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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
The art is wonderful but the story is severely lacking unfortunately. There is a pretty cute Hawkeye reference though.
This was another great library find. I’ve been wanting to read this for ages, so I knew luck was in my favor when I saw it sitting on the shelf.
I’m sure we all know Black Widow from The Avengers, but who is she when she’s not fighting crime with that big group of heroes? Well, this comic collection gives us a little insight of how she fights crime on her own, but not much of her backstory. It’s all still a mystery. However, in this comic we do get to see how Natasha Romanoff spends her free time. Does she push people away too much? Is she happy with her solitary life? Will she ever let that cat that comes to her door every night inside? Find out in this all new Marvel Now! Comic.
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the mystery it had and all the ideas that were left open ended (I’m sure for the future comics). The writing and illustrations worked well together. Edmondson and Noto make a brilliant team to weave the story of this spider’s thread. I have nothing bad to say about this story.
But, I also don’t have much to rave about either. I did feel this comic collection was worth the 4 stars I gave it; I just felt like it was missing a little something, so I couldn’t give it a full 5 stars. I’m not sure what it is I felt the story was lacking. It was just something. Something small that could have been there to take this story to the next level.
Given the fact that I have nothing negative to say about this story, but nothing fantastic to rave about, it seems like this review is coming to a very short end. I wish I could say more, but it happens. I liked the story. I would definitely recommend it. And, I will absolutely be reading more about Ms. Romanoff. I enjoyed this comic and thought it was no doubt worth the read. Pick it up for sure if you love Marvel, especially Black Widow.
Oh that reminds me.
I do have one more thing to say.
Where’s my Black Widow movie Marvel? Huh, huh, huh. Where is it?!
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.
Review of Black Widow, Vol. 2: The Tightly Tangled Web
Review of Black Widow, Vol. 3: Last Days
I’m sure we all know Black Widow from The Avengers, but who is she when she’s not fighting crime with that big group of heroes? Well, this comic collection gives us a little insight of how she fights crime on her own, but not much of her backstory. It’s all still a mystery. However, in this comic we do get to see how Natasha Romanoff spends her free time. Does she push people away too much? Is she happy with her solitary life? Will she ever let that cat that comes to her door every night inside? Find out in this all new Marvel Now! Comic.
I really enjoyed this story. I liked the mystery it had and all the ideas that were left open ended (I’m sure for the future comics). The writing and illustrations worked well together. Edmondson and Noto make a brilliant team to weave the story of this spider’s thread. I have nothing bad to say about this story.
But, I also don’t have much to rave about either. I did feel this comic collection was worth the 4 stars I gave it; I just felt like it was missing a little something, so I couldn’t give it a full 5 stars. I’m not sure what it is I felt the story was lacking. It was just something. Something small that could have been there to take this story to the next level.
Given the fact that I have nothing negative to say about this story, but nothing fantastic to rave about, it seems like this review is coming to a very short end. I wish I could say more, but it happens. I liked the story. I would definitely recommend it. And, I will absolutely be reading more about Ms. Romanoff. I enjoyed this comic and thought it was no doubt worth the read. Pick it up for sure if you love Marvel, especially Black Widow.
Oh that reminds me.
I do have one more thing to say.
Where’s my Black Widow movie Marvel? Huh, huh, huh. Where is it?!
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.
Review of Black Widow, Vol. 2: The Tightly Tangled Web
Review of Black Widow, Vol. 3: Last Days
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been dying to read some Black Widow comics since getting into Marvel, and I finally picked this up, having heard good things about the art and nothing about the story. I was deeply underwhelmed. This comic brings nothing new to Natasha Romanov, and I don't mean background or story, I mean her as a character. Black Widow fell incredibly flat, held up largely by the art, but not at all from the story.
This was clearly written by a man who was trying very hard to write a "Strong Female Character" without knowing that this comes second to a "Human/Complex Female Character." There is even a completely out-of-nowhere scene where Natasha beats up a domestic abuser which feels completely random and contrived, the cherry on top of this trying-hard-to-be-feminist-but-failing sundae. I do not plan to continue with Edmondson's work.
This was clearly written by a man who was trying very hard to write a "Strong Female Character" without knowing that this comes second to a "Human/Complex Female Character." There is even a completely out-of-nowhere scene where Natasha beats up a domestic abuser which feels completely random and contrived, the cherry on top of this trying-hard-to-be-feminist-but-failing sundae. I do not plan to continue with Edmondson's work.
It's great to see Natasha in a solo title! The artwork is good, the fight scenes are well-executed, and it's the start of something big for Widow and SHIELD.
Great collection of 'Black Widow' stories. I only really know Natasha from the movies and her cameos in other Avengers comics so it was great to read her adventures on her own.
funny
4.5/5. Really, really great stuff. I've been meaning to get my hands on this for a while, and after reading the first three issues of the current Black Widow series and absolutely loving them, this shot up to the top of my list. And it's great. Not particularly amazing or anything, but just really enjoyable.
Also, the art is amazingly fantastic. So, so great.
Also, the art is amazingly fantastic. So, so great.
Nathanson's writing is great, but the real star of this comic is Phil Noto's art. Noto's Natasha is one of the best I've ever seen, both humanising and super-heroic, and really ties together the story. It's rare to find a comic with both good art and a good story, but this is definitely one of the few.
Although the artwork is gorgeous, the story is merely okay. 4 stars for the art, 2 for the writing.
There is quite a bit of spinning of wheels plot-wise and chasing from one place to another. What I really didn't care for was the fact Black Widow just comes across as incompetent. She makes mistake after mistake after mistake -- in one section she actually numbers them -- which would be fine if she were a rookie spy/hero, but she's not.
This is her after years of fieldwork with an extensive web of informants and allies (and there are a few too many attempts at web-based jests here), and she's trying to atone for her past misdeeds by donating to unspecified charities the money she gets from mercenary contracts. It kind of feels like Edmondson has based this entire take of the character on the line from The Avengers movie, "I've got red in my ledger and I'd like to wipe it out." To which Loki replies, "Can you? Can you erase that much red? Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing with red."
Thing is, this story has been done recently with better results. Brian Michael Bendis' Spider Woman comic, the Iron Fist and Hawkeye reboots, just to name a few. The art is even reminiscent of those books.
There are also things like the stray cat Natasha keeps denying entry into her apartment until she learns a lesson about letting others into our life (shades of Hawkeye and the stray dog), to share the good times and bad, and the fact she gets severely beaten by goons and is really close to a couple explosions but recovers in a very Wolverine-like way. Her arm is broken, for instance, but it literally never slows her down, and it's seemingly forgotten about.
But really, the ultimate problem is that Natasha just isn't good at her job. That's no fun to read. It's always more interesting to see a competent protagonist foiled at every turn by an equally competent antagonist, until the hero eventually wins out.
There is quite a bit of spinning of wheels plot-wise and chasing from one place to another. What I really didn't care for was the fact Black Widow just comes across as incompetent. She makes mistake after mistake after mistake -- in one section she actually numbers them -- which would be fine if she were a rookie spy/hero, but she's not.
This is her after years of fieldwork with an extensive web of informants and allies (and there are a few too many attempts at web-based jests here), and she's trying to atone for her past misdeeds by donating to unspecified charities the money she gets from mercenary contracts. It kind of feels like Edmondson has based this entire take of the character on the line from The Avengers movie, "I've got red in my ledger and I'd like to wipe it out." To which Loki replies, "Can you? Can you erase that much red? Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing with red."
Thing is, this story has been done recently with better results. Brian Michael Bendis' Spider Woman comic, the Iron Fist and Hawkeye reboots, just to name a few. The art is even reminiscent of those books.
There are also things like the stray cat Natasha keeps denying entry into her apartment until she learns a lesson about letting others into our life (shades of Hawkeye and the stray dog), to share the good times and bad, and the fact she gets severely beaten by goons and is really close to a couple explosions but recovers in a very Wolverine-like way. Her arm is broken, for instance, but it literally never slows her down, and it's seemingly forgotten about.
But really, the ultimate problem is that Natasha just isn't good at her job. That's no fun to read. It's always more interesting to see a competent protagonist foiled at every turn by an equally competent antagonist, until the hero eventually wins out.