Tag Archives: Natasha Romanoff

Mar 2 2015

New Avengers 30

new avengers 30

Today, Spencer and Mark are discussing New Avengers 30, originally released February 25th, 2015. 

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Spencer: Jonathan Hickman and Dalibor Talajic’s New Avengers 30 reads a bit like a textbook on multiversal theory. It’s about as dry as beef jerky, and is focused so strongly on explaining every minute detail about the Ivory Kings that it largely fails to address why they’re doing what they’re doing. The information contained within its pages will likely prove important as Secret Wars grows closer, but for the moment, New Avengers 30 feels like an issue that highlights the greatest weakness of Hickman’s Avengers books: a focus on plot that supersedes “story” or characterization.  Continue reading →

Dec 16 2014

Avengers 39

avengers 39Today, Spencer and Mark are discussing Avengers 39, originally released December 10th, 2014. 

Spencer: When you read enough comics, you start to see certain repeated themes and styles emerge among various writers. Brian Michael Bendis is known for dialogue-heavy, somewhat decompressed comics. Kieron Gillen makes no attempt to hide his musical influences and knack for clever dialogue. Geoff Johns loves to rehabilitate long-forgotten or mishandled characters and concepts (and is also a bit infamous for cutting off his characters’ arms). Jonathan Hickman, meanwhile, is probably best known for his cerebral, somewhat detached style of writing that can spend years setting things up before finally letting all the dominos fall into place. With this week’s Avengers 39 we’re getting closer and closer to the end of Hickman’s Avengers epic, but the most interesting part of the issue is the commentary Hickman seems to be making on his own writing style. Continue reading →

Nov 25 2014

Black Widow 12

black widow 12Today, Suzanne and Spencer are discussing Black Widow 12, originally released November 19th, 2014.

slim-bannerSuzanne: Have you ever looked at your job description six months into a new job and chuckled to yourself? Rarely do expectations and generally-worded guidelines from corporate align themselves with real-life experiences. How about that summer internship when you felt more like a barista than a business student? Natasha Romanova feels your pain in Black Widow 12, as jobs constantly pull her away from her preferred role as a spy. Continue reading →

Nov 21 2014

Avengers 38

avengers 38Today, Spencer and Drew are discussing Avengers 38, originally released November 19th, 2014. 

You can’t tell the players without a program!

Traditional

Spencer: I actually bought a program at a ballgame once, and while it made a nice souvenir, I can’t say it helped me follow the game any better — if anything, it was a bit of a distraction. I didn’t need to be able to tell the players to follow the action on the field, but the same isn’t true for Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers epic; thankfully, Avengers 38 provides us with a pretty snazzy program of its own, free of charge!

Program

While only the characters in color actually appear in this issue, almost all of them play some sort of role in its story, making me increasingly grateful for this handy run-down. Actually, in its own way all of Avengers 38 is a program; the issue sets up the players in the upcoming conflict between the various Avengers teams as well as their motivations, allegiances, and weapons, and I have a feeling we’re going to be referencing this issue for quite a while to come. It’s place-setting, but place-setting is rarely this entertaining. Continue reading →

Jun 9 2014

Black Widow 7

black widow 7Today, Shelby and Drew are discussing Black Widow 7, originally released June 4th, 2014. 

slim-bannerShelby: Sometimes it takes other people to really see something about a character.  Seeing a character’s actions and internal monologue when it’s separate from others can almost numb you towards that character’s actions. It’s with the inclusion of another point of view that you suddenly realize the character is not all right, or that they need more help than even they realize. If there’s any character out there who needs more help than they realize, it’s gotta be Nathan Edmondson’s Black Widow.

Continue reading →

Mar 17 2014

Black Widow 4

black Widow 4Today, Shelby and Spencer are discussing Black Widow 4, originally released March 12th, 2014. 

slim-bannerShelby: I have a friend who’s having a frustrating time at work. Her department and position is currently transitioning to something different, so until everything is finalized she’s working two different positions. I can see how, from a management perspective, that would be the perceived best way to transition someone into a new job. For her, though, it just means she’s two jobs to do instead of one, and instead of focusing on one or the other she has to half-ass both. I think one of the toughest things about managing a company is avoiding situations like my friend’s. You have to be able to manage your people in such a way that they are able to do their tasks to the best of their abilities. It’s important to diversify and grow the skills of your employees, but not at the cost of prohibiting them from doing their actual job, especially if that job is being one of the world’s greatest spies.

Continue reading →

Jan 10 2014

Black Widow 1

black widow 1

Today, Ethan and Shelby are discussing Black Widow 1, originally released January 8th, 2014. 

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Ethan: Adult life teaches you to juggle. Whether it’s as a stay-at-home parent, working a 9-to-5, or holding down more than one job at the same time, everything comes down to how well you can keep it all in the air. There’s the work-life balance, figuring out how to be in a serious relationship, managing different personalities in the office — there’s never a shortage of things to keep you on your toes. Natalia Romonova, aka Natasha, aka Black Widow knows a thing or two about this, though her version of finding balance is a bit more exotic and demanding than most. That is, unless YOUR average day involves infiltration and throwing people out of windows. Continue reading →

Dec 11 2013

Avengers Annual 2013

Aternating Currents: Avengers Annual 1, Drew and DanToday, Drew and guest writer Dan Jones are discussing Avengers Annual 2013, originally released December 4th, 2013. 

slim-bannerDrew: Superheroes are a lonely bunch. They’re generally unlucky-in-love. Many of them are orphans (or had other close loved ones die). They also have isolating responsibilities and power-sets that can make them difficult to relate to. Unless, of course, they’re trying to relate to other superheroes. Characters like Iron Man and Captain America seem peerless when surrounded by everyday schmucks, but they act as serviceable peers to one another. That emotional support can be lost in stories that attempt to justify their team-ups with ever-bigger baddies to punch (coughInfinitycough), but can be a goldmine for savvy writers. Kathryn Immonen goes a step further in the Avengers Annual 2013, making the subtext of superhero loneliness the text, and giving the Avengers a reason to team up besides a giant bad-guy. Continue reading →

Nov 22 2013

Avengers 23

avengers 23 infinityToday, Spencer and Ethan are discussing Avengers 23, originally released November 20th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: Guys, I’m just gonna be frank with you; I’m getting kind of tired of Infinity.  I thought it started out great, with immense threats, exciting action, a fun war-story vibe and a colorful cast of alien supporting characters who were fleshed out just enough so that the scenes featuring them weren’t boring, but Infinity never really broke away from or added any depth to that formula, and after over ten issues of it, I’m thoroughly tired of this interstellar war-story. Maybe writer Jonathan Hickman is too; it would explain why this issue of Avengers feels so pointless. Or maybe he just thinks that the infiltration of the Peak is important enough to devote two whole issues to; unfortunately for us, it’s not. Continue reading →

Sep 19 2013

Infinity 3

infinity 3-INFINITY

Today, Spencer and Patrick are discussing Infinity 3, originally released September 18th, 2013. This issue is part of the Infinity crossover event. Click here for complete Infinity coverage.

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Spencer: Infinity and its tie-ins have been dripping with ego and machismo. Between the Builders, the Illuminati, Thanos, J-Son, the Galactic Council, and even some of the Avengers, there have been a lot of big words and threats thrown around, and almost all of them are strong enough to back up their words with actions (except for J-Son, of course). This isn’t necessarily a complaint; some of the coolest moments of Infinity (such as the spree of sick burns in last week’s Avengers or the Skrulls’ touching suicide mission) have sprung from this kind of machismo. It’s exciting, but in this week’s issue, writer Jonathan Hickman flips our perspective a bit, reminding us of why we probably started reading comics in the first place: its always more fun to root for the underdog.

Continue reading →