We had semi-predicted this as happening back in February, but Marvel’s Next Big Thing press call confirms it: Cullen Bunn will be taking over for Rick Remender in August starting with #23. Remender’s last solo issue of his run will be #22 with Declan Shalvey on art and a Tony Moore cover, and with #23 Bunn goes solo with Thony Silas on art. Thony and Declan will rotate art duties from there.
Bunn’s first arc will deal with fallout from the Bunn written mini “Fear Itself: The Fearless,” and will feature more screen time for Daimon Hellstrom. It will also deal with a connection fostered between Venom and Hellstrom during the ‘Circle of Fear’ arc, with Hellstrom’s betrayal in “Fearless” somewhat being tied to that. “Coming out of Savage Six, Venom is looking down the barrel of a lot of changes,” said Bunn during the call. “For the first time he’s making a conscious decision that he wants to be a hero. The problem is not a lot of people trust him and he doesn’t really trust himself. He’s on a short leash.”
Rememnder notes that he got to do 92% of the stories he wanted to do with the character, but he will still be writing him in “Secret Avengers” so they may still happen somehow. Remender and Bunn will also work together to make sure that Flash’s story remains consistent.
It was noted that Bunn and Slott have also been talking to coordinate Venom and Spider-Man, and there were an additional hints that Venom would have a run in with Scarlet Spider.
