Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

This book is definitely a must have for all Spider-man fans. First of all, you get a lot of good storytelling and writing in this collection. The summary of this collection, listed on the back of the book and of course seen under the details of this page, is very understated. When I chose to purchase this book I just thought that I was getting the origin of the alien costume Spider-man received when he was on Battle World, the subsequent issues featuring Spider-man using this costume and eventually getting it removed by the Fantastic Four, and of course the first appearance of Venom in ASM issue number 300, as well as his first of many returning appearances in ASM #315-317. A worthwhile buy in itself, but this book featured much more. The alien costume saga was written very well. It introduced new villains such as The Rose and the deadly Puma, Mary Jane Watson's background story, as well as the moment when Mary Jane tells Peter that she has known that he was Spider-man for years. All of happens while the alien costume slowly begins to take over Peter's body and exploit him as its host. Brilliant storytelling. The alien costume also features appearances by the Black Cat and the moment when Peter tells Aunt May that he had dropped out of graduate school. The only downside to the alien costume saga part of the collection was that it only collected the ASM issues as well as Web of Spider-man #1 in which Peter removes the alien costume at the bell tower of the church. I wish they would have included the issues of Spectacular Spider-man and Marvel Team-Up in which the alien costume was bonded with Spider-man. I love the alien costume and I just like to have complete collections. Also, Marvel Team-Up and Spectacular Spider-man issues would provide a complete view of the alien costume saga even though the focus of the story is in ASM. Last but not least, the collection moves forward in the Spider-man timeline to the first appearance of Venom and his first return. I love David Michelinie's writing and Todd McFarlane's art is spectacular. For the best reading experience of this collection, I suggest you pick up Essential Spider-man Volume 11, Death of Captain Jean DeWolfe TPB or Essential Spectacular Spider-man Volume 5 (cheaper and more stories), Vengeance of Venom TPB, and Venom: Lethal Protector. Also, Essential Spider-man Volume 4 features the issues of Spider-man and the alien costume that aren't featured here. All in all, this collection is an essential piece to any Spider-man collection.

WARNING SPOILER ALERT! Well where can I start this book was awesome and I recommend it to any fan of Spiderman or Venom, black costume etc. When I got this trade paperback I knew it was going to be good I just didnt know that I was getting alot more than I expected. First and foremost let me make it perfectly clear dont be fooled by the title because its more than just about Venom fighting Spiderman it takes you to some parts from the Secret Wars saga, like the minute spiderman got the black costume and his journeys with the Black Cat which I thought was cool because when I read Maximum Carnage I remember her stating when she encountered Venom in that book she said the last time they met he broke her nose and I was left wondering wow! I can only imagine how that must have felt because at that time I did'nt own this book. Now that I own it I finnaly got the chance to see that fight if you can call it a fight, Venom almost killed her when he did that and I have to say it looked very painful. Another thing I liked that I did'nt expect to see in this book was when Mary Jane finally finds out who Spiderman really is and breaks down and pours her heart out to him and tells him her story and why she is the way she is with people,to me that was a very powerful moment in the book, probably because I was'nt expecting all of that to be in there, But enough about that lets talk about Venom/Eddie Brock and when he got the costume. After reading this i have to take my hat off to Todd Mcfarlane for his more darker tone in the Venom saga. The way Eddies personality is, it's very disturbing (he really believes GOD answered his prayers when the costume was bestowed upon him so he can kill Spiderman). Another thing I like was the Cape Fear element for example when Parker came home to find Eddie there with aunt May helping out around the house knowing that Eddies up to know good and was just trying to show him that not only does he know his secret identity he knows that he can hurt the people he love at any time unless he gets what he wants, which is a fight to the death. All in all great story telling, great art work, and a epic battle that not only test Spiderman's abilities when facing Venom it also show the true danger of what can happen if a villian know almost every thing about you and you are helpless to stop them from getting to you at any place at anytime. VENOM RULES!

While I loved the main story of this book, the story of Eddie Brock becoming Venom, I often found myself thrown off and confused as not all the issues in this book are directly connected. The main focus of this book was to build you up to the birth of Venom himself, so in order to do so this book jumps around issues of Spider-Man that focus on building up the characteristics of the Symbiote, you never see much of Eddie Brock until you hit the issues with Venom. Once Venom is introduced though, this book really hits the spot. The combination of introducing Venom, with Todd McFarlane's art is just awesome, and something I'm glad I purchased.

Great story and good quality of comic book

Perfect Condition.100%.