Venom

Spider-Man foe Venom and Peter Parker foe Flash Thompson are two characters that found new purpose when they bonded together as a secret agent, superhero, and guardian of the galaxy. Currently they co-star in the ongoing Venom: Space Knight series in the role of cosmic protectors in outer space. The alien symbiote Venom has become a sort of prosthesis for Flash, a wounded veteran who lost his legs in combat, but regained mobility by wearing the symbiote suit as a costume. A story from writer Robbie Thompson and artist Ariel Olivetti will show Flash Thompson taking off the suit and learning to walk with prosthetic legs in order to reassert his independence, and the story has been developed by Marvel in consultation with the service member support organization Wounded Warrior Project.

Madballs were one of the most ridiculous things to come about during the heyday of '80s toy craziness. Pound Puppies made sense. Police Academy: The Animated Series' action figures made sense, at least in the way that all R-rated movies that got animated shows and action figure lines in the '80s made sense. Madballs were just these gross, little balls with monstrous faces. You could throw them at your siblings/cousins/imaginary friends and they wouldn't hurt a whole lot because they were made of foam. You could squeeze them, and they'd return to form in seconds. That's it. Even today, I struggle to understand why I find them appealing, but I do. They speak to me. Apparently they speak to Mondo, too, because the Alamo art house is bringing Madballs back to fill that little screaming baseball-sized hole in your heart.

Everyone loves comic book trivia, but with 75 years of superhero comics behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite characters in our continuing video series. You think you know comics? Well, here’s a few things you might not know! This week we're taking a look at Venom, the most successful pairing of an angry person and hand-me-down pajamas in comics history. Whether he's been a villain, a lethal protector, or even a space knight, Venom is a character who really seems to scratch that "Spider-Man but bigger and with more teeth" itch that fans apparently have. In this video you can learn who all has worn the symbiote suit, which spin-off symbiotes have, uh, spun off, and whether Eddie Brock ever uploaded himself to the internet (spoiler: yes), plus several other equally interesting facts.

The fourth of five planned Marvel Collector Corps subscription boxes arrived this week, and this time Funko's diverted attention away from the goodie-two-shoes of the Marvel U for once. The Villains box is the first to arrive with such a broad theme, but even though Marvel's got a steady stream of movies and events constantly happening, Funko was eventually going to have to step outside the existing comfort zone created in the Collector Corps. While the Ant-Man and Avengers: Age of Ultron boxes were nice, there's a lot more to Marvel than just its movie brands. The last box, which was inspired by the Secret Wars comic and event, was a promising glimpse into the future that Villains maintains, even if it doesn't exceed expectations. The broad vision for the Villains box may just have been its undoing, as there is strong variation in this box, but it's a lack of laser-focus leaves it ending up a mixed bag.

We've covered six X-Men titles, seven Avengers (and related) team titles, and eight of the many Avengers solo titles, so it's time to look at the nine Spider-Man books coming your way in October, featuring Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, a couple of symbiotes, and more! There are so many Spider-people now! How is one of them not also a Wolverine?

Since the dawn of time, mailaway action figures have been a staple of the scene. That is, if you consider the dawn of time to be the day Kenner started releasing Star Wars figures. Though the trend has died down significantly in the era of the Internet, exclusives are still a very important part of toy collecting. As one of the final companies to offer mailaway incentives, the now defunct ToyFare magazine was one of the last bastions of trend. Say what you will about the Wizard magazine empire, but for a long time, it's brand of geek culture coverage was all many of us had. ToyFare in particular was a great place for collectors to see what was coming, learn the history of industry, and to see how the sausage was made. What made the magazine even more special were the brand partnerships that allowed ToyFare to offer a variety of different collectibles based on Marvel, DC, animation and indie comic characters. Plus, you didn't have have cash ​and a dozen UPCs to send in to get your hands on something as rudimentary as a William "Refrigerator" Perry figure.

With Avengers: Age of Ultron just around the corner, interest in these heroes has never been greater, so we’ve decided to pit all the official comic book Avengers against each other in a battle for your affections. Who is the greatest, best, favorite Avenger of all time? Only you can decide. We’ve created voting groups that mix up different eras of Avengers membership. Group I features the third and final of our Captains America, Sam Wilson, and the last of the true 'first generation' Avengers, Scarlet Witch, but with two or three Avengers going through from each round, you may want to vote tactically for one of the other contenders, like Venom, Blue Marvel, or Other Ant-Man.

Marvel has unveiled a brand new look for Flash Thompson's Venom, courtesy of artist Valerio Schiti, and it's great. Schiti is currently the penciller on Guardians of the Galaxy with writer Brian Michael Bendis, and Thompson, a long-time part of the Spider-Man supporting cast, is now riding around space with the crew as the Avengers' official emissary. In this week's Guardians Of The Galaxy #23, he got a symbiote upgrade and an even newer gig as... an agent of the cosmos. And with that job title comes a spiffy new outfit. Schiti's sketches show that he went through a few different takes on the new design before settling on one that keeps the spider motif central and distinct, but also gives Venom a much more sci-fi feel. Venom is as big as ever, but with an armored toughness and an awesome helmet design. The overall look evokes a Warhammer Space Marine.

It’s been a really rough time for Sony as the studio’s e-mails and sensitive materials have been hacked by a mysterious group, and confidential details have been leaking left and right. The latest pieces of information picked up from Sony’s hacked internal e-mails have to do with Spider-Man—a character that’s in a bit of flux right now as Sony has been trying to sort out what to do next following the critical and commercial disappointment of ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ As it turns out, Sony has indeed spoken with Marvel about a potential crossover, and that’s not all they’ve been planning to salvage the character.

Each weekday, ComicsAlliance brings you a carefully selected variety of links from around the web about comics and comics-related media, including movies, video games, toys, and whatever else might be worth noting. Quite frankly, these are items you may just need to know about to have a productive day. Take a look at today's hand-picked links after the jump.