Black Widow

What a FUN batch of comics today.  All of these read like James Bond stories without the misogyny.  Give Scarlett Johansson her Black Widow movie already!  

 

Black Widow Vol. 1 1-2

This was the first of many Black Widow mini-series.  Devin Grayson and JG Jones introduce Yelena Belova, the new Black Widow, to the Marvel Universe.  Belova is driven to exceed the standards set by Natasha, which naturally leads to conflict between them.

I’m sadly missing the final issue of this series, which is a shame.  I would have liked to read the ending.

Love the body language, how she’s casually propped up in the booth.

Black Widow Vol. 2 1-3

Greg Rucka joins Grayson, and he’s a perfect fit for a Black Widow story.  He does spy stories extremely well, as evidenced in both this arc and his superb Queen and Country series.  It’s basically Face/Off, as Natasha swaps faces with Yelena in a tough love attempt to show her the true nature of the job.  It’s a rampant mindfuck for the new Widow, and it’s delicious to read.

Scott Hampton does the painted art, which I initially found to be an odd choice for an straight up spy plot.  But then on second thought, it fits perfectly with the confusion in Yelena’s mind as she struggles to cling to her identity and make sense of what’s going on around her.  Everything’s hazy, nothing’s truly defined, and reality itself must seem like a questionable thing to her.

Lovely.

Not related at all, but I found this which searching for the previous image, and it's just so pretty.  Also by Scott Hampton.

Black Widow: Pale Little Spider 1-3

Yelena investigates the murder of her training instructor in the depths of a BSDM club.  She’s forced to confront some unpleasant truths about both her teacher and herself.  Rucka handles the writing without Grayson.  The unconventional location and subject matter is handled respectfully (I thought), and makes for story not usually found under the Marvel banner.  (Yay for the MAX imprint!)

Black Widow Vol. 3 1-2

I only have the first third of this mini.  Bill Sienkiewicz on art!  It gets off to a fun start, and I don’t know why I stopped following it.  I’ll keep an eye out for it in the back issue bins.

(For all the issues)

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice