Black Widow #1 (SPOILERS)

[Hrist]

• The issue begins with with Natasha in a SHIELD facility and Maria Hill's voice going over the P.A. that Black Widow is an enemy of SHIELD and must be stopped at any cost. Natasha's chased down by various agents and desk jockeys, including Agent Preston from Deadpool, then blows a hole in the wall to escape, jumping out… of the helicarrier!
• Natasha hasn't got a parachute, but the SHIELD agents who pursue with jetpacks and their flying car do. So she steals one of their jetpacks in mid-air by faking an agent out, it's pretty hilarious.
• The SHIELD agent catches up to her near the ground and blows up her jetpack, so she steals a motorcycle and there's a more traditional car and bike chase.
• The agent repeats Hill's order to stop Natasha "at any cost" and begins using lethal force, shooting her with machine turrets. Natasha stops the car with another bomb, but while she's surveying the wreckage, he attacks. They fight one on one, and Natasha wins eventually by hitting him with a rock.
• Before he goes down, the agent says, "Whatever it is you pinched from us, Widow, I hope it was worth it." The final page is a splash of Natasha standing over his body, tired, dirty, and bent. "Me too," she says. It's the word balloon she has the entire issue.

Some thoughts:

1. The summary really doesn't do this issue justice because so much of the appeal is in the visual storytelling. The issue is almost wordless, but the action is easy to follow and imo triumphant. Samnee incorporates a lot of little details, like Natasha's reflection in the SHIELD agent's visor or the vending machines at SHIELD, and he has great comedic timing with the "kiss" scene as well as just the action sequences that take up basically the whole issue.
2. The lettering choices this book makes are really clever. The most obvious is the "redacted" effect used for swears, but I found myself paying more attention to the clicks and shnks on reread.
3. The last series ended with Natasha quitting SHIELD, but deepened her relationship with Maria Hill considerably. Now Hill is basically giving the okay to kill Natasha, who was maybe the closest thing she had to a friend/confidant. It's a bad time in Hilltown lately, is what I'm saying.
4. This is a great single issue, but it's hard to get a sense of the book's overall plot and themes. I don't know much about Waid and Samnee's take on Natasha herself yet, except that she's extremely badass. I'm reasonably certain that there is an actual plot here, and not all the book will be 100% motion, but it's sort of a risk to take with the first issue. OTOH, maybe in a market flooded with first issues, and an established concept and creative team, the lack of the typical set-up and exposition will grab heads and hype.

Overall, I really liked this. The action isn't just crisp, it's clever, and it makes you wonder why you don't see more chase scenes in comics. We've talked some in the Black Widow Appreciation thread about how the set-up for this story seems a lot like Name of the Rose, but I think it's pretty clear from this first issue that this series is going different places.

Here's a development image for this series Samnee posted today on Twitter:

[Mr MajestiK]

Thanks so much for this excellent review Hrist.

I was very impressed with this book and look forward to reading more of Natasha's adventures moving forward.

[Reviresco]

Great review! I was waffling on this one, as my interest in ANAD Marvel is in the cellar ... but it is Black Widow, and apparently well done. Will pick this up tomorrow!

[Seren]

This issue was everything Hrist said and more. Definitely pick it up!

[Mr MajestiK]

Great review! I was waffling on this one, as my interest in ANAD Marvel is in the cellar ... but it is Black Widow, and apparently well done. Will pick this up tomorrow!

You wont be dissapointed Rev.

I rember a time when I used to look forward to reading a lot more Marvel titles written as well as this.

[Mundungus]

There was next to no plot but you felt every beat. Usually when you're dropping $4 on a comic you want a lot of content in 20 pages. In a sense, there was not a lot of content but you could feel the level of consideration in each panel. I like that we're not getting in Widow's head with thought captions. I like that we don't know what to believe or who to trust. I think with Samnee being the main creative force on this it's going to be much more of an art appreciation series but worth every penny. I'm definitely back with the next issue.

[Prof. Warren]

Fantastic issue. Blew away my already-high expectations.

[Godlike13]

Issue reads fast, but it's an experience. "Click"

[responsarbre]

I loved it. It felt like a very Chris Samnee comic; it was a blend of the different spy/noir stuff that he started out in, and the lively superhero action that he's been working in lately. I was scared that this comic wouldn't have a "spark" the way Daredevil did, but it does, and I'm glad.

I was kind of weirded out that they used Natasha Romanoff? Her solo stuff has used either Romanov or Romanova since the 90s, I think.

I'm excited for Samnee and Waid to weave a story out of this, but I hope they incorporate elements of her past besides the Red Room, which is apparently going to show up soon. I would much rather see Samnee and Waid try to weave her old exploits from Amazing Adventures or the Champions into a spy story. I also hope they're not too scared to let Natasha speak. I'm still attached to Liu's run, and her Natasha's monologue was long and introspective and noirish, without being too revealing.

[Hrist]

Thanks for the nice comments, everybody Glad other people liked it too.

I'm excited for Samnee and Waid to weave a story out of this, but I hope they incorporate elements of her past besides the Red Room, which is apparently going to show up soon. I would much rather see Samnee and Waid try to weave her old exploits from Amazing Adventures or the Champions into a spy story. I also hope they're not too scared to let Natasha speak. I'm still attached to Liu's run, and her Natasha's monologue was long and introspective and noirish, without being too revealing.

Yeah, I'm pretty ugh about the Red Room, but I think/hope it's pretty likely that they bring in some other background elements, given who we're dealing with. They do promise "old friends" turning up eventually in the solicit. They have so much clear affection for that Conway/Colan era (which comes out in this even without dialogue). But I wonder if they wanted to go in a different direction for this issue so it didn't come off immediately as a Daredevil rehash?

[manymade1]

Really looking forward to see what Waid and Samnee do with this series. The tone looks likes its gonna be a classic over the top spy thriller.

[Reviresco]

You wont be dissapointed Rev.

I remeber a time when I used to look forward to reading a lot more Marvel titles written as well as this.

Me too. I remember when I went to the store _every_ Wednesday.

Glad to hear you liked the Black Widow book too!

[Winterboy]

Great review, Hrist.

I can't wait to get my copy.

That said, I really want to see a Spider Woman/Black Widow "girls on bike" team-up.

on bykes.jpg

[Dayle88]

I would of been much more excited had I known Samnee officially co-plotted the series. The end of their Daredevil sucked and I'm unimpressed by nearly every issue Waid's name is on lately. This first issue was great though.

This is the art I like from Samnee, distinctive but proportionate. No more stuff like Matt Murdocks foot long chin from the last few DD issues.

[Hrist]

That said, I really want to see a Spider Woman/Black Widow "girls on bike" team-up.

You know I'd be up for this!

I would of been much more excited had I known Samnee officially co-plotted the series. The end of their Daredevil sucked and I'm unimpressed by nearly every issue Waid's name is on lately. This first issue was great though.

You can tell this was co-plotted by Samnee. You can't have an issue that relies so much on visuals to carry the plot without the artist having a lot of input in how the story gets laid out. And this is the kind of action and mood that he, specifically excels in. I've been thinking that it's maybe another weakness with the current Marvel model of constant relaunches… you don't always get time for creative synergy to develop.