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A review by tsana
Black Widow, Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmondson
5.0
Black Widow Vol 1: The Finely Woven Thread written by Nathan Edmondson and illustrated by Phil Noto is the first volume of the pre-Secret Wars run of Black Widow. I put off getting around to this series for a while because I don't have particularly strong feelings about Black Widow from either the movies or appearances in other comics. And because Russian characters are usually quite poorly done. Happily, this was not the case with this Black Widow run.
Of one the first things that struck me was the art style of this issue. A lot of it is done in a more painted style compared with the bold colours and clean lines of many superhero comics. It suits the somewhat darker mood of this comic — Natasha trying to redress the wrongs of her past — and, best of all, doesn't feature icky objectification. Whoo!
The story, as I said, focuses on Natasha's desire to redress the wrongs she committed as a Soviet spy. However, nothing is ever simple and her side missions quickly devolve into conspiracy and supervillains. The this issue contains a complete story arc, but one that ends with several unresolved threads. I look forward to picking up the story in the next volume. Also, Natasha has a cat, as every good superhero should. This was one of the things that hooked me when I read the first issue (originally by itself when it was a freebie).
In many ways, this Black Widow run reminds me of the Matt Fraction Hawkeye run, in that it's mainly about what the protagonist does when she's not being an Avenger (but still sometimes being a SHIELD agent). I would hence recommend it to fans of that Hawkeye series as well as, obviously, fans of the Black Widow character, either in comics or in the movies. As far as I can tell, the storyline so far is not (very) incompatible with the MCU, in case that makes a difference. I will definitely be reading the next (two) volumes.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
Of one the first things that struck me was the art style of this issue. A lot of it is done in a more painted style compared with the bold colours and clean lines of many superhero comics. It suits the somewhat darker mood of this comic — Natasha trying to redress the wrongs of her past — and, best of all, doesn't feature icky objectification. Whoo!
The story, as I said, focuses on Natasha's desire to redress the wrongs she committed as a Soviet spy. However, nothing is ever simple and her side missions quickly devolve into conspiracy and supervillains. The this issue contains a complete story arc, but one that ends with several unresolved threads. I look forward to picking up the story in the next volume. Also, Natasha has a cat, as every good superhero should. This was one of the things that hooked me when I read the first issue (originally by itself when it was a freebie).
In many ways, this Black Widow run reminds me of the Matt Fraction Hawkeye run, in that it's mainly about what the protagonist does when she's not being an Avenger (but still sometimes being a SHIELD agent). I would hence recommend it to fans of that Hawkeye series as well as, obviously, fans of the Black Widow character, either in comics or in the movies. As far as I can tell, the storyline so far is not (very) incompatible with the MCU, in case that makes a difference. I will definitely be reading the next (two) volumes.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.