Customer Reviews

Black Widow, Vol. 1: Homecoming

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Over the years Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow, has shown up time and again, often working with The Avengers and Daredevil. Despite the efforts of more recent Widow scribes such as Jim Starlin, Devin Grayson, Greg Rucka and Bendis, she's long been a laughingstock character -- little more than a sex object, "the bike of the Marvel Universe." But now novelist Richard Morgan (ALTERED CARBON; WOKEN FURIES; etc.) has teamed up with artist Bill Sienkiewicz (ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN) and utterly outdone all previous incarnations of this superspy. While keeping to established continuity, Morgan has updated the Widow, making her a much more human, respectable character, and the book much less misogynstic than it often has been. He's scripted a tight, mean, intelligent and topical comic book, aimed at adults rather than adolescent boys, that any fan of espionage fiction, superhero comics or plain ol' good storytelling should enjoy. Anyone picking up this book looking for exaggerated female bodies in kinky poses will be disappointed, but if you're looking for a very fine comic book, look no further. Do yourself a favor, even if you don't think you care for this particular character, and pick up this book. The Black Widow finally has her fangs.

The old favorite is Marvel Comics, which I devoured during my formative years. The new favorite is Richard K. Morgan, whose work I've been reading ever since he published his first novel, _Altered Carbon_.

The combination is terrific. Natasha Romanova (the Black Widow) has always been a comparatively minor character in the Marvel lineup, and her treatment hasn't always been consistent. Here she finally gets the focused treatment she deserves.

Frank Miller and Alan Moore pretty much spoiled me for other comic-book writers (oops, "graphic novelists"), so it takes a lot to please me. Morgan isn't quite Miller, but his handling of Black Widow is at least in the same ballpark as Miller's run on _Daredevil_ and comparable in flavor to Miller's _Batman: The Dark Knight Returns_. The quality isn't quite there -- most notably because Morgan has a tendency to make his protagonist spout militant-feminist cliches a little too often -- but the approach is similar.

The story here is most definitely told on Morgan's own turf. I won't spoil anything for you, but be prepared for some revelations about Natasha's backstory that will satisfy both Marvel fans and readers of Morgan's noir SF. (Marvel readers may be pleased to know that Nick Fury is around as well -- and although Daredevil isn't, you'll at least spot Matt Murdock's name on Natasha's cellphone. Other readers have objected to the treatment of the relationship between Nick and Natasha, but I don't share their objections.) And yes, Morgan has cranked Natasha's brutality up several notches. I think that's a good thing all around, but your mileage may vary -- at least if you prefer your Cold War-era spies warm and cuddly.

The art by Bill Sienkiewicz and Goran Parlov is magnificent, of course -- consistently fine throughout, and some of the compositions are downright stunning. (And unlike Miller on Daredevil, Sienkiewicz and Parlov don't sometimes forget which body part they're drawing and make somebody's left leg sprout a right foot, or double the length of someone's sideburns between one panel and the next and then add a mustache in the panel after that.) Dan Brown's colors are every bit as magnificent.

And more good news: apparently Morgan has an ongoing relationship with Marvel and has been doing some further work on Black Widow. I don't subscribe to any of the monthlies, so I'm looking forward to reading it when it's published in book format.

And hey, while we're rescuing second- and third-string Marvel characters whose potential hasn't previously been fully realized -- can we get somebody busy on Iron Fist, please? (As with Black Widow, there's been a movie in the works on and off for several years; a graphic novel like this one might be a big boost.)

As a previous reviewer mentioned, the Black Widow has been one of the lesser known and mishandled characters in the Marvel Universe. In the hands of novelist Richard K. Morgan, he has taken to the character back to the roots of her origin, focusing more on action, espionage, and story rather than exploiting a sexy drawing for adolescent boys to slobber over. The story concerns Natasha being thrown back into the spy game (as if she ever really left) after an assassination attempt on her life. Soon, along with her male sidekick, she's kicking butt and taking names, all the while unraveling a conspiracy which evolves into the best Black Widow story Marvel has ever published. This TPB's only flaw is that it wears a bit thin towards the end, but the art by the great Bill Sienkiewicz is worth giving this a look at alone. All in all, if you've been looking for a mature and action packed mainstream comic, give this a look.

