Writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman will end their run on Marvel's Venom with a special anniversary issue in Venom #200.
"It's something that we've been building to, and building to, and building to. Now we're here," Cates told IGN. "Ryan and I talk about that a lot. About how Ryan will send in a new page for King in Black, and it's finally like a drawing of something that we've all been thinking about, a particular moment or a scene that we've all been thinking about for almost four years now. So it's pretty surreal. It's crazy. It really is a testament to how awesome the Marvel fanbase has been and the Venom fans in general, that they've supported the book so much. That this crazy idea of this Knull thing has stuck around so long, that we're actually getting to do this."
Stegman also chimed in on how his artwork has evolved from his early days on Amazing Spider-Man to more recent works like Uncanny Avengers, Wolverine and Absolute Carnage.
"I feel like I'm always pushing. That's just my motto in life and in comics," Stegman said. "So I think there was definitely a lack of satisfaction with what I was doing. I thought that some of the stuff I was doing was cool, but I feel like once I got onto Venom, I started to really hone in what I did well. It was one of the first projects where I was like, 'Oh, I know exactly how to do this and it just suits my style.' Which at the time, my style was nebulous, but I felt like I started drawing in a way from issue one of Venom, that now I feel like in King in Black, it's the ultimate form of that thing. If we have the cover to Venom #200, I feel like right now that would be the quintessential piece that exhibits what my style has become. I'm going to keep pushing for sure. But I feel like I've really found something. It's a little bit annoying that we're getting here to the end of King in Black."
While fans may be disappointed to see Cates and Stegman step away from Venom, the writer compared it to Jason Aaron's fan-favorite run on Thor, which Cates is now writing.
"Our Venom run is one big, long arc," Cates added. "It just lined up that Venom #200 was the completion of that story. It's the story... much in the same way that Jason [Aaron] was on Thor for so long and then he told the story. He told his Thor epic and then it was time for some idiot to come on and try and do his best. I don't want people to get to think that we're upset or that we're sad or anything. We're really proud of this run. We just think this is it. This is the story and we're really, really proud of that story, and proud to see it continue. Let someone else have their chance to tell their story. This isn't a funeral, this is a celebration. Ryan and I are cooking some stuff up that we think people are really going to enjoy. While our run on Venom is coming to a close, there will be more Ryan and Donny things for sure."
Venom #200 goes on sale in April from Marvel Comics.
Source: IGN