Eddie Brock loses his symbiote to one of Marvel's most sadistic villains in Venom: Separation Anxiety

Venom co-creator David Michelinie has been back writing the fan-favorite character again for two Lethal Protector limited series set in the era of his original '90s run, and now he's coming back for the third entry in the flashback saga titled Venom: Separation Anxiety, in which Eddie Brock will have to get used to being without his Venom symbiote when it's captured by another host who will be well known to Marvel fans: the Purple Man.

Billed by Marvel Comics as "the King in Black versus the King in Purple," Venom: Separation Anxiety will be drawn by artist Gerardo Sandoval, who is no stranger to Venom and his symbiote kin. Additionally, the cover of the first issue, which pays homage to the classic cover of 1985's Web of Spider-Man #1 by Charles Vess.

"In his latest retro Venom series, Michelinie will pit Eddie against a new foe with the power to alter reality itself - PURPLE MAN!" reads Marvel's official description of Venom: Separation Anxiety. "When the iconic villain uses his terrifying mind control powers to torment Eddie and steal his symbiote for himself, everyone’s favorite symbiote slugger may need to ask for unlikely help to get it back AND save his sanity! LONG LIVE…THE KING IN PURPLE!"

Marvel fans will recognize the sadistic Purple Man (AKA Zebediah Killgrave) as the villain of the first season of Netflix's Jessica Jones streaming series, which seems to have recently become a hot topic of its own thanks to the recent Echo streaming series officially confirming Netflix's Marvel shows as part of the canon MCU.

"I'm always delighted to write a new Venom story in a retro background. With 'Separation Anxiety' as the required theme, the problem became how to do something that's already been done - have Eddie Brock separated from his symbiote ‘other'," Michelinie explains in a statement. "So I thought, what if there was a deeply creepy villain with a decidedly bloodthirsty agenda who was able to take bits of Eddie's symbiote away every time the two touched, with that enemy slowly growing stronger as Venom slowly grew weaker? And that was the nugget that became 'The King In Purple.'"

Venom: Separation Anxiety #1 goes on sale May 15.

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