BLACK WIDOW #1 : Changes…

Natasha returns in her new series and Kelly Thompson wastes no time dropping us into the thick of it with the Black Widow on a retrieval mission for a certain red, white, and blue hero. Thompson’s dialogue, both internal and external for Natasha feels spot-on and the interaction between her and the supporting cast is immediately natural in tone, the story takes a dramatic turn early on and then plunges 3 months ahead in time where we are confronted by a very different Natasha Romanov…

Thompson also writes a perfect Hawkeye ( a disaster himbo) and Bucky (a stoic no-nonsense soldier) and the dialogue between them is hilarious. The mystery deepens as we learn that in the last three-month period, Natasha has disappeared off the radar. No one has heard from her or seen her until Clint spots her completely by accident. This Natasha is different though, still a risk-taker but why is she working dropping off coffee and building plans in San Francisco and seems to be in a relationship?!! Thompson makes us ask all theses questions while answering none of them. Even the last page reveal doesn’t tell us much as we get a first look at a villain I am really happy to see make a return! The issue is really pure set up for what’s to come.

Elena Casagrande’s art is beautiful to look at. Sparse but with extremely strong, clean lines with little to no cross-hatching she draws a very striking Black Widow in and out of superhero regalia. The action scenes early on feel like they belong a in a spy story and all the panels are clean.This cleanliness of style is emphasized or rather complemented by Jordie Bellaire’s very flat color palette. The combination is striking. Black Widow is a very sexy comic with a modern sensibility that feels very real world and very now. Adam Hughes is a master of the sexy cover and this issue is no exception.