By Robin Jones
Written by Nathan Edmondson
Art/Colours by Phil Noto
Marvel’s All New NOW titles are continuing their march towards comic book domination, and where better to start a new series than with that red haired, bad-ass ex KGB agent Black Widow. With the success of Scarlett Johanson as Ms Natasha Romanov in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it stands to reason that Marvel would want to capitalise. therefore, it comes as no surprise that they have released Black Widow #1.
Following in the footsteps of the highly successful Hawkeye, we follow the exploits of Natasha Romanov during her “Downtime”, when she’s not being a covert operative for S.H.I.E.L.D or fully fledged member of the Avengers. Unlike Agent Barton though, Romanov’s motivation is atonement for her past and tackling the demons within. Edmondson deals nicely with the Widow’s past, weaving several fake histories into the narrative and giving precedence to the fact that this is about the here and now. Romanov states “no one will ever know my full story” and Edmondson’s writing reflects this, keeping the focus on that fact that whilst influenced by her past, this story will not be controlled by it.
The book isn’t light on action and espionage, with Romanov dealing with several high intensity situations and double bluffing her way through them, utilising her reputation and turning expected outcomes on their heads. Her motivation and the puzzle of just who Romanov is make up the bulk of the story, but there are several attempts at humour throughout, however, sometimes this falls flat on its face. At one point, a henchman repeatedly says the words “gets” instead of “get”, whilst I understand that this is a play on the old stereotype of gangsters, it gets irritating due to how rapidly it’s repeated. Natasha’s handler and financial adviser is a character known as Isaiah, who is meant to provide us with how the “average” character sees Natasha. This just seems to bring him across as callous and money driven, suggesting that Romanov do more and more “hits” to help increase the size of her trust funds. I know he’s meant to be the Q to her 007, but again it falls short.
Phil Noto’s art is solid and elegant. From his all out action sequences to the nicely handled back-story sequences, which drip with film-noir nuances and a cinematic style, Noto’s art stands out from most other comics that are out there. He pays a fine attention to detail, beatifully crafting each panel and his washed out, dulled down colours lend weight to the comics overall tone.
Whilst packing a strong punch and having many things going for it, Black Widow #1 unlike it’s protagonist, was slightly off target. I’m sure with later issues the precision of the writing and the humour will become slicker as it forges an identity for itself in the new Marvel world order, but for now, the comic comes off as a Hawkeye wannabe, a pretender to Fraction and Aja’s crown. Keeping the noir undertone, the quest for attonement and focus on Romanov’s present will all help in expediting this. For now though, stick to Hawkguy.
I give this 5 out of 10
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Posted on January 18th, 2014
Category: PULP FRICTION, REVIEWS
Tags: avengers, Black Widow, Hawkeye, marvel comics, Natasha Romanov, Nathan Edmondson, Phil Noto, Robin Jones, Scarlett Johanson