Description

Carnage (1st Series)                                        Comics Lot
Writer: David Michelinie
Artist: Mark Bagley
Inker: Randy Emberlin
Colorists: Bob Sharen & Renee Witterstaetter
Letterers: Ken Lopez & Rick Parker
Editors: Danny Fingeroth & Tom DeFalco
All Covers by: Mark Bagley & Randy Emberlin

Originally created to be a darker version of Venom, Carnage was once a serial killer known as Cletus Kasady who became the deadly killer symbiote after merging with the offspring of the alien symbiote called Venom during a prison breakout. Since the alien symbiote adapts to the host’s personality, the Carnage symbiote is affected by Kasady’s insane mind and lust for destruction… making it even more dangerous. Carnage is usually considered as a “main” enemy of Spider-Man. The character first appeared as Cletus Kasady in The Amazing Spider-Man #344 (March 1991) and then a cameo as Carnage in The Amazing Spider-Man #360 (March 1992). Carnage was created by writer David Michelinie and artists Erik Larsen and Mark Bagley, based on elements of the precursor character Venom. Along with Venom, Carnage belongs to a race of amorphous extraterrestrial parasites known as the Symbiotes.

Now, Marvel Comics Presents Carnage… his Official First (Full) Appearance! Blood runs in the streets as a serial killer roams New York City! And as the web-slinger investigates the murders, he notices a very disturbing similarity to another killer’s modus operandi! In a burned-out building in Brooklyn, the spectacular one comes face-to-face with his new homicidal foe…Carnage! Can the wall-crawler end Cletus Kasady’s rampage in their very first encounter?

Story/Spoilers
In issue #361, “Carnage – Part 1 Savage Genesis!”, Cletus Kasady is found talking to himself in his cell in New York’s Ryker’s Island, by the security guard Ramone. After a little confrontation between the two, Ramone is found by the other guards dead. He had been pulled through Cletus Kasady’s jail cell bars. Also, they discovered Cletus had escaped by the gaping hole in the wall. Gunther Stein is about to enter his apartment from his long day of work when he is called by a voice. After looking up a red hand grabs his mouth. The hand then liquefies and starts suffocating Gunny Stein. Gunny Stein dies. And becomes Carnage’s first victim. We also find out the reason Carnage picked Gunny to be his first victim is not because he had a grudge against him, but more of Cletus just picked his name at random from a telephone book. Carnage heads next to Agro-Lab at Empire State University in search of his next victim. He finds Chip, a classmate of Peter Parker. Chip starts to run away from Carnage, but Carnage picks up a sink and throws it at Chip making him not able to leave the room. Carnage heads over to Chip, picks him up by the throat and extends his fingers, killing chip. Before his death he asked why he is going to be killed, only to have Carnage reply with “…cause I can”. In the home of May Parker, we find Peter and Aunt May, just as Peter finishes fixing her heater. Aunt May’s phone rings only to find out it is for Peter. Peter answers the phone and is told that a classmate of his, Chip, has been “slaughtered like a pig on a spit”, in the words of Spider-Man. Spider-Man heads to the lab where Chip had been killed and hides in the air conditioning vents to find out information. He eves drops in on a reporter questioning Professor Evert. She mentions the murderer had “living skin”, also that his arm had grown a rope and he swung away. Leading Spider-Man to think the killer is Venom. Peter Parker is found meeting his wife Mary Jane Watson-Parker in Central Park only to show up late. Peter tells Mary that Chip had been killed and tells her he suspects that it is Venom who is the source of this. He then tells of how he first got the Symbiote on Battle world during the Secret Wars. He also tells how he used the sonic waves of the cathedral bells to get rid of it, and finally how it found someone with as much hatred for Spider-Man as it did…Eddie Brock. How he became one of Spider-Man’s most powerful enemies, and how he had to fake his own death at the hands of Venom so he would retire and stay on the deserted Caribbean Island. Mary Jane tells him he should leave it to the police, the Avengers, or the Fantastic Four. He denies however because he blames this on himself. He feels he is the only one who should stop these killings. Peter starts to retrace the activities of Eddie Brock after he had escaped from prison. He came across Eddie’s cellmate Cletus Kasady, an unrepentant mass murder who was convicted with eleven life sentences, also finding out that Cletus had just escaped from jail. He starts doing a background check on Cletus, and finds out that the St. Estes Home for Boys, the orphanage he had belonged to as a child, was ravaged by a fire with the disciplinarian administrator’s dead body found within it, with her skull smashed in. Peter then goes through the city of New York in search of people who know Cletus to get more information about him. One person even told him “That’s privileged information, but off the record… I’d avoid him like the plague.” Peter heads to the St. Estes Home for Boy’s ruins to check it out and hears someone talking to themselves there. Peter at first thinks it’s a kid but goes in to find Cletus talking to his teddy bear Binky. When Peter walks closer Cletus tells Binky he they have a visitor. He looks back at Spider-Man and changes into Carnage while ripping and tearing Binky. Carnage stretches his arm to punch Spider-Man reminding him of fights with Venom. Spider-Man shoots a web at Carnage’s face, while Carnage wraps his symbiote around the web in his face and grabs hold of Spider-Man and throws him into the wall. Spider-Man throws a giant piece of wood at Carnage who catches it and breaks it in half. Carnage then solidifies an axe from his hand and throws it at Spider-Man who barely dodges it. After watching it turn to dust, Spider-Man looks to notice Carnage has disappeared. Carnage’s symbiote makes tentacles seep through the wall and grab hold of Spider-Man and ripping him through the wall to the floor. As this is going on policemen soon arrive to check out noise complaints. They burst into the room and Carnage shoots projectiles at one from his fingertips hitting him. Spider-Man grabs hold of his tentacles and throws him to check on the policeman. Carnage’s last act in this battle is him throwing an oven at the other cop and Spider-Man, with Spider-Man pushing the policeman out of the way and being hit on the head. Carnage disappears leaving a present for Spider-Man. He had written on the wall “Carnage Rules!” in blood. Spider-Man came to realize it was it was his own blood he had used to write the message for Spider-Man. Peter is telling Mary Jane about how he has already tried to tell the Avengers and the Fantastic Four of this new enemy, but they all seem to be dealing with their own planet-threatening problems. Peter accidentally knocks over Mary Jane’s purse to the floor and discovers cigarettes fell out. She begins telling him about her the reason she is smoking, but he interrupts her because of a news bulletin involving Carnage and more of his victims. Peter Parker has realized that he needs help to defeat his new foe. He must now enlist the help from one of his most powerful enemies, Venom.

Next in issue #362, “Carnage – Part 2 Savage Alliance!”, Spider-Man and Johnny Storm are heading towards the deserted Caribbean Island where Venom had retired after which, he thought that he had killed Spider-Man. The reason they were going to meet this powerful foe of Spider-Man is because an even more powerful foe has been terrorizing the city of New York, by killing many of innocent people. Spider-Man brought with him a sonic gun because the symbiote suits are susceptible to sound. After the first confrontation between Spider-Man and Eddie Brock, Eddie doesn’t believe that this is the real Spider-Man. He still attacks him and starts to turn into Venom. Spider-Man shoots the sonic gun at Eddie making his symbiote go haywire. Eddie though still hits Spider-Man, breaking the sonic gun he was holding. The Human Torch shoots a ring of fire around Venom, but he retaliates by making his symbiote go under the sand and under the ring of fire, and hits Johnny Storm into the water and tries to drown him. Johnny however uses his nova flame and destroys the solidified symbiote holding him underwater allowing Spider-Man enough time to flee and go to an abandoned village on the island. Venom follows him and colors himself white to disguise himself as a cloud when he comes down to attack Spider-Man. Venom lifts a bulldozer and is about to drop it on Spider-Man, when Johnny comes and shoots him with the sonic gun on the Fantasti-car. With the Venom Symbiote not fully intact Peter Parker uses this opportunity to talk to Venom about Carnage and how he’s murdering innocent people, Venom starts to listen. Two men are thrown through the door of Robert Sutcliff, owner of the Glass-and-Steel Sanctuary. Out pops Carnage from the doorway. Robert shoots at Carnage and has a glass dome close around him and exits through the door. Carnage jumps at him and points out the strength of the glass. By pointing out that it would be impossible for any weapon known to man to destroy it, and that he is not a man anymore, so he makes two solidified claws pop out of his hand and destroys the glass with ease. Robert tries to leave in a helicopter only to have Carnage grab hold of it and throw it off the roof to have it explode. Carnage then makes a web out of his hand and swings away. Eddie Brock tells Spider-Man and Johnny Storm of how his counterpart’s asexual reproduction, and that it had reproduced without his knowing. Despite their differences, and Venom’s hate for Spider-Man, they still team up with each other to try and stop Carnage. Carnage is seen swinging into one of his murder scenes to get clothing and watch television. After yelling at the TV Cletus suggests he makes a sandwich. While this is going on, Spider-Man, The Human Torch, and Venom are making their way to the city to find Carnage. Eddie Brock compliments Johnny Storm and tells him he did an article about the Fantastic Four when he worked for The Daily Globe. Johnny however tells Spider-Man that he has a serious schizophrenic problem. Johnny had to leave and attend to his own problems with the Fantastic Four, so he dropped off Spider-Man and Venom in the city. Venom also tells Spider-Man that he can sense where his symbiotes offspring is. They find Cletus Kasady in the refrigerator, when he notices their presence and changes to Carnage instantly. They both attack him at once, but he gets them and hits them together before throwing them into the walls. This shows the immense strength of Carnage, and how he is more powerful than the combined powers of both Spider-Man and Venom. A woman underneath them starts complaining about the loud noises they are causing, so Carnage breaks the floor and grabs her baby. He throws it out the window making both Spider-Man and Venom jump after it. Venom got the baby with his web, and they bring it back to the apartment, and find out Carnage has left, where also Spider-Man discovers a news article with J. Jonah Jameson on the cover with a hole in his head. The comic ends with Carnage jumping after J.J.J. exclaiming that he wants him dead.

Finally in issue #363, “Carnage – Part 3 Savage Grace!”, Carnage abducts Jonah Jameson seeking a larger audience to the murder. Spidey and Venom see a poster advertising a Headbanger Heaven concert at Madison Square Garden and go there, finding Carnage on stage killing people. Carnage knocks Venom into Penn Station below and follows. Spidey joins Venom and punches Carnage onto the station’s third rail to no effect. The three combatants return to the Garden where Spidey frees Jameson, then turns the arena’s sound system up full, sonically shocking Venom and Carnage. The younger Carnage symbiote apparently discorporate. Although in agony, Venom manages to grab Spidey. Before Venom can strike a killing blow, Mr. Fantastic jolts him with his sonic gun. Beaten, Venom realizes Spidey summoned Mr.Fantastic and planned to betray him all along. Proof, he believes, that Spidey was never an innocent. In Germany, an older couple prepares to fly to New York, knowing they will change Peter’s life forever.

Comics Lot contains: the Amazing Spider-Man (1963 1st Series) Issues #361-363.  Marvel Comics

Comics are bagged & double boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to ensure that they arrive to you perfectly and quickly.

All First Printings
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Publication Date: 1992
Format per comic: FC, 32 pages, Comic, 10.25″ x 6.5″
UPC: None Stated

Collectible Entertainment note: Comics are in Very Fine to Very Fine + condition.  Beautiful Set!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious Spider-Man and/or Carnage and/or Venom collector / enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read.  Very Highly Recommended.

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