Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man #1 (Of 4)

As the title of this 4-issue miniseries suggests, this book is all about Venom, who is currently masquerading as Spider-Man as part of the Marvel Universe's "Dark Reign" status quo. Despite that limited-sounding set-up, writer Brian Reed manages to get a lot of mileage out of Venom's misadventures as a would-be superhero, whilst also setting up several interesting plot threads to be explored in future issues.

DARK REIGN TIE-IN He ain’t friendly and this ain’t your neighborhood! Yes, Mac Gargan, America’s favorite sociopath-turned-symbiote-host-turned-hero-hunter now takes the spotlight as Norman Osborn’s sinister Spider-Man. With the Dark Reign-a-raining, the lives of our mighty marvel heroes are being destroyed left and right – but for guys like Mac, the world is their oyster and the chef’s covering the bill. Mac’s a beloved hero. Women love him, men want to be him and nobody wants to run into him after midnight – because the symbiote is still pretty darn hungry... By Brian Reed (Ms. Marvel) and Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man). COVER BY: Chris Bachalo; WRITER: Brian Reed; PENCILS: Chris Bachalo -- marvel.com Solicitation