A review by tiedyedude
Venomnibus by Cates & Stegman by Donny Cates

4.25

Venom was an early childhood favorite character of mine. My older brother was a Spider-Man fan, and he told me I looked like Venom with my braces (?), so I flipped it and became a fan 😅 This collection of Donny Cates' run does so much:  deeply explores the relationship between Eddie and Venom, introduces Knull and creates a lot of backstory for the symbiotes, reanimates Cletus Kasady's corpse, explores pre-Venom symbiotes on Earth, introduces Eddie's son,

turns Eddie into a God,

and lays the groundwork for him to pass on the mantle of Venom. The themes of reconciling the past, dealing with self-imposed isolation and/or abandonment, and giving yourself permission to grow added an unexpected depth to a character who is typically portrayed as a violent brute.  It seems like every issue Eddie is separated from his symbiote, it is absorbed by someone else as something else attaches to Eddie; back and forth. It is a little repetitive, but there is enough variation and risk to keep things interesting and his relationship with his son is a good subplot. There were lots of in-universe history that I don't have knowledge of, but I have a passing knowledge of enough that it didn't really effect my ability to follow and enjoy the story. I didn't love the art in the last few issues, but otherwise the storytelling and art is consistently excellent. Donny Cates may just be the definitive run on one of the best Marvel anti-heroes. In the end,

despite working with the Avengers and aiding worlds throughout the cosmos

, he still feels like an outsider in the Marvel universe, which fits him just fine.