Black Widow #3 Review
Reviewer: Craig Reade
Quick Rating: Above Average
Black Widow confronts Elektra, then tries to discover who attacked her and why.
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Art: Daniel Acuña
Letters: Nake Piekos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Black Widow faces off with Elektra, who wants to know if the rumors about her are true, and if Natasha has indeed gone rogue. The two have a typical ‘tense hero spar,’ after which Elektra decides to give Natasha a little more rope.
OK, that part seemed like fluff – something just to be able to say “Black Widow vs. Elektra!” – but at least it made sense.
The rest of the issue follows Natasha as she tries to recover from her wounds, and track down the source of the mysterious black rose… an item she fully knows the significance of, but has no idea why it has been left. Her investigation leads her to the son of a man she once worked with, and the possible identity of her tormentor – “Sumi” – an obvious pseudonym, but she quickly gets the chance to ask him herself who he is and what he wants. On the whole, this was a surprisingly decent issue. Liu writes a very strong Black Widow – fierce, cocky, independent, and calculating. Too many writers focus on the “hot Russian” and kind of gloss over the elements that would make her an effective agent, but Liu goes after those exclusively. This results in a protagonist that you actually care about a little. You are frustrated by her secrecy, impressed with her gravitas, and concerned for her well being, all at the same time. This issue was a far cry from Liu’s work on the last Dark Wolverine issue – the two are night and day.
Acuña’s art is fantastic. He handles action scenes phenomenally, and each of the characters have very distinct looks. You can tell the difference between the all-out brawl and the end of the issue, and the restrained, testing combat between Elektra and Black Widow at the beginning. Not only do the characters look different, but they appear natural. His work isn’t photo-realistic by any stretch, but the characters look far more believable. They emote, they appear strong or exhausted or nervous as needed, and aren’t just rippling images of perfection standing or moving effortlessly through the entire issue. Good stuff.
Some of Marvel’s greatest books in the past decade or so have centered on character. I am not saying Liu’s Black Widow is there – but it may well be on its way to it. This is the most interesting I have found Black Widow to be in a very long time. That’s a great development.
STORY:
ART:
OVERALL:
Post your comments in the Forum!
June 17, 2010
Dark Wolverine #87 Review
Reviewer: Craig Reade
Quick Rating: Average
Daken must deal with the aftermath of his defeat at the hands of his father.
Writer: Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu
Art: Mierco Pierfederici
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Daken roams the streets of Rome, struggling internally after his loss to his father. A pair of attempted robberies lead to further introspection.
I wish I could write a bit more about the plot of this issue, but that’s really about it. I can’t really say it was padding either, but the issue definitely seemed to be missing a few things, and was definitely a filler issue, waiting for the upcoming crossover with Franken-Castle.
This isn’t to say that the idea that Daken might have some personal demons to deal with internally after what happened with Logan – in fact, that made me look on this issue with a considerable level of forgiveness. Daken’s defeat and losing his Muramasa claws are certainly worthy of a period of self-doubt and frustration, and that seemed to play out in this issue.
But the robbery attempts were so disjointed, and there were so many things wrong with them that they make you question the legitimacy of the story. I found myself asking questions I realized would never be answered thanks to the upcoming crossover – which made me realize that the questions were little more than gaping holes in the story. Who put the young girl up to rob Daken?Why would a young girl target a man who looks like a criminal element himself – and an especially dangerous one? Would there really be a scam artist that directly targeted homosexuals in that manner? Wouldn’t it be far easy and far more profitable to target straight men with a beautiful woman as bait? And if so, would they really target someone who looks as hardened as Daken? Wouldn’t they go for the more… effeminate types? Someone a little more visibly vulnerable?
The bulk of the issue dealt with the second robbery attempt – and that entire set-up seemed like a very forced way of having the issue center on Daken’s sexual ambiguity. There is nothing wrong with that, if there is a character development point to be made, but with such a weak justification, it felt as if Way and Liu literally had no story ideas for this issue, and instead decided to pad an issue with “he’ll kiss guys.” Seemed kind of shallow.
The art really saved this issue. Pierfederici makes great use of lighting, and really sells a weak story far better than it deserves. It was a little dark at some points – but for the story it worked. If anything, this issue is an outstanding showcase of his work.
This is probably an issue to skip if you are looking to try the book out for the first time – far better to wait until the crossover begins. For longtime readers, this is a definite filler issue, and not an especially good one. Passable – but they could have done a little better. But then, most comic writers don’t seem to be able to tell a good single issue story these days…
STORY:
ART:
OVERALL:
Post your comments in the Forum!
StillontheShelf.com - no frills, just content. Powered by WordPress
©2003-2012 Craig Reade and Mad Cow Disease