Customer Reviews

Black Widow Vol. 2: The Things They Say About Her (Mighty Avengers)

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

 

 

I'm surprised no one else has reviewed this one yet. Well, let's get started.

Me: Marvel reader from way back, huge fan of Richard K. Morgan's SF. Loved his first six issues on BW.

The next six, collected here, don't bring any major new revelations about Natasha or anything/one else, but the story (of which I won't reveal any details here) remains solid throughout. And Daredevil's appearances are handled well, which is nice -- always liked ol' DD, and Morgan's writing is in the same ballpark as Frank Miller's. I'd give Morgan four and a half stars for his own part of the project.

Not quite as thrilled with the art, though. Bill Sienkiewicz is still around, but he's not handling the layouts any more -- and while Sean Phillips does a nice job on the whole, his work here strikes me as pretty uneven, running the gamut from inspired to amateurish. There really are some magnificent layouts here (the very first page of Part 6, for example, is just stunning), but there are also too many panels saved by the colorist (Dan Brown, still flawless). This one just doesn't have the consistency and detail of _Homecoming_. (And that _cover_. Natasha's pert, shiny rear end as she aims a pistol at Daredevil's crotch . . . Gaaaaah.)

Excellent on the whole, and strongly recommended to fans of _Homecoming_. But too much of the artwork is sketchy and murky for me to give the whole project five stars -- especially since it's intended to be read after _Homecoming_, which didn't suffer from those flaws.

Sordid and violent.

Which is sort of what you expect when you have companies, criminals and spies running around.

Complete with bits of Morgan's take on the background of the Black Widow, as well as bits of Daredevil and Nick Fury involved - which may not have been necessary as much as it was - although the character history between the Widow and Hornhead can often make this interesting.


3.5 out of 5

The Black Widow is one of Marvel's peerless females. Spy, lover, saboteur, femme fatale - I've never been disappointed with the Black Widow until now. This is chock full of violence but little story. That's the problem. This book is an absolute low point for the character. Violence would be fine if the character and story held up, but I came away reading this and thinking of the old grindhouse, shock / exploitation flicks of the 70s. Lots of action but empty in the core. PS - This is nowhere near what Frank Miller would've done. Spend your money elsewhere.