I attempted to do a video review of the Avengers movie, keyword: attempt. But basically, my one sentence sum-up reaction was, “they made that movie, and Marvel decided they needed to push Hawkeye?”
Review: Black Widow Strikes #1
In an interview about her upcoming Captain Marvel book, Kelly Sue DeConnick said, “Show me that a female-led book about the power of the human spirit, about the many guises of heroism, a book wherein no one gets raped or puts her cervix on display, can break six issues, won’t you?” This is not that comic book. Scarlett Johansson, speaking of the way women are presented in the exploding superhero film genre, said, “We need some superheroine out there who doesn’t just fight in a bra.” This is not a book about that character.
I registered my disappointment when rumors leaked about a new Black Widow mini (yay) that would tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (alright) and be published first in Russian Maxim (…). It’s a frustrating reminder that for all Marvel says and does try to register its superhero women as icons of empowerment and characters both, they still choose to market them as men’s magazine consumables, too. But, I thought, maybe it won’t be so bad. Marvel’s occasionally baffling marketing decisions have often disguised good books.
In this one, Natasha does all her fight scenes in her underwear.
Review: Secret Avengers #19-20
Kongo: Ha! Kongo have hand! Kongo fight good!
Natasha: Kongo not count past one.
I’m going to say it: Secret Avengers #20 was the best Black Widow comic of the year.
Review: Captain America and Bucky #624
Soviet Guy: Natasha is not yours. She belongs to Red Guardian.
Winter Soldier: You think she belongs to anyone? Then you are as foolish as the others.
I never know how to begin these write-up posts, so let’s just roll the solicit text. “The final chapter in Cap and Bucky’s first arc is here, completing the retelling of Bucky’s early days with a heartbreaking tale of the Winter Soldier and Black Widow in the 1950s, and our secret narrator is finally revealed.” So, spoilers: that is actually what the issue is about.