This is pretty much Marvel's Bourne conspiracy, only it's a feminist and no-superhero book.
It's pulp and crime and spy story.
Who's killing sleeper Russian agents in the USA? Who's killing them if they come home? Does the Red Room, the secret training center that produced the Black Widow(s), still exist?
Is Natalya "Natasha" Romanov really who she thinks she is? Who does she think she is: A strong independent woman or somebody else's puppet? The Black Widow, former classical dancer and Russian super spy, or just another victim?
The book is nicely written, with a few ingenuities (or rather, some excessively simplified characterisation and plot points, especially in regard to the not-so-hidden feminist stance takem in the book) but overcomes them well enough to tell a compelling story, which makes great use of the talents of artists Bill Sienkiewicz and Goran Parlov. The book would be worth the cover price for the art alone.
And to quench the fires of eventual critics: Nothing against feminism, I just don't like books in which characters overtly preach, especially to the converted! I am certainly not ignorant of the constraints and discrimination still imposed on women in our society. Nonetheless, preaching attitude aside, the book presents a lot of valid points and Natasha is one very credible self-conscious and strong female character.

Richard Morgan takes a crack at writing comics and does a pretty good job, really.

This story examines the Widow in more depth, and not just as a sidekick or part of a team.

Morgan and company take her back to her roots as she discovers some nasty things about her past and why she is able to do what she can do.

A bit more of the science fiction spy story here, and definitely for adult readers.

Black Widow has improved exponentially over the past few years - transforming from an ineffectual sex object to a svelte superspy.

This modern adventure in high-tech espionage, part of the Marvel Knights line, is the Widow at her best to date. Although still a little prone to wandering around in her knickers, she's ditched the silly super-trappings and gone straight for the role as a lethal spy.

The entire plot is a raised finger to her past, and thank god for it. Siekiewicz's art - normally reserved for a much more psychedelic storyline - is solid, but feels slightly out of place.

I am relatively new to the graphic novel/comic scene so I have not read any of the old incarnations of this character. I enjoyed this book. It was easy to follow and her actions seemed to make sense. I was surprised that this was written by Richard Morgan. Morgan wrote one of the worst books ever written "Fallen Angels". Honestly If I had noticed that he was the author of this I never would have read it. Kudos to him for better writing this time around.

The art is very well done as well. Nice bright colours and good lines etc....

I look forward to more in this series (there will be more?)

Scott

Good fiction has a venerable tradition of subtly weaving relevant social commentary into the strands of its plot and character development. Sadly, what writer Richard Morgan has given us instead in "Homecoming" is an oversimplified, tired, and in-your-face message: Women are superior and they're victims, men are inferior and they're predators. And by virtue of her superiority and victim status, the Black Widow apparently has the moral justification to play judge, jury, and Punisher-with-extreme-prejudice to every man who wrongs her or another woman -- which, as it turns out, is EVERY major male character in this book! One reviewer praised this collection for not being misogynistic; but if fairness and equality truly mean anything, how can Morgan's swing to the opposite extreme be any better?

On page one a woman speaking at an abortion rights rally is brutally murdered. This story involves a conspiracy to kill all the women who went through the U.S.S.R.'s top secret Black Widow program. So of all the settings Morgan could have chosen, why this one? Because Morgan wants the reader to believe that people who don't share the feminist viewpoint must be small-minded, intolerant savages. So by contrast, are all of Natasha's acts of violence committed purely in self-defense with no hint of being judgmental? Well... not exactly.

Our heroine stabs a man who attacks her in the desert. When he won't talk about who sent him, she lets him bleed to death. She takes another man into the bedroom, ostensibly for some bondage love-play, and then threatens to castrate him if he doesn't talk. She sees two neanderthal-type truckers chase and grab a young woman; when they refuse to release her, Natasha, convicting them both as rapists, kills one and cripples the other. But she never hesitates to fall back on the sweet but helpless female stereotype -- that is, if she can use it as a weapon against a man.

