Black Widow #1 – Review

by Nathan Edmondson (Writer), Phil Noto (Artist)

The Story: Natasha Romanoff tells us a bit about herself and what she does when she isn’t with S.H.I.E.L.D. or with the Avengers.

The Review: I almost didn’t buy this book. I had close to no real intention of ever reading this thing at first, but then I remembered I had made the resolution to try out new things for 2014. With close to no expectation except perhaps a bit of espionage action, I went out to buy the book to at least give this title a chance.

Black Widow, as a character, is not one I’m exactly terribly fond of, as cool as she was in the Avengers movie. Perhaps it’s the fact that she does not seem as cool as other members of every team she was in or the fact that I could not remove the fact that she has been mostly used as either a double-agent or an over-sexualized character in other titles, I was never that huge a fan of her.

Still, reading this issue, I was pleasantly surprised as the take of Nathan Edmondson takes c page out of Matt Fraction’s book, with a certain angle that is not dissimilar to Hawkeye, yet goes in a different way all the same. What does Black Widow do when she isn’t with any iteration of the Avengers? With a quick done in one tale, the writer demonstrates just who the character is and what she does quite aptly, although he does some mistake in the process.

Right off the bat, an area he succeeds mostly is in writing Natasha Romanoff, who comes not only as a seriously competent spy and protagonists, but Edmondson also gets what differentiates her from super heroes and other such characters in the Marvel universe. Her modus operandi, her motivations and the general mystery around her are all preserved, giving us a complex character without destroying what came before nor losing any person that wants to discover the character for themselves. Perhaps the only thing that is perhaps a bit too much he does with her is get a page in which he shows that Natasha is normal like everyone else, chilling with a wine glass and cat, something that is becoming perhaps a bit atypical for female characters nowadays.

Still, another area he succeeds in is with the plot, as the story is told quickly and efficiently, balancing action, exposition and characterization without rushing too much of anything. Playing with the more manipulative side of the character, Edmondson manages to surprise readers as the espionage side of the character is pushed forward to present the motivation of Black Widow. Perhaps the only weak spot in that aspect is the fact that the actual story could have benefitted from some more pages, as the introduction in the opening of the book, as efficient as it is, do retract from some of the possibilities in the second half that could have been welcome.

Still, one of the most divisive aspect of the book would be Phil Noto on art, as his rather rough style is on full display here, with his unfinished lines and his approach to precise details being either beautiful or ugly depending on the mileage of the reader. Despite this controversial aspect of his art, Noto is fully able to convey a great sense of dynamism to this issue thanks to an inventive and downright great panel layout, with a sense of motion and progression being implanted very well in the issue. With an economy of elements and details in the background, he is able to convey the right atmosphere, pushing forth the essential aspects of every panel to make them clear and concise without making them feel empty. Where he loses some points, however, is with facial expressions and the lack of precision on several aspects in the background. While the emotions are properly conveyed and diversified up close, Noto seems to have a certain trouble in doing so to characters that are just a bit farther away, which does not help in some scenes.

What does help tremendously in this issue is the colorization, also done by Phil Noto. With a very rough approach, yet one that is visceral and spot-on in terms of tones, the emotions and the general themes around the character and the action are portrayed very well. With a certain dirty and messy approach to colors, Noto is able to push forth the own ambiguity and the own morality of the character aptly, with just enough diversity to render it beautiful, yet not so that it divert from the reality of the character. There is an emphasis on warm and dull colors in the second half of the book, with the first and some of the later scenes focusing instead on clear-cut contrasts of warm and cold that manages to push forth the duality of Natasha Romanoff and the situations she is in that makes this book deceptively simple in terms of colors. It’s quite fitting and it is beautiful to look at, simply put.

The Conclusion: There may be some small problems in terms of division of the plot and the art may not be for everyone, yet the generally great handle on Natasha Romanoff, the direction and the colorization shows a lot of potential. A very nice first issue that hits a good number of right notes that opens up a potentially bright future for the Black Widow.

Grade: B

Hugo Robberts Larivière