by Little

This all started a few months ago with an innocent comment. Don't they always?

I had seen the trade of Black Widow: Homecoming at one of my local comic emporiums and noticed the price was very reasonable. However, being on a bit of a financially induced comics sabbatical (or, more accurately, downsizing) I didn't pick it up. I had read the previous three Black Widow minis under the Marvel Knights banner and enjoyed them to varying degrees, and inside I secretly yearned to read this one. So, I asked at a message board whether anyone had read it in singles or in trade form, and their thoughts. From memory the general consensus was that it was good and that I should give it a try.

Then, one of the owners of this here establishment mentioned that he was going to try and get an interview with Richard K. Morgan, the writer of this very series. Rajan (for it was he) also suggested that perhaps, since I had asked the question of the storyline's quality, perhaps I could do a review.

So, I did.

And this is it.

Its my first review, so please be gentle with me.

The book begins with the deaths of several women (and one gentleman), seemingly unrelated. An attempt is made on another, an avid rock climber living in Arizona. Only thing is, this alledged victim is not so defenseless. Natasha Romanov, aka The Black Widow, acts accordingly and turns the tables on her assailant, who unfortunately would not talk and died a slow, painful death.

Natasha turns to an ex-SHIELD colleague for assistance in finding who the assassin was and who sent him, and in turn she helps him investigate one of the earlier murders: a pro-choice demonstrator, coldly shot whilst at a rally.

As the book unfolds, so the plot grows tighter and before the end of her journey, Natasha will find out more about her past and her training as a Black Widow than she perhaps would care to.

Its difficult to say much more about the book without revealing some large plot pieces, and yet I feel as though you all need to know this stuff because when you do, you'll go out and pick the trade up. However, you really shouldn't have anything spoiled, because for me, as I dug deeper into the story, more and more questions were piled on when I was expecting answers.

Case in point - in Chapter Three, when you're all warm and toasty and expecting to slip into the Second Act when the set-up is usually gone, a woman walking through a field in the Eastern Soviet Union is shot in the head by a sniper in a tower.

Thing is, I didn't mind. It didn't distract from the storytelling, and it doesn't feel as though it was thrown in for shock value. You're quite comfortable with the creators at this point, so even if they came over to your house and declared a state of emergency around your coffee table you would feel quite safe that everything was in good hands.

The writing is superb. Morgan juggles several plot points semmingly effortlessly, and just like any espionage or mystery novel worth its salt, he has you engrossed from thefirst page. Even when you think you know whats going on, he throws something new at you and it doesn't detract one bit from

The story moves on at a steady pace; no dread feel of decompression as the many elements and twists in this particular tale do warrant six issues, and perhaps even more. As Natasha begins to unravel the mysteries, she finds more than she had bargained for as all that she had believed before turn out to be lies. Given that she was trained as a weapon (and one of deceit at that) in a long running war of the superpowers, it shouldn't come us much of a surprise, but the technology employed (or should that be, biotechnology) is terrifying. I am not sure how much of this is fact, researched by Morgan or how much is made up or exaggerated, but whatever the case it is powerful and adds a menacing resonance to the piece.

You can't do anything but feel for Natasha as the revelations of betrayal pile on top of one another; both sides - including mentors, colleagues and friends - used her and exploited implanted weaknesses to attempt to control her. The look of shocked realisation when she is told of the aftershave, its uses and its primary wearer really hits home.

And this is probably a good time to talk about the art. Chapter One is all Bill Sienkiewicz, while the other 5 chapters contain the layouts of Goran Parlov, with Sienkiewicz providing the finishes. Both art styles fit well, and seem to work best in action scenes, accurately conveying the quick, lethal duels between the main protagonists. There's something gritty there as well, which adds to the tone, particularly when Natasha returns to Moscow and reminisces on her young life, the ballet and Black Widow training.

If I had to find a fault (and it would be tenuous at best) it would be the last page, or more precisely, the last panel. It has such a To Be Continued feel about it that you really want more and the story sort of hangs. Luckily, when I read this the trade paperback had a little insert in that last panel mentioning the upcoming sequel which sated me. It would be intriguing to see if that was also included in the monthly books as I am unsure whether the decision on a sequel had been made at that stage.

Having sampled the first volume by Richard K. Morgan, I cannot wait until the next part which begins its monthly run in October. With Sean Phillips on art duties and finishes again by Sienkewicz, I'm locked in.

More than that, I want to pick one of Morgan's novels and give it a try. Hopefully those who already enjoy his prose offerings will cross over and sample his comics
work.

If you like espionage whether it be in comic or any other literary format, you would do well to pick this book up. If you like the original Black Widow, you will love this and should have bought it anyway. But we'll forgive you if you forgot. There's still time to make amends.