#or do you wanna read about spider-man in ANY iteration he's appeared in the marvel universe?

[singull]

me @ whatever monkey-brained ass dipshit decided on this:

If AO3 users aren't aware right now, AO3 considers 'All Media Types' tags 'outdated' and have no longer been applying them to new fandoms. They've now gone one step further and are starting to dismantle the overarching tag in older fandoms which, in some cases, have had them since their conception over a decade ago.

This is an explicitly anti-fan move, and it's already causing trouble:

Works tagged with just 'All Media Types' are being left in an unsearchable limbo. Now users will have to use one fandom, or, more likely, all of them at once to show its status as a work taking from multiple continuities. 1 tag has turned into a requirement of multiple.

Fandoms where two continuities are functionally the same are still being split, requiring users to now check each fandom tag individually to see all works. There will now no longer be one place to view all continuities at once.

The show/remove crossovers option will become obsolete and non-functional. As AO3 moves towards fandoms no longer have any overarching tag, all continuities will be counted as crossovers with themselves. This has been shown in new fandoms with, for example, an original content/accurate adaption: as works are tagged with both (as both apply), removing crossovers now means removing these works, and searching crossovers shows only these works, which are now counted as crossovers with themselves.

In no uncertain terms, this will obliterate usability and accessibility in older fandoms, as it's already doing in new ones.

AO3 has taken a stance in telling its users we don't know how to use 'All Media Types' tags, and we want it removed, and should have it removed for our own good [Check r/AO3]. How insulting.

I think we should all take the time to tell them otherwise, it's our archive after all.

[girlmuppet]

You seem to know quite a bit abt venom and I don’t rly know who else to ask so…..I’ve been wanting to pick up reading the comics but I’m not rly sure where to start so I was wondering if you have any thoughts on where to begin/ what I should read first thanks!!

I have lots of thoughts!!! This is long and im sorry.

Fair Warning: If you are looking for the movie storylines, you will not find them. The movie storylines, to my understanding, are an amalgamation of different arcs from the comics. The recent movies are not comic-compliant for their origin stories meaning the other content isnt going to line up w comic-canon perfectly ( I can talk more about this if anyone is curious!)

Short answer 1: there is no good place to start just pick up a Volume 1 from any author and go at it.

Short Answer 2: Mike Costa's 2016 run. Volume #1: Homecoming (leads into the most recent run by Cates and Stegman and you can work backward after you catch up)

Long Answer:

It depends on how much back story you want and what stories youre looking for. Venom goes through many different iterations and hosts over the years so theres a few different places you could start based on ur personal story tastes and what you want out of the comics. Im going to outline the general runs from newest to oldest.

Keep in mind i havent read all of the comics yet so im going off of what i know and my own experiences working through the comics.

Note: In general, you get more bang for your buck by buying Omnibuses, complete collections, collected editions, volumes, etc instead of individual issues. (I only buy back issues for collecting purpose or for ongoing series). You can also read them for free online if you dont like paying money for things (personally i like owning things but w/e)

Anyway:

If you want to really see the relationship between eddie and venom you can start w the Mike Costa run from 2016 or the Donny Cates run from 2018. I LOVE the donny cates run but theres some backstory and info you may miss if you dont have other knowledge of venom from previous comics. (Flash Thompson, Cletus Kassidy/Carnage info mainly) Most of it is easily google-able though and if youre jumping into later issues im guessing you dont care too much about spoilers so google away! I think the Cates and Stegman run of venom is so so good it adds some dark story elements and new layers to the character of Eddie (#11 and #12 will hurt you in a good way). It also adds some mythology and additional lore to the symbiote that i kinda love. This is also the most recent run and it ended earlier this year. The venom comics will begin a new run next month i believe but i have no idea how beginner friendly that will be.

The Costa run will require you to know a little about Flash Thompson, but again all easily google-able. As i mentioned above, this directly leads into the Cates run. The costa run starts as the transition between the symbiote being w Flash Thompson and going back to Eddie Brock through Lee Price and then the story follows Eddie.

Speaking of Flash Thompson, this is a good place to start if you want the full lead up to where the comics are now. Flash Thompson as Agent Venom comics are from the Rick Remender and Cullen Bunn runs, beginning in 2011. This was part of a Rebirth for the character and lasted for i believe 40-something issues. There are 3 large complete collections (2 for Remender and 1 for Bunn) or theres smaller collected volumes. (This leads into the Space Knight story line which will then put you at the Costa run.)

If you wanna start with Venom #1 in his solo comics, David Michelinie's 1993 Lethal Protector is the first issues of venom solo comics and i can outline where to go from there as these issues are usually collected in like limited runs with series titles (ex. Venom: The Madness, Venom: Seperation Anxiety, Venom: Carnage Unleashed etc.) instead of just having the volume numbers and it can get confusing v quickly. The Venomnibuses collect a lot of those early issues and story arcs along with some appearances in other characters' comics all in order. Theres 3 Venomnibuses currently that collect all the venom comics (plus bonus issues) up to 2003 i think? So that includes all the OG venom solo run from Michelinie and the Daniel Way runs and would set you up to start the Agent Venom story arc. Again this is pricey if your buying omnibuses but theyre also like 1000 pages and cheaper per issue in the long run.

If you want REAL OG venom and to start from the beginning, Marvel Comics has an Epic Collection for venom called Symbiosis that collects a good amount of venom appearances in the Amazing Spider-Man series before he got his own series, including Eddie's origin story. Although this collection does miss some crucial story points like #361-364 (i think) which is the first fight between carnage venom and spiderman and #375 which is the point where vemom/eddie go to San Francisco (also first canon appearance of Ann Weying) and is basically the launch point for the 1993 6 part Lethal Protector series (as mentioned above). Those missing issues i THINK are on a spiderman collected edition, you can also buy back issues online or just read them for free online if u feel the burning desire to read them.

I hope this is helpful lol.

Like i said, theres no qrong place to start it mainly just depends on how you wanna do it. Some people are purists and wanna start from the very beginning, others may just wanna dive in and work backwards (basically what i did, i started on either end eventually ill meet in the middle).

If you have any other questions im happy to help! If you want a more tailored suggestion for where to start let me know and ill do my best!!!

Happy reading!!