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A review by mcacev
Black Widow, Vol. 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmondson
3.0
I have never been a particular fan of Black Widow as an avenger or superhero, but stories that deal with her as an antihero or spy are my jam. Appropriately, The Finely Woven Thread does precisely that.
In this vol, we follow Natasha on a series of loosely connected cases throughout the globe, as she tries to atone for her past work. The cases range from breaking war criminals out of Argentinian prisons, to assassinating Russian mobsters in Berlin. The last 3 issues starts an ongoing story-line, in which Natasha and SHIELD go against a mysterious organization called Chaos, which is targeting Eastern European ambassadors.
Nathan Edmondson writes very atmospheric stories that are light on dialogue, but heavy on mood and tone. Natasha's life is presented as dangerous yet strangely routine and isolating. He makes a point about how working for an intelligence agency is mundane, all about gathering intel and observing patterns. While Natasha does face off against some pretty intimidating people in this volume, they are a far cry from alien invasions or superviallins, but they place her where she's best at; the spy game, facing off against other spies, criminals, and terrorists. Edmondson has a decent grasp on Natasha's character; she is dower and melancholy, but not humorless. She cares about people and doing the right thing even if she's unwilling to open up and get close to anyone, not even the stray cat she occasionally feeds, or Isaiah who is her accountant. There are moments of levity and humor but they are few and far in between what is mostly spy action, almost to the point where I forgot this takes place in the same universe that regularly gets attacked by Skrulls.
I have two main issues with the storytelling. First, because most of these are standalone stories by issue, the plots aren't very interesting by themselves. The closest we get is the Butcher of Argentina one, but even that one feels like a side mission from Metal Gear 3, except with Natasha as Big Boss. Spy thrillers live and die on their plots, and none of the plots here are interesting. Additionally, Edmondson doesn't really present Natasha as a capable spy or operative. In almost all of the stories, especially when we get into the Chaos plot, she either fails her objective, gets people killed, or the person she's after runs away. This is especially prominent in the Chaos part, because Edmondson is under the impression that purposefully withholding answers = mystery, so we get no answers and Natasha repeatedly fails to accomplish or find anything out. We are also introduced to Molot Boga and Damon Dran (who I had to google to see he was an old enemy of Natasha and Matt). There needs to be some sort of emotional impact, but I felt none for either of these villains, and because of that, no real terror of Chaos. Essentially, been there, done that, especially withe recent Hydra plots in the comics and films.
As for the characters, they are all fine. I like that Natasha works with Hill and Tori Raven, but the way they are written might as well be the same person. Isiah is ok, but all of his conversations have been about money. Yes, he's an accountant, but ffs, he can be a little less one note.
The art by Phil Noto is gorgeous as always, and he does a lot to make this comic stand out. I doubt t would have been nearly as successful and well received if someone else did the art. He plays around with style and colors in different sections and makes Natasha feel like a real person. The one issue I did have is that in the scene on the boat, where Natasha gets beaten to a pulp, she still looks pristine in the following panels. I don't know it this was simple oversight or purposeful, but Atomic Blonde showed how powerful and amazing women can still look despite being battered by hard fights like the one Natasha goes through (and David Aja does that superbly in Hawkeye).
All in all, I like this volume less on this reread. I think when I read it it was such a breath f fresh air, but now that I've read much better written characters and stories, I recommend this slightly less.
In this vol, we follow Natasha on a series of loosely connected cases throughout the globe, as she tries to atone for her past work. The cases range from breaking war criminals out of Argentinian prisons, to assassinating Russian mobsters in Berlin. The last 3 issues starts an ongoing story-line, in which Natasha and SHIELD go against a mysterious organization called Chaos, which is targeting Eastern European ambassadors.
Nathan Edmondson writes very atmospheric stories that are light on dialogue, but heavy on mood and tone. Natasha's life is presented as dangerous yet strangely routine and isolating. He makes a point about how working for an intelligence agency is mundane, all about gathering intel and observing patterns. While Natasha does face off against some pretty intimidating people in this volume, they are a far cry from alien invasions or superviallins, but they place her where she's best at; the spy game, facing off against other spies, criminals, and terrorists. Edmondson has a decent grasp on Natasha's character; she is dower and melancholy, but not humorless. She cares about people and doing the right thing even if she's unwilling to open up and get close to anyone, not even the stray cat she occasionally feeds, or Isaiah who is her accountant. There are moments of levity and humor but they are few and far in between what is mostly spy action, almost to the point where I forgot this takes place in the same universe that regularly gets attacked by Skrulls.
I have two main issues with the storytelling. First, because most of these are standalone stories by issue, the plots aren't very interesting by themselves. The closest we get is the Butcher of Argentina one, but even that one feels like a side mission from Metal Gear 3, except with Natasha as Big Boss. Spy thrillers live and die on their plots, and none of the plots here are interesting. Additionally, Edmondson doesn't really present Natasha as a capable spy or operative. In almost all of the stories, especially when we get into the Chaos plot, she either fails her objective, gets people killed, or the person she's after runs away. This is especially prominent in the Chaos part, because Edmondson is under the impression that purposefully withholding answers = mystery, so we get no answers and Natasha repeatedly fails to accomplish or find anything out. We are also introduced to Molot Boga and Damon Dran (who I had to google to see he was an old enemy of Natasha and Matt). There needs to be some sort of emotional impact, but I felt none for either of these villains, and because of that, no real terror of Chaos. Essentially, been there, done that, especially withe recent Hydra plots in the comics and films.
As for the characters, they are all fine. I like that Natasha works with Hill and Tori Raven, but the way they are written might as well be the same person. Isiah is ok, but all of his conversations have been about money. Yes, he's an accountant, but ffs, he can be a little less one note.
The art by Phil Noto is gorgeous as always, and he does a lot to make this comic stand out. I doubt t would have been nearly as successful and well received if someone else did the art. He plays around with style and colors in different sections and makes Natasha feel like a real person. The one issue I did have is that in the scene on the boat, where Natasha gets beaten to a pulp, she still looks pristine in the following panels. I don't know it this was simple oversight or purposeful, but Atomic Blonde showed how powerful and amazing women can still look despite being battered by hard fights like the one Natasha goes through (and David Aja does that superbly in Hawkeye).
All in all, I like this volume less on this reread. I think when I read it it was such a breath f fresh air, but now that I've read much better written characters and stories, I recommend this slightly less.