Venom: Funeral Pyre — Series Overview

Venom: Funeral Pyre is a 1993 Marvel Comics limited series written by Carl Potts, penciled by Tom Lyle, and featuring Venom (Eddie Brock) and the Punisher (Frank Castle) in a high-stakes urban crime story.

Plot Summary

Issue #1 – “Part One: Turning on the Heat”
In Oakland, California, undercover reporter Gray Russell is deep undercover with the violent Jadoo street gang. After witnessing a gang beating and helping a boy escape a deadly chase, Russell brings the boy to the Underground City of homeless people beneath San Francisco, where Venom lives. The boy’s uncle, Calvin, has been targeted for a drive-by shooting. Venom, feeling a sense of kinship with Russell, agrees to help. Meanwhile, the Punisher is tracking the Jadoo after a police bulletin about their murder. The story sets up the tension between Venom’s vigilante justice and the Punisher’s law-and-order code  

Issue #2 – “Part Two: High Tension”
Russell is forced to carry out a drive-by shooting to protect his cover, but the mission goes wrong. Venom is trapped in a locked doorway, being bombarded by the Punisher’s sonic weapon. Using his symbiote, Venom disables the Punisher’s van and frees himself. He and the Punisher split up to hunt the Jadoo, with Venom saving the Punisher from a shotgun blast. The Punisher agrees to spare Russell. The Jadoo return to their hideout, where Russell hides in a Hydra lab he was investigating. Venom and the Punisher storm the hideout, slaughtering the gang member