A primordial evil has been awakened beneath the streets of New York City, and with it, something equally evil has awakened in that most Wicked of Webslingers. On stands now, writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman‘s VENOM #1 has launched a groundbreaking new era for the symbiote.

Watch the exclusive interview above, as Cates teases this strange and exceptionally toxic chapter for Venom and Eddie Brock. “Something’s happening to the symbiote that terrifies him. It’s starting to speak in this other language that Eddie can’t understand and it’s driving him insane,” he explains. “The symbiote is starting to be very cruel and it’s starting to kind of operate without Eddie’s consent.”

Much like Eddie Brock, the writer himself has been empowered by the vicious might of the symbiote. “I’ve been let off the leash on this thing,” he says, “and I’m kind of going ballistic.”

Get VENOM #1, by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, at your local comic shop or online right now!