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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
More about 3.5 stars.
First off, Phil Noto makes everything beautiful. I'm into everything about how this book looks.
But the story just isn't grabbing me. I'm enjoying it but I'm not invested. I think it's relying too heavily on trying to do a mission each issue, and it just doesn't have enough going on. I think this is starting to change with later issues, though, so I'm holding on.
First off, Phil Noto makes everything beautiful. I'm into everything about how this book looks.
But the story just isn't grabbing me. I'm enjoying it but I'm not invested. I think it's relying too heavily on trying to do a mission each issue, and it just doesn't have enough going on. I think this is starting to change with later issues, though, so I'm holding on.
This book is 95% awesomeness and 5% melodramatic monologuing about the nature of home and atonement. In other words, par for the course for a tortured backstory hero like the Black Widow. Plus really gorgeous art, a female super(anti)hero who actually dresses practically, and a couple hilarious nods to Fraction's Hawkeye. Win-win-win.
I loved the whole thing. Favourites:
- Liho the cat. The idea of Natasha opening up to a sweet lil' kitten was so great! I hope we get to see more of Liho.
- Natasha helping Ana out. (Secretly, Nat's a good person.)
- The non-sexualizing! Black Widow has been over-sexualized in the past, and I appreciated the practicality of her outfit, and how totally non-sexual it was. Talk about good artistry!
Everything was so great, I don't even have words. If you've never picked up a Black Widow comic, I would definitely start here. This sets the gold standard!
- Liho the cat. The idea of Natasha opening up to a sweet lil' kitten was so great! I hope we get to see more of Liho.
- Natasha helping Ana out. (Secretly, Nat's a good person.)
- The non-sexualizing! Black Widow has been over-sexualized in the past, and I appreciated the practicality of her outfit, and how totally non-sexual it was. Talk about good artistry!
Everything was so great, I don't even have words. If you've never picked up a Black Widow comic, I would definitely start here. This sets the gold standard!
This book is basically Natasha's hit list for SHIELD, one right after the other. I think I would've preferred an origin story or something that related more to her personal life, although I guess she doesn't really have one. I think it's interesting for as good as she is, she's so full of self-doubt and hatred for her past and it's interesting how she actually still kills people (though tries not to) in order to pay back all that she's done in Russia. The art style wasn't what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it. I would've preferred a continous story rather than little trips here and there so I could understand it more, but I still really liked it and will continue!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The art is simply gorgeous, but the writing is occasionally immature and often — dare I say it — boring. While I do feel that Edmondson respects Natasha, I was still left with the impression of this being a story about a woman written by a man. An attempt was made, but it still fell short of the mark. I do intend to continue the series, since I want to support female-led titles, and I'm looking forward to upcoming guest appearances by certain characters. Hopefully this will give the story a little oomph and the novelty of writing Natasha will have evened out a little in the telling of it.
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced