Carnage #1
Carnage #1 (2022) holds a genuine structural milestone: after thirty years of mini-series, event tie-ins, and one-shots, it marked the first ongoing solo series ever launched for the character, arriving as part of Marvel's deliberate celebration of the symbiote's 30th anniversary. Writer Ram V used the occasion to fundamentally reframe Carnage — not as Cletus Kasady's weapon but as an autonomous, godhood-seeking entity operating without a host for the first time — a conceptual shift that rippled through the 'Carnage Reigns' crossover and beyond. The issue also introduced two new characters, Detective Jonathan Shayde and serial killer Kenneth Neely (the Artist), who became the backbone of the entire run and carried its horror-procedural tone. Structurally, the double-feature format — pairing Ram V's new cosmic-horror direction with a period backup by Carnage co-creator David Michelinie and original collaborator Ron Lim — made the contrast between the character's '90s roots and its modern reinvention unusually legible on the page.
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Marvel announced the series in December 2021, framing it as the flagship title of a year-long 30th-anniversary celebration that also included the Carnage Forever anthology one-shot (February 2022), which served as a direct prologue. Ram V was already co-writing the relaunched Venom title at the time and was tapped to extend his symbiote work into this new ongoing. In a statement at announcement, Ram V described his approach as 'devilish, scary' horror — frightening in implication as much as on the page — signaling the tonal departure from the character's traditionally excess-driven '90s identity. The backup strip by Michelinie and Ron Lim was a deliberate editorial callback: Michelinie co-created Carnage with Mark Bagley in The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (1992), making his presence in the launch issue a generational handoff gesture.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First issue of Carnage's first-ever ongoing solo series, after nearly 30 years of mini-series and limited runs — a structural first for the character.
- Published March 16, 2022; written by Ram V (main story) and David Michelinie (backup); art by Francesco Manna (main) and Ron Lim (backup); colors by Dijjo Lima (main) and Israel Silva (backup); letters by VC's Joe Sabino; cover by Kendrick 'Kunkka' Lim.
- First appearance of Detective Jonathan Shayde, an NYPD homicide detective who becomes entangled with Carnage across the run and is eventually partially bonded to the symbiote.
- First appearance of Kenneth Neely, a.k.a. 'The Artist,' a serial killer whose admiration for Carnage drives him to perform ritualistic murders referencing Knull's spiral, and who becomes Carnage's uneasy companion through multiple issues.
- The issue establishes Carnage's new post-Cletus status quo: the symbiote is operating hostless, having separated from Cletus Kasady following the events of Extreme Carnage and Carnage Forever, and is actively seeking its own purpose and power independent of any human will.
- Hydro-Man (Morris Bench) appears as Carnage's target in issue #1 — the symbiote uses him as a conduit to amplify its own abilities, with Bench's apparent death driving key plot developments in subsequent issues.
- The issue contains a self-contained backup story, 'A Lesson in Blood and Bone,' by Carnage co-creator David Michelinie and Ron Lim, set in Carnage's past with the classic Cletus Kasady incarnation — functioning as a deliberate stylistic contrast to Ram V's new direction.
- A third strip — a Peanuts-style comedic piece — was contributed by Ty Templeton, rounding out an unusually dense anthology format for a #1 launch issue.
Cast · 6 characters
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Reprinted in Carnage #1 (2022), Carnage: In the Court of Crimson Omnibus #[nn] (2023)
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