Now It's Her Turn To Suffer A Broken Heart

Black Widow: Web of Intrigue hardcover
Marvel Comics
various writers and artists

This is another collection of Black Widow tales from Marvel Comics, but not necessarily all-inclusive. This volume contains the four-part Black Widow story from Marvel Fanfare Nos. 10-13, a black-and-white Widow tale from Bizarre Adventures magazine No. 25, and the Black Widow graphic novel, The Coldest War.

The Marvel Fanfare series in its original printing was my first exposure to the character. The tale is very convoluted but nicely told by co-writers Ralph Macchio and George Perez. The art in this four-parter is also by Perez, so you know it's highly detailed and very gorgeous. The two creators pit Natasha against a succession of villains and assassins, much of it playing on her relationship with her companion and father-figure, Ivan.

The black-and-white tale is more a straight-forward espionage tale as befits Marvel's magazine content from the time period, which was often geared for an older audience. Natasha wears her trademark skintight bodysuit, but she is the only costumed individual in the story which is otherwise populated by uniformed soldiers and trenchcoated spies and double-agents.

The Coldest War is a tour of the Black Widow's past, bringing her former husband, the Red Guardian, back into the mix while also focusing on her former relationships with other costumed heroes Hawkeye and Daredevil. Ultimately, the resurrection of Natasha's husband is not quite what it seemed, and the Widow is once again left alone at the end of the tale.

Overall, this hardcover was a nice return visit to a tale I enjoyed several years ago, and a chance to read two tales I hadn't previously been exposed to. I'm glad I had a chance to read them, but there was little here that made me think I would revisit these stories any time soon again.

Be Careful: She'll Break Your Heart

Black Widow: The Sting of the Widow hardcover
Marvel Comics
various writers and artists

This volume collects some of the earliest appearances of Marvel's Back Widow, Natasha Romanova. In fact, these are so early in her career, the character still doesn't even have a last name by the end of this volume, still being referred to in her civillian identity as simply Madame Natasha.

The Widow's first appearance, facing off against Iron Man from the pages of Tales of Suspense No. 52, is the lead-off story in this collection. This volume is not for completists, however, as the next story included is Amazing Spider-Man No. 86, wherein the Widow first adopts her modern costume. The intervening adventures for the character are summed up in a text piece, but one gets the idea this involves several years' worth of guest appearances in many Marvel books.

Following her appearance in Amazing Spider-Man, the Black Widow moved to headlining Marvel's Amazing Adventures comic with the Inhumans. The first eight issues of that title's Black Widow stories are included, followed by her guest-appearance in Daredevil No. 81, which is the last adventure reprinted here.

Overall, these stories depict a Black Widow who goes from villainous Russian saboteur to immigrant-American superheroine and espionage agent. She is a very competent fighter employing martial arts skills along with her trademark Widow's sting and weblines. She tackles some villains along with a few social injustices, as comics of this time period sometimes did, but there is a heavy soap opera quality that is also present in comics from this time period which starred a female lead. That melodramatic quality might detract for some, but overall this is a solid read for anyone curious about the beginnings of the Black Widow character.