Nathan Edmondson

Volume 1 started off strong, but volume 2 takes it up a notch – as evident by the cover. I absolutely love the image of Black Widow sitting on The Punisher logo. The inside follows through in a big way by bringing in not only Frank Castle, but Bucky Barnes as well. Three of Marvel’s morally murky characters together.

Natasha exists in a gray area. This is quickly made apparent in the opening mission by a visit from Daredevil (who practically exemplifies righteousness) who disapproves of show more her tactics. This sets the tone for the volume as she uses increasingly strong armed methods to get information. Though Natasha is highly skilled, she doesn’t have superpowers. The writer doesn’t skirt this issue and so when Natasha gets in a little over her head, she doesn’t refuse help. First from Winter Soldier and then later from Punisher. The missions get increasingly dangerous, the fights more brutal and the gray areas even murkier. Natasha’s loyalty and place in the world is called into question by her teams, and by her.

The volume closes on a bang (literally) that sets up the magnitude of Chaos and sets the stage for Last Days. show less

Everyone seemed to slag the crap out of this first collection, but to be quite frank, this is the closest thing to what I've always envisioned Deathlok to be. I absolutely loved every single wonderful page of this story.

Perkin's art is clean, easy to understand, understated, realistic, and absolutely perfect for this story. And Edmondson's story does something I didn't think could be pulled off successfully: updating the original Deathlok story for present day, keeping some of the elements show more (worrying about family, coming aware in a nightmare body, etc.), while introducing some new elements.

This is the Deathlok I've been waiting four decades for. I've got to track down the second volume now! show less

I've been thrilled that Marvel has so many female-led series in their Marvel Now launch. While not everyone has been worthwhile (hello, Fearless Defenders) some have been stellar, such as Captain Marvel and now Black Widow. Of all the Marvel Now series, I was most looking forward to Black Widow to see how they handled a character that is now well known to audiences of the MCU, but is also an assassin. Would they try to “tone her down” for new readers? Happily, no. Edmondson chooses the show more perfect path – atonement.

The series follows Natasha as she atones for her past by taking mercenary jobs in order to finance a “web” of trusts and funds that support her prior victims. She has an attorney, Isaiah, who acts as both accountant and manager – arranging jobs and handling the money. The series is very true to the character. Natasha has a particular skill set she uses, whether the job is infiltration, rescue or outright assassination. The action is off the charts and perfectly captured with a minimalist art style. But, she’s is also painfully alone by her own choice. Having people (or even a pet cat!) in her life that could become targets would be a liability, but not having anyone risks her losing her own humanity.

As Natasha takes on new assignments, she begins to see pattern tied into a mysterious organization called Chaos which sets up an over-arching storyline. Her personal missions start to tie in with SHIELD, which results in a recurring role for Maria Hill.

Overall, Volume 1 is an excellent start for Natasha’s solo series, and is just as compelling as Hawkeye’s solo series. Highly recommended. show less

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 show more 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. show less