While a writer by trade, Marvel Comics' Donny Cates (Venom, Cosmic Ghost Rider) has ventured into the world of art in order to provide a cover for his and Ryan Stegman's upcoming event series Absolute Carnage.Cates' variant for Absolute Carnage #1 features Venom -- a character he is all too familiar with -- channeling his inner metalhead and throwing up the horns. The cover marks a first for not only Cates, but also for artist Megan Hutchison (Rockstars, Will O' the Wisp). Hutchison colored Cates' variant, making it the first Marvel cover she has done so for.The variant is available exclusively through Midtown Comics and can currently be pre-ordered.
"I drew a variant cover for Absolute Carnage! And [Megan Hutchison] colored it!" the leader of the Devil's AdvoCates wrote on Twitter. "I know, I know, don't quit my day job, right? But I'm quite proud of it! Hope you guys dig!"
The series follows the villain Cletus Kasady/Carnage as he embarks on a mission to hunt down and kill everyone who has ever hosted a symbiote. The event's story kicked off during Free Comic Book Day 2019, with Kasady disguising himself as Eddie Brock, framing the Venom symbiote's most iconic host for murder.
Writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman's Absolute Carnage #1 goes on sale Aug. 7 from Marvel Comics.