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colonel_green (colonel_green) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-18 15:15:00

Entry tags:

char: black widow/natasha romanova, char: captain america/bucky barnes, char: wolverine/logan/james howlett, creator: adi granov, creator: greg land, creator: paul cornell, creator: tom raney, genre: solicitations, publisher: marvel comics

Three covers, minimal inspiration.

A look at the first issue of Black Widow: Deadly Origin, and its three covers.

BLACK WIDOW: DEADLY ORIGIN #1 (of 4)
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Penciled by TOM RANEY & JOHN PAUL LEON
Cover by ADI GRANOV
Cover by TOM RANEY
Variant Cover by GREG LAND
Before she steals the world's heart in Iron Man II, get caught in the wicked web of Marvel's sexiest and deadliest super-spy! She's been everything from a Russian espionage agent to a Champion to an Avenger, now a skeleton from Natalia Romanova's past is reaching out for those she's loved and lost...and the Black Widow has many victims to choose from! From the frozen streets of Moscow to the upper stratosphere, writer Paul Cornell (CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI3) and artists Tom Raney (DARK REIGN: HAWKEYE) and John Paul Leon (The Winter Men) deliver a globe-hopping, bone-breaking, high-tech thriller that reveals how Natalia's shadowy past threatens all she now holds dear. Guest-starring the Winter Soldier and Wolverine!

Every so often people will debate whether the use of variant covers is a bad thing or not. I say no; anybody who still believes variants are going to be worth anything is a moron who deserves what's coming. For me, variant covers just mean you get two or more choices of cover, which is frequently a good thing. These, though, are none of them brilliant.

First, getting it out of the way, the Land cover:

Blah blah blah hack blah blah Land...

Next up, an updated version of the Raney cover that I already posted:

They've made some fairly substantial additions to the background, which is good; this is the best of them, but it's still nothing special.

Finally, Adi Granov:

The idea here is fine, but, as I said in the earlier thread about the Agents of Atlas cover, Adi Granov really shouldn't draw people. They all look like they're made of plastic.

Looking forward to the actual story, since Cornell rarely disappoints, but they could have done better for the covers.

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	volksjager 2009-08-18 06:30 pm UTC (link)
	Yikes, triple DDs on that first cover. I like that we will learn more about Widow/Winter solder (bucky). (Reply to this) (Thread)

kenn_el
2009-08-18 09:58 pm UTC (link)

I wish we wouldn't. What Brubaker gave us in Captain America made their reunion and their current connection much more poignant than 'they keep running into each other over the years' type thing, which this looks like it might turn into. Their brief affair, cut tragically short, followed by their present day meeting, all these years later, leading to a romantic rekindling is one of the best things about the Captain America series.

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	colonel_green 2009-08-18 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	Cornell's generally not one to mess with continuity, so I imagine any scenes will be set during their initial affair (which we only saw a couple of panels of anyway). Hmm, now that I think about it, having those two on the cover may be a chronological thing: she met Logan first in World War II as a child, then Winter Soldier while entering the Red Room program. (Reply to this) (Parent)

rorge
2009-08-18 10:42 pm UTC (link)

Agreed. The scene where Black Widow found the frozen Winter Soldier in storage was a nice, poignant one, and there's earthly reason to add to that.

Show how they first met, and started up their affair, but don't add to it, please.

In fact, that storyline between the two of them comes somewhere close to the fantastic Bucky/Namor reunion scene in Winter Kills. That's one of my favourite scenes in any comic.

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	legba 2009-08-18 06:30 pm UTC (link)
	I've got to say I prefer Adi Granov's cover of the three. It just annoys me that neither of the other two's shooty things match the angle of her wrists - Land's is especially bad. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jcbaggee 2009-08-19 03:22 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, that's my first thought too, that she's evidently going to start the series off blowing off her own hands. Natasha Romanov, Russian superspy and double amputee? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	halloweenjack 2009-08-18 06:32 pm UTC (link)
	The fact that Land can't even draw a mouth right (kind of a severe failing for someone that pays the rent with pornface) tends to distract from his failed attempt at being Adam Hughes. (Reply to this)

	seriousfic 2009-08-18 06:45 pm UTC (link)
	I'll give Land points, if only for being so inclusive of double amputees in his cover. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	rbenchley 2009-08-18 06:51 pm UTC (link)
	I was coming in here to post that and you beat me to it. Still, it's nice to see that Land is branching out and stealing from a wider variety of pornographic material. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	darklorelei 2009-08-18 06:47 pm UTC (link)
	Oh man, the Land cover is just hilarious. (Reply to this)

jaybee3
2009-08-18 06:56 pm UTC (link)

The Land cover is basically Generic Model/Woman X with red hair. If it wasn't Land's work, it would look like a parody of Land's work. The Raney cover is the best of all three but that's not saying much. At least none of them look like Scarlett Johannsen (a non-exactly inspired casting choice IMO).

I'm actually looking forward to this too. I've become a fan of the Black Widow in the last few years, so far it seems she's been able to maintain her dignity despite all the cross-overs she's had to go through. Not many Marvel characters can say that. I like her with Bucky too. The fact that he's really 80something (something often brought up) and she's really 70something (something that's not) and she's the only one who calls him "James" are nice twists.

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	colonel_green 2009-08-18 07:02 pm UTC (link)
	I believe Cornell in one of his early interviews specified her birth year as 1928, which means she's over the big 8-0, at least in his eyes. I like the James/Natalia thