Queen In Black Reading Order Checklist

Writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman shook up the symbiote mythos with their much-loved Venom run. Their most notable inclusion, by far, was Knull, the god of symbiotes. He was a looming presence throughout the run, culminating in the King of Black comic book event.

Many readers assumed that would be the last we’d see of Knull. However, under the watch of writer Al Ewing, that’s not the case. Knull has returned to reclaim his throne from Thor villain Hela, a.k.a. the Queen in Black.

Find out how it all goes down in the Queen of Black reading order. It includes the recommended reading order with the core series and tie-ins, creative teams, release dates, and advice for background reading.

Venom Volume 1: Rex cover by Ryan Stegman.

Background reading

Do you need to play catch-up on the concepts and characters featured in Queen in Black? Here are a couple of background reading recommendations to help you get caught up.

Donny Cates/Ryan Stegman’s Venom run
Written by Donny Cates. Art by Ryan Stegman and others.

Writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman masterminded a multi-year run on Venom that introduced several concepts introduced in Queen in Black, especially the idea of the King in Black and Knull. It ran through the main Venom title, numerous auxiliary one-shots, and concluded with the King in Black event. It’s worth reading if you want to see how these concepts were introduced and to find out more about Knull.

Check out our reading order to find out how to read it all.

All-New Venom #1-10 and Venom #250-254
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Gómez.

Queen in Black spins out of the events of Al Ewing and Claros Gomez’s Venom comics. Check out these issues if you want to know more about the current Venom status quo with Mary Jane Watson as Venom’s host.

All-New Venom #1-10 is collected in All-New Venom: Who Is All-New Venom? The other Venom issues are yet to be collected.

Build-up to Queen in Black

The following comics set the stage for the Queen in Black comic book event. Check them out if you want to know more about the conditions that led to this massive story.

Venom #250
Written by Al Ewing and Charles Soule. Art by Terry Dodson, Todd Mauck, and Carlos Gomez.

Note: I’ve listed Venom #250 in the Background reading section already. However, I’m listing it here too as it’s the comic that kickstarts the Queen in Black build-up.

Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral
Written by Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, and Charles Soule. Art by Jesus Saiz, Ed McGuiness, Carlos Gomez, and Kev Walker.

Note: Death Spiral is a crossover between Amazing Spider-Man and Venom which has a heavy emphasis on symbiotes. Check out our reading order to find out how to read this event.

Knull #1 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing and Tom Waltz. Art by Juanan Ramírez.

Knull #2 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing and Tom Waltz. Art by Juanan Ramírez.

Knull #3 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing and Tom Waltz. Art by Juanan Ramírez.

Knull #4 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing and Tom Waltz. Art by Juanan Ramírez.

Knull #5 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing and Tom Waltz. Art by Juanan Ramírez.

Venom #258
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Gómez.
Available 20th May

Venom #259
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Gómez.
Available 24th June

Queen in Black #1 cover by Ryan Stegman.

Queen In Black reading order

Check out the recommended reading order for Queen in Black below. It has the core issues, tie-ins, plus their creative teams and release dates.

Amazing Spider-Man/Queen In Black: Comic Book Giveaway Day #1 (Prelude)
Written by Al Ewing, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Joe Kelly. Art by Iban Coello, Nic Klein, and John Romita Jr.
Available 2nd May.

Note: Amazing Spider-Man/Queen In Black #1 is a prelude that will be given away for free in participating comic book shops on 2nd May, 2026.

Queen in Black #1 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Iban Coello
Available 1st July.

Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #1 (of 3) (Tie-in)
Written Tom Waltz. Art by Zé Carlos
Available 8th July.

Venom #260 (Tie-in)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Gómez.
Available 8th July.

Queen in Black: Hela #1 (Tie-in)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Mango.
Available 8th July.

Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #1 (of 3) (Tie-in)
Written by Charles Soule. Art by Juanan Ramírez.
Available 15th July.

Queen in Black #2 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Iban Coello
Available 29th July.

Queen in Black: Thor #1 (Tie-in)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Sergio Davila.
Available 5th August.

Note: Want to understand what’s going on with Thor? Check out Mortal Thor, which is the second act of Al Ewing’s Thor run.

Venom #261 (Tie-in)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Gómez.
Available August.

Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #2 (of 3) (Tie-in)
Written Tom Waltz. Art by Zé Carlos
Available August.

Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #2 (of 3) (Tie-in)
Written by Charles Soule. Art by Juanan Ramírez.
Available August.

Queen in Black #3 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Iban Coello
Available August.

Venom #262 (Tie-in)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Carlos Gómez.
Available September.

Queen in Black #4 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Iban Coello
Available October.

Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark #3 (of 3) (Tie-in)
Written Tom Waltz. Art by Zé Carlos
Available September.

Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #3 (of 3) (Tie-in)
Written by Charles Soule. Art by Juanan Ramírez.
Available September.

Queen in Black #5 (of 5)
Written by Al Ewing. Art by Iban Coello
Available September.

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What about Black Cat: Queen in Black?

You might have seen online or at your local comic book shop a collection titled “Black Cat: Queen in Black” and been a little confused. This is not part of the Queen of Black comic book event. Instead, it collects the Black Cat issues that tied into the King in Black event from a few years ago. Likely, it was unknown that the Queen of Black event would be published in 2026 when that title was chosen.

You do not need to read it to understand the Queen in Black comic book event discussed in this reading order.

After Queen in Black

What will come after Queen in Black? It is too early to tell at the time of writing. Will Venom get a new status quo? Will there be a shake-up of symbiote-centric comics? Time will tell. We’ll likely learn more at San Diego Comic-Con in July.

This section will be updated when Marvel reveals new details.

Have your say

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