Late to the Party: Black Widow #1 to #5

(writer) Nathan Edmonson
(artist) Phil Noto

I have a confession to make: even though I have been familiar with the Black Widow character appearing in Marvel Comics publications for almost as long as I have been reading comics, I have never really been much of a fan, and I have never collected comic books in which she had a starring role, the closest being the issues of "The Ultimates" in which an alternate version of her appeared (and in which she turned out to be not quite what I expected).  The truth of the matter is that I have become a fan of the character thanks to actress Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of her in 2012's The Avengers, and in this year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Thus, when Marvel stuff the entirety of issue #1 into Superior Spider-Man #30 as an extra, featuring a fairly interesting script by Nathan Edmonson and some drop dead gorgeous art by Phil Noto, I didn't need much convincing to pick the series up, and I have to say, I'm glad I did.

Each of the first three issues contains a solo adventure for Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. the Black Widow, who, when not helping the Avengers save the world, is busy atoning for her past life as a KGB assassin, taking on various high-paying odd jobs that involve protection or rescue, a marked contrast from her former line of work. Issues #4 and #5 raise the stakes a bit as Natasha takes on a mysterious organization that, in issue #4 does its dirty work through a former Russian Orthodox monk, and may have bitten off more than she can chew.

Nathan Edmonson makes the character accessible for anyone who knows her strictly from the Avengers movie, and I confess that, outside of Mark Millar's Ultimates, and the odd Avengers or Daredevil issue, I didn't really know her all that well either as a character. His script isn't all that slick, though, and I sometimes get the impression he spends too much time hammering the "atonement" point home, although he drops it around the fourth issue.

The real draw for me, though, is Phil Noto's art (pardon the pun). I've admired this guy's work for some time but have never really felt compelled to buy anything he has worked on, until now. The 70s-inspired visuals are a perfect fit for this book, and although his Natasha seems a little masculine from time to time, the most important thing is that she is utterly credible as a truly formidable superspy.

I'm definitely staying on board for at least as long as Noto is.

7.5/10