Your Best of Black Widow Collected

[sungila]

Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto's "Black Widow" has made me a fan. I have almost no experience with Avengers titles or BW comics from the past. There are some 'Best of' lists on the net from various sites - but I have more faith in the fanbase and was hoping to hear from folks here about which Black Widow trade collections are the best for a newbie.

[Mockingbird]

Black Widow: The Name of the Rose is by far my favourite Black Widow trade. Such a great story, gorgeous art as well.

Black Widow: The Itsy Bitsy Spider collects the stories with Yelena, which are my other favourites.

[JimRaynor55]

The Name of the Rose (the first arc of her short lived 2010 ongoing) is without a doubt the one Natasha story you should read. A key part of it rests on the weird retcon that Natasha's actually over 80 years old due to a special serum she got from the Soviets, but aside from that, the story largely stands on it's own. The art is terrific and the writing sophisticated and poetic. You really get a sense of what is great about this character after reading it.

I enjoyed the four Black Widow miniseries from the late 90s to mid 2000s, which comprise a large portion if her published solo issues. They're not perfect but they have some interesting observations on her character. Itsy Bitsy Spider/Breakdown introduce the second BW Yelena Belova, one of the closest things Natasha has to a well known adversary from the comics. Homecoming/The Things They Say About Her are a much grittier and more amoral portrayal of her. They were too dark IMO, but they're a decent and interesting read. Word of warning though: those last two are only nebulously in continuity, and are part of an intended trilogy that was never finished. I don't expect them to ever be wrapped up for real.

One nice and accessible BW story that people don't really talk about is issue #61-64 of the 1998 Daredevil series by Brian Michael Bendis (simply titled "The Widow"). It's a standalone story so you don't need to have read any of the previous DD issues to understand it, I sure didn't. The arc is extremely simple and low key, and also very lighthearted for what I understand to be a rather dark series. The first few pages explain everything you need to know going in, although you might consider this to be spoilers for DD if you care to read through that series. You quickly get a feeling for DD and his corner of the world, but this is really Natasha's story. The very end might be jarring though, since unlike the bulk of the arc, it relies on previous continuity (Google up Avengers #43-44 from way back in the 1960s if you find yourself confused).

You could find most of the above in trade format, although you read them all more easily and cheaply if you just buy them digitally or get a Marvel Unlimited account.

[sungila]

Black Widow: The Name of the Rose is by far my favourite Black Widow trade. Such a great story, gorgeous art as well.

Black Widow: The Itsy Bitsy Spider collects the stories with Yelena, which are my other favourites.

The Name of the Rose (the first arc of her short lived 2010 ongoing) is without a doubt the one Natasha story you should read. A key part of it rests on the weird retcon that Natasha's actually over 80 years old due to a special serum she got from the Soviets, but aside from that, the story largely stands on it's own. The art is terrific and the writing sophisticated and poetic. You really get a sense of what is great about this character after reading it.

I enjoyed the four Black Widow miniseries from the late 90s to mid 2000s, which comprise a large portion if her published solo issues. They're not perfect but they have some interesting observations on her character. Itsy Bitsy Spider/Breakdown introduce the second BW Yelena Belova, one of the closest things Natasha has to a well known adversary from the comics. Homecoming/The Things They Say About Her are a much grittier and more amoral portrayal of her. They were too dark IMO, but they're a decent and interesting read. Word of warning though: those last two are only nebulously in continuity, and are part of an intended trilogy that was never finished. I don't expect them to ever be wrapped up for real.

One nice and accessible BW story that people don't really talk about is issue #61-64 of the 1998 Daredevil series by Brian Michael Bendis (simply titled "The Widow"). It's a standalone story so you don't need to have read any of the previous DD issues to understand it, I sure didn't. The arc is extremely simple and low key, and also very lighthearted for what I understand to be a rather dark series. The first few pages explain everything you need to know going in, although you might consider this to be spoilers for DD if you care to read through that series. You quickly get a feeling for DD and his corner of the world, but this is really Natasha's story. The very end might be jarring though, since unlike the bulk of the arc, it relies on previous continuity (Google up Avengers #43-44 from way back in the 1960s if you find yourself confused).

You could find most of the above in trade format, although you read them all more easily and cheaply if you just buy them digitally or get a Marvel Unlimited account.

Thank you both very much for these suggestions. I was able to find the bulk of them in trade for reasonable prices and look forward to reading them all.
From the descriptions Black Widow is far from a stock character and it'll be exciting to experience how she's inspired this talented pool of writers and artists.

I was really excited to find Marjorie Liu, Bill Sienkiewicz & Daniel Acuña amongst your suggestions. Grayson and Morgan will be new to me.

I also found books by Duane Swierczynski 'Kiss or Kill' and Paul Cornell 'Deadly Origin' that look great.

I'll make sure to check out the Daredevil 'Widow' by BMB when I place my next order for back issues.

spasibo comrades

[Winterboy]

BW: Homecoming is my favorite.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=4251

[victorxd1999]

Oh, and you might like the Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection in which Black Widow has a big role

[FanboyStranger]

There's a HC called Web of Intrigue that collects some great older Black Widow stories, including George Perez' three-parter from Marvel Fanfare.

[Hrist]

I have a list of my recs at my blog, many of which have already been mentioned in this thread

Oh, and you might like the Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection in which Black Widow has a big role

Winter Soldier: Ultimate Collection is just Captain America v5 1-14, before Natasha shows up in Brubaker's Captain America run. I think that whole saga is worth picking up for the Natasha fan, especially since it hits on some of the themes and mood of the current BW run, but she doesn't show up until midway through.

[sungila]

I have a list of my recs at my blog, many of which have already been mentioned in this thread
Winter Soldier: Ultimate Collection is just Captain America v5 1-14, before Natasha shows up in Brubaker's Captain America run. I think that whole saga is worth picking up for the Natasha fan, especially since it hits on some of the themes and mood of the current BW run, but she doesn't show up until midway through.

WOW Hrist! I read through your suggested reading list - made a few orders and just now finished reading your 'Natasha Walks out of the Fridge' article. You've provided an insightful and important resource for Black Widow fans which I'll be visiting often. Thank you.

[sungila]

Oh, and you might like the Winter Soldier Ultimate Collection in which Black Widow has a big role

There's a HC called Web of Intrigue that collects some great older Black Widow stories, including George Perez' three-parter from Marvel Fanfare.

These will have to go in my second round of readings but I will definately be checking them out. Thank you.

Any thoughts on Warren Ellis' Black Widow from Secret Avengers? Is issue #20 a stand-alone or is the whole arc essential?

[Winterboy]

I have a list of my recs at my blog, many of which have already been mentioned in this thread

I love your blog!

Some of my favorite tales...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RSRcqWuIpN...tive+guide.JPG

[THE KZA]

Black Widow: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Black Widow: The Name of the Rose

these 2 are my favorite Widow stories

[Hrist]

WOW Hrist! I read through your suggested reading list - made a few orders and just now finished reading your 'Natasha Walks out of the Fridge' article. You've provided an insightful and important resource for Black Widow fans which I'll be visiting often. Thank you.

Thank you for saying such nice things!

Any thoughts on Warren Ellis' Black Widow from Secret Avengers? Is issue #20 a stand-alone or is the whole arc essential?

Ellis's Secret Avengers run is six one-shot stories/missions that overlap in theme and bad guy. Each features a different artist and different members of the team. The whole run is pretty good and Natasha is one of the spotlight characters, but issue #20 is really a stand-alone Black Widow story.