Black Widow #7 // Review
Natasha's new life in San Francisco continues as she sets up a whole new operation and begins to investigate a mysterious villain in Black Widow #7. Writer Kelly Thompson has found an interesting new direction for Black Widow that is sharply rendered for the page by artist Elena Casagrande and inker Elisabetta D'Amico. The mix of interpersonal drama and mystery is amplified by well-executed action sequences at chapter's end. This is the first of a four-part story. If the next three chapters are anywhere near as appealing as the first one, it's going to be an enjoyable summer in page and panel for Black Widow.
Natasha the Black Widow and Yelena, the White Widow, have started up a little operation in San Francisco called "The Web." They've currently taken in a young woman who tried to steal Natasha's wallet. She's caught up in the influence of a mysterious religious figure known only as "Apogee." Natasha and Yelena are dealing with the moral implications of taking in a young woman, but the finer points of that will have to wait as they infiltrate a sacred rite that's being conducted by Apogee. Black Widow and White Widow aren't there to idly observe...especially when it becomes apparent what the rites might involve.
Thompson has found an entertaining new role for Natasha. She's just had a hypnotically induced lifetime that included motherhood that she can never return to, and now she's acting as protector of a young woman who has become entangled in hostile forces that parallel her own. She wants a better life for the girl and so many others touched by the darkness of Apogee. The action sequence between Apogee's minions and the Widows might feel a bit trite, but Thompson lends wit and drama to the action that makes it a refreshing ending for an issue that is so mired in shadowy drama for the bulk of its pages.
Casagrande brings that action to the page in suitably dramatic form with clever angles and iconically dramatic poses. While the action hits the page with impressive impact, Cassagrande's work needs to be that much more intense with respect to interpersonal conflicts. Casagrande does an excellent job of delivering nuanced tension. Of particular note is a full-page detailing a terse conversation between Natasha and Yelena over coffee at a command center in the Web. Casagrande makes brilliant use of subtle expressions, negative space, and a stack of wide panels to deliver the tension.
Adam Hughes adds quite a bit to Issue Seven with a highly kinetic cover. It's a stylish opening to an issue that's cleverly executed throughout. Not only is Thompson rendering a really fun action/suspense story... she's doing so while adding depth to Black Widow that expands cleverly on the story arc that opened the current series. With thoughtful construction opening the current plot arc, the series is in very good hands, moving forward into a summer that will see the character also slink out of the shadows into a very high-profile movie.
