Comics
David Dastmalchian Previews His ‘Venom: Black, White & Blood’ Comic [Exclusive]
With great power there must also come symbiote stories unlike any other!
Actor David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil, Dune) returns to the world of Marvel Comics in Venom: Black, White & Blood #3, on sale October 29.
Dastmalchian collaborated with artist Philip Tan to reveal the earliest exploits of Venom as he stalked Spider-Man through New York subways and rooftops, immune to Peter Parker’s Spider-Sense.
“I was speaking with Mark [Basso, editor] about some of the ways I’d like to explore classic Marvel characters and stories through a more contemporary lens that’s impacted by recent cultural and social changes,” Dastmalchian tells Bloody Disgusting.
“All of the time I’ve spent thinking about mental health has filled me with so many questions about nature versus nurture, biochemical tendencies and body history. Both Eddie and Peter are excellent characters to follow while exploring those ideas.”
The story is rooted in Marvel history, taking place before Venom’s debut appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #299, but Dastmalchian also had a major cinematic influence.
“I drew massive inspiration from David Fincher’s film Se7en, and I hope you can feel that pulpy, gritty, horrifying sense of compulsion and obsession throughout the story,” he says.
No stranger to the world of superheroes, Dastmalchian has played powerful characters. Could any of them take down Venom?
“I think that Abner Krill, AKA Polka Dot Man [from The Suicide Squad], could probably incinerate Venom with just a few dots,” Dastmalchian asserts.
He adds, “I also think Gurathin from “Murderbot” could outsmart Venom. If he runs into any trouble, Gurathin could just call on SecUnit to lend a hand. Being a construct, SecUnit is probably impervious to Venom.”
Venom: Black, White & Blood #3 marks Dastmalchian’s second time writing for Marvel, following a story he wrote earlier this year in Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains.
The issue also includes stories from Carl Potts & Damian Couceiro, showing what would happen if a Peter Parker prone to violent solutions for his enemies became Venom, and Takashi Okazaki, who imagines a never-before-seen Venom going up against Carnage in ancient Japan.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman designed the main cover, while Okazaki created a samurai-inspired variant.
Take an exclusive look two of Tan’s pages from Dastmalchian’s story below.
Cover by Kevin Eastman
Cover by Takashi Okazaki
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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