Venom is the title of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics focusing on the various heroic and villainous incarnations of the character Venom, which have usually consisted of a human host and amorphous alien being called a symbiote. The first incarnation of the character was the one created by the third and current human host to the symbiote, Eddie Brock, and—since 2011—its fifth host, Flash Thompson. Beginning with Venom: Lethal Protector, eighteen limited series following Brock's adventures were published monthly between February 1993 and January 1998. A monthly Venom series began publication in 2003, following a new character, Patricia Robertson, and a clone of the original symbiote. The series concluded in 2004 after 18 issues. In 2011 another monthly series, following the adventures of Flash Thompson, was launched. The series resumed with vol. 3, vol. 4, and vol. 5 from 2016 to present.
The cover of Venom: Lethal Protector #1, February 1993. The first Venom solo comic. Art by Mark Bagley.
Mark Bagley provided art for the first three issues of Venom's inaugural title.
Danny Fingeroth
Howard Mackie wrote two Venom limited series (including 1994's Venom: Separation Anxiety), which led to the five-part 1995 "Planet of the Symbiotes".
The Klyntar, colloquially and more commonly referred to as symbiotes, are a fictional species of extraterrestrial parasitic life forms appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with Spider-Man. The symbiotes, as their alternative name suggest, form a symbiotic bond with their hosts, through which a single entity is created. They are able to alter their hosts' personalities and/or memories by influencing their darkest desires, along with amplifying their physical and emotional traits and personality and thereby granting them super-human abilities. The symbiotes are also weakened when in range of extreme sounds or sonic frequencies. There are more than 40 known symbiotes in the Marvel Universe.
Two most enduring symbiotic characters, Venom (below) and its offspring Carnage (above), battling each other in the textless cover of Venom vs. Carnage #1 (July 2004). Art by Clayton Crain
The cover of Secret Wars #8, which details Spider-Man's first encounter with the black costume. Pencil art by Mike Zeck.
The symbiote bonding with a host, which it needs to survive