In case anyone has missed the point, the sloganeering dialogue drives it right into the earth's core. "Like most men... he underestimates me," "What happened to the latest blonde? Silicone leak?" "...are you going to do the man thing and let me down?" "...I don't like guns... they're more than a little symbolically suspect" (so I guess we should ignore the cover image), "...you're not a woman. You're under no pressure to care about your looks or appearance," "...I was perhaps encouraged by irresponsible men to risk the damage," "The thought of a genuinely powerful woman as an active independent agent... well, you can imagine the reaction," and "It's what most women are up against. If you want to succeed, you've got two choices... pole dancer or hard-faced harridan." Hey Richard, I've known plenty of women who are successful who don't fall into either one of those categories, and they did so without ever sacrificing any of their feminine strengths or gifts.

Morgan catalogs every anti-female behavior perpetrated by evil men that you can imagine. The men lear at women, tell degrading jokes about them, and call them "baby," "sugar," and "bitch." They lie, cheat, steal, brainwash, assault, rape, torture, and murder. They give alcohol to underage girls and give dangerous drugs to women of all ages. They threaten to take away a woman's right to choose, take away a woman's ability to reproduce, and deny women equality in the work place and everywhere else. Yup, "All men are scum." And that's not me reading between the lines, that's right out of the script. The problem is not that Morgan is portraying things that don't go on every day -- any reasonable person would agree that they do -- but that every single man in Natasha's world is guilty of at least one of these crimes, whether he's an enemy, an informant, or a so-called ally. In one scene, Ms. Romanov admonishes her reluctant male assistant to "stop looking at my ass." She is bent over in front of a mirror, putting on make-up, and wearing nothing but lacy, skimpy, black lingerie -- all rendered beautifully by Bill Sinkiewicz. Is she kidding?

You might think that the ultra-steadfast Nick Fury would be exempted from the Black Widow's team testosterone hit list... but you'd be wrong. He's in on the whole brainwashing thing, in a totally ludicrous and implausible way. Look, I'm not a continuity freak: any writer who has a legitimate and interesting reason for doing revisionist history on some characters should be allowed a free hand. But Nick and Nastasha have covered each other's backsides for decades. They've always done what was right for each other, whether or not it was easy or consistent with orders. They've had a mature professional and personal relationship based on mutual trust, respect, and loyalty. And yet there's not a single male-female relationship in "Homecoming" about which the same can be said. What creative reason did Morgan have for doing away with all of that? None, he just wanted to push an agenda: treat all people as unique and valuable indivduals and never make sweeping judgments about a person based on membership in a group... except for men. There's nothing unfair about saying they're all the same, right?

Suppose there was an Iron Man story in which Tony Stark learns that Whitney Frost has hacked into various male-run computer mainframes, including his own, and stolen a number of classified schematics for weapons systems. Using the designs, Whitney and a small army of women -- all of whom are gossipy, vain, and sneaky -- set out to blackmail a handful of nations in Europe. While organizing a defense, Tony tries to confide in some of his lady friends, but they're all too busy crying, shopping, or being gold diggers. Iron Man eventually saves the day and to insure that Madame Masque never builds another weapon, he breaks every bone in her left arm and hand. No due process for this she-demon! As offensive as this sounds, Morgan's efforts are even more so -- because he indicts 98% of the book's audience based solely on gender. Thankfully, the days of Lois Lane being an annoying snoop and a simpering hostage are long over. There's no need to replace those stories with stories that are equally objectionable and just as unlikely to build any bridges between the sexes.

Fangs, yes. Scruples, no. Fans who want some decent femme fatale action that demeans neither gender would do better to check out Devin Grayson's Black Widow, Gail Simone's Birds Of Prey, or even the Powerpuff Girls. Richard Morgan, on the other hand, should go write for Desperate Housewives.