Title: Black Widow – The Finely Woven Thread
Written by: Nathan Edmondson
Art by: Phil Noto
Collecting: Black Widow (2014) #1-6, material from All-New Marvel Now! Point One #1
Publisher: Marvel
Year: 2014

My first Black Widow comic. And it’s a good one!

If you have seen Marvel movies or read Marvel comics, you’ve probably stumbled upon Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow at some point. As an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. and an Avenger, she is pretty well-known. But what do we know about her? About her past, about her family, about her person? We know the Black Widow. We know that she works as an assassin and that she saved the day more than once. We don’t really know anything about Natasha Romanoff. According to her, we never will.

Natasha will tell you whatever it is you want to hear – but not the truth. Even if she did tell you the truth in between all the lies, you wouldn’t know the difference. A character who offers no truth about themselves is still interesting as they show their true selves by their action. This is what we know about Natasha: She has a keen sense of justice. She protects the week. She atones for her sins. She is clever. She knows how to use her strengths. There is so much we can learn about her by simply observing her.

The Finely Woven Thread allows us to observe Natasha in her work and getting to know her better even if she doesn’t want us to. Throughout the various stories, she is hired to protect people, and to kill people. More than once, she changes her mind about what it was she was hired to do.

The comic is full of dark humour, thrilling to read and wonderful to look at. The story telling is interesting and keeps you on your toes. You will want to read more as soon as you turned the last page. The art and colouring are superb. Soft colours alternate with dark tones and hard lines and thus create a great atmosphere befitting the story. The simple but suiting lettering adds to a perfect reading experience.

While this collection is a wonderful read for newbies, fans of the Black Widow will surely love it just as much.

My rating: 5/5