Venom: The Madness #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeVenom: The Madness #1 is a notable early entry in the wave of Venom solo limited series that Marvel published consecutively throughout the 1990s, representing the third such series to debut in 1993 alone as Eddie Brock's anti-hero identity sustained remarkable commercial momentum following Lethal Protector. The issue marks the first appearances of Beck Underwood and Abby Rubin — both original supporting characters created for this miniseries — and introduces the Mercury Virus as a narrative device that literalizes the symbiote's psychological instability by adding a third sentient voice to Brock's already fractured mind. Ann Nocenti's script pushed Venom into genuinely psychological territory, using environmental-corporate wrongdoing and themes of sanity as the scaffolding for a cross-title team-up with the Juggernaut that was uncommon for the character at the time. Kelley Jones's visually distorted, anatomy-defying artwork gave the series a psychedelic identity distinct from every other Venom title of the era, cementing this miniseries as a stylistically singular chapter in the character's early solo history.
In "Part One: Toxic Kisses," Venom finds himself locked in a brutal clash with the Juggernaut, hired by a powerful corporation to silence whistleblowers exposing their toxic dumping. After a brutal encounter, Venom is drenched in a strange, sentient mix of mercury and chemicals, setting off a dangerous transformation. Written by Ann Nocenti and brought to life with gritty art by Kelley Jones—whose dynamic pencils and inks define the cover—this 1993 Marvel classic delivers a raw, high-stakes clash of brute force and corporate corruption, all rendered in stark, unsettling colors by Tom Smith.
In "Part One: Toxic Kisses," Venom confronts the Juggernaut, hired by a powerful corporation to silence whistleblowers exposing illegal dumping. As the battle unfolds, Venom is drenched in a volatile mix of sentient mercury and toxic chemicals, transforming the fight into something far more dangerous than brute force. With Charles Evans, Mr. Darby, Joe, Frank, Hank, and the mysterious Mercury Virus all entangled in the chaos, the line between hero and hazard begins to blur.
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The issue was written by Ann Nocenti — best known for her lengthy, politically charged run on Daredevil and for creating characters such as Typhoid Mary and Longshot — and penciled by Kelley Jones, with inks by John Beatty, colors by Tom Smith, and lettering by Richard Starkings; Danny Fingeroth served as editor under editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. It launched on September 28, 1993 (cover-dated November 1993) as part of Marvel's rolling series of Venom limited series that effectively functioned as a de facto ongoing, with each three-issue arc resetting the numbering. The miniseries built directly on the San Francisco underground-city status quo established in Venom: Lethal Protector, and Nocenti wove in the demon Dusk — a character she had co-created earlier in 1993 in Marvel Comics Presents #127 alongside artist Steve Lightle — giving the arc a connective thread to her own corner of the Marvel Universe.
Trivia · 7 facts
- First appearance of Beck Underwood, a San Francisco public defender and ally to Venom's underground community, who becomes a romantic interest for Eddie Brock across the miniseries.
- First appearance of Abby Rubin, a whistleblower and former Scarmore Industries employee central to the environmental-lawsuit plot that drives the story.
- First appearance of the Mercury Virus (Earth-616), a sentient virus accidentally created by the Scarmore Mercury Project that bonds with the Venom symbiote and triggers the psychological 'madness' of the title.
- Written by Ann Nocenti (co-creator of Typhoid Mary, Longshot, and Blackheart) and penciled/covered by Kelley Jones, with John Beatty on inks, Tom Smith on colors, and Richard Starkings on letters.
- Juggernaut (Cain Marko) and Black Tom Cassidy appear as the primary physical antagonists, hired by Scarmore Industries to intimidate the lawyer Beck Underwood and suppress her lawsuit.
- Dusk — the demon ruler of the Realm of Madness, co-created by Nocenti — appears only as a voice in this issue, having debuted earlier in 1993 in Marvel Comics Presents #127; his role expands significantly in issues #2 and #3.
- This series is part of the consecutive run of eighteen Venom limited series published by Marvel between February 1993 and January 1998, which functioned collectively as an ongoing monthly title with resetting issue numbers.
Cast · 8 characters
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Reprints
Reprinted in Die Spinne Comic - Taschenbuch #69 (1996), Venom #5 (1996), Venom: The Enemy Within #[nn] (2013), Venomnibus #1 (2018), Venom Epic Collection #4 (2023)
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