Venom First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #300 Value by Grade

Venom first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (cover date May 1988), published by Marvel, by David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane. The source puts it this way: "This features the origin and first full appearance of Venom, a combination of journalist Eddie Brock and a black alien goo that had unsuccessfully tried to bond with Spider-Man.".

PriceCharting values for Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988) by CGC grade, based on recorded sales and updated September 25, 2026:

• CGC 2.0: $162
• CGC 3.0: $203
• CGC 4.0: $298
• CGC 5.0: $301
• CGC 6.0: $362
• CGC 7.0: $373
• CGC 8.0: $455
• CGC 9.0: $554
• CGC 9.2: $585
• CGC 9.4: $725

The spread from CGC 2.0 ($162) to CGC 9.4 ($725) shows how much condition matters on a key issue. Restored, trimmed or incomplete copies sell far below these figures, and reprints and facsimiles (see below) are worth a small fraction. Grade and restoration are confirmed by a grading service such as CGC or CBCS; prices move with the market and the character's popularity.

• Cameo in prior issue (interior story detail): Venom made a cameo appearance on the last page of The Amazing Spider-Man #299 (April 1988), in which he terrorizes Peter Parker's wife, Mary Jane Watson.
• Format / anniversary issue: Amazing Spider-Man #300 combines several notable features — Venom's first full appearance (Eddie Brock as the symbiote), Spider-Man's 25th anniversary, a giant 64-page format, and an iconic black cover by Todd McFarlane.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the issue number, date and publisher; reprints usually say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode format that did not exist in the year printed means a later edition.
• Paper and staples: decades-old newsprint is tan at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and married covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat, straight on, in even light, then the indicia page and the back cover. Include the top edge and staples in one frame. The app reads the title, issue number and cover and matches it against the checks above; the indicia photo settles most reprint questions.

Venom was built up over four years, so different books get called his first appearance. The timeline from Wikipedia:

• The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (May 1984): the alien black costume first appears
• Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 (December 1984): shows Spider-Man first bonding with the symbiote
• Web of Spider-Man #18 (September 1986): only Eddie Brock's hand is seen shoving Peter Parker
• The Amazing Spider-Man #299 (April 1988): Venom's cameo on the last page
• The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988): Venom's first full appearance

PriceCharting prices on September 25, 2026: #252 was $290 in CGC 9.2 and $1,446 in CGC 9.8; #299 was $117 in CGC 9.2 and $495 in CGC 9.8; #300 was $585 in CGC 9.2 and $3,144 in CGC 9.8. The market treats #300 as the key.

Writer David Michelinie first proposed the symbiote bonding with a woman seeking revenge on Spider-Man for the deaths of her husband and her unborn child. Editor Jim Salicrup had him make the character male instead, and the host became Eddie Brock (Wikipedia).

Venom first reached film in Spider-Man 3 (2007), with Topher Grace as Eddie Brock. Tom Hardy played him in Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and Venom: The Last Dance (2024) (Wikipedia).