew them like Todd McFarlane! The cunning Fox and the calculating Chameleon await. Styx and Stone will break some bones — and Killer Shrike can hurt you, too. But who kidnaps MJ? Plus: Speedball’s heroic debut! 

COLLECTING: Amazing Spider-Man (1963) 295-310; Amazing Spider-Man Annual (1964) 22; Web of Spider-Man (1985) 33; Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) 133

After beginning his writing career on DC horror titles, David Michelinie moved to Marvel. He and co-writer/inker Bob Layton established Iron Man’s battle with alcoholism, use of specialized armor variants and vendetta against Doctor Doom, as well as other aspects of the character that endure to this day. Michelinie’s unique blend of action, suspense and humor distinguished not only Iron Man, but also Amazing Spider-Man. With artist Todd McFarlane, he introduced the vicious vigilante Venom; he also wrote the first Venom limited series, Lethal Protector. Michelinie’s run as Amazing writer was second in length only to that of Stan Lee himself, while he also authored tie-in titles Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man and Spider-Man. He moved from Marvel’s flagship character to DC’s with a stint on Superman’s Action Comics, later returning to the world of Tony Stark for writing collaborations with Bob Layton on Iron Man: Legacy of Doom and Iron Man: The End.

Journalist, editor, filmmaker and more, Ann Nocenti has a long history in comics, both as a writer and editor. As an editor at Marvel, she oversaw such titles as New Mutants and Uncanny X-Men. As a writer, she has worked for both Marvel (Longshot, Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine) and DC (Batman, Kid Eternity), but is probably best known for her groundbreaking run with John Romita Jr. on Daredevil.

Tom DeFalco’s earliest comic-book scripts were for Archie and DC; he soon moved to Marvel, where he wrote Avengers, Machine Man and other titles, also launching Dazzler, a hit series of the early ’80s. In addition to writing long and well-received runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Thor, DeFalco edited many titles, eventually becoming editor in chief. During the 1980s, he headed the creative team that provided fictional biographies for G.I. Joe members, originally included with Hasbro’s toys and later used as the basis for multiple storylines on the animated series. Perhaps his best-known work is multi-title character Spider-Girl, whom he introduced in 1998. DeFalco has authored multiple books, including Ultimate Guides for Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk and Spider-Man.

Cynthia Martin penciled Marvel Comics Presents, Midnight Sons Unlimited and multiple Spider-Man titles. She is perhaps best remembered for a noted stint on Marvel’s long-running Star Wars tie-in series. At DC, she drew Wonder Woman and related miniseries War of the Gods; she has also worked for AC, Eclipse, First and more. Outside comics, she has illustrated several Max Axiom, Super Scientist books, as well as Capstone Press “graphic biographies” of Jane Goodall, Helen Keller, Sacagawea and other historic figures. 

Alex Saviuk established himself as a major Marvel artist with a seven-year run on Web of Spider-Man. He also worked on the animated-series tie-in Spider-Man Adventures and drew the Amazing Spider-Man comic strip from scripts by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber. At DC, he penciled and inked Flash, Green Lantern, Superman and other titles. 

After a stint on Incredible Hulk with writer Peter David, artist Todd McFarlane moved to Amazing Spider-Man, where he and writer David Michelinie introduced Venom. Achieving a devoted following with his then-experimental style of unconventional panel layouts, extreme close-ups and other innovations, McFarlane became both writer and artist on a new series, titled simply Spider-Man. He later joined several fellow industry prodigies to form Image Comics. McFarlane’s major contribution was Spawn, the demonic mercenary whose first-issue sales of 1.7 million copies remain a benchmark for an independent. His other industry credits include DC’s Infinity Inc. and “Batman: Year Two” in Detective Comics. He has earned the Inkpot Award, the National Cartoonists Society’s Award for Best Comic Book and the NFL’s Artist of the Year Award for designing the Baltimore Ravens’ program covers. In addition to the Image subsidiary Todd McFarlane Productions, he heads McFarlane Toys and Todd McFarlane Entertainment, and is producer of a Spawn film and an award-winning animated series.