Cullen Bunn and Gerardo Sandoval's Death of the Venomverse ended last week. The five-issue series has seen Carnage wreaking havoc across the multiverse, forcing the other symbiotes to try and stop him.
One of the most interesting parts of each issue, however, was the ongoing backup story by manga artist Taigami focused on Kid Venom. It's being collected in Kid Venom: Origins #1, a new one-shot that also sets up future adventures for the young symbiote.
"Kid Venom was based on a one-shot that I sent for a manga contest Shonen Magazine and Marvel held in 2018," said Taigami, explaining how he created the character. "One of the rules for the contest was [to use a theme or a character from Marvel and write and draw a first episode for a new series] and the theme that I chose was symbiote."
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You can check out the artist's own cover for the comic below, with colors by Richard Isanove.
Kid Venom is a young man named Kintaro. Hailing from 10th century Japan, he bonded with the symbiote Clinter in order to protect his village from attack. The Origins one-shot is not the end of his story, however, with Taigami teasing that further adventures are on the way.
"The story that I had the chance to work on this time is just a small part of Kintaro and the symbiote in the Heian Era," he confirmed. "How Kintaro come to be and what will happen to him? And how will that world and the modern world will be connected? I hope I can have fun working on those story deeply. And I hope that my story will become a starting point for the people to know and have interest in the Japanese legends and cultures for the people around the world."
Kid Venom: Origins #1 is published by Marvel on January 3, 2024.
We've all gotten used to the Lethal Protector. Is it time for Venom to be a terrifying monster again?
