• Marvel 70th Anniversary
• Comics

by Arcee on 04.21.10

The Black Widow, Natasha Romanova, is out to solve a mystery kicking off her own self-titled series. As a long time fan of the character, I am glad that she has hew own series once again. I have always found this character as one of the most intriguing of all of the Marvel women. Starting off as a villainous spy out to ruin Tony Stark, the Black Widow has gone on to reform and even become a key and integral member of the Avengers in many of their incarnations and one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best agents. Her past links to such characters as Captain America and Wolverine, though part of her past was later retconned, gives her a sense of mystery that really adds to the characters appeal. 

In this new series, Natasha must discover who went through extreme odds to catch her and surgically remove a mysterious item from inside of her. James Buchanan (aka Captain America), Tony Stark, and Wolverine are all drawn in to the mystery to find out who would do something like this to their comrade. But even as they find answers, all it seems to do is lead to more questions; some of which may make the Black Widow wish she had left well enough alone. 

Written by romance novelist Marjorie Liu, who has also worked on such Marvel series like NYX and Dark Wolverine, the story is definitely a departure from her novel works, but fits right in with the works she has crafted for Marvel since 2005. The story is intense and fulfilling, and never seems to hit a slow patch. From the realistic dialog to the inner monologue the Black Widow produces throughout the story, it is one of the best written stories of any comic I read that week, or all month actually. As for the art, Daniel Acuna's style fits perfectly with the book. It is pretty clean and clear and definitely satisfies visually with his portrayal of the Black Widow. His action scenes are wonderfully done. Definitely a well done book, and one that I will definitely follow for as long as it last if it can continue to be done as well as this first issue is done. Definitely a can't miss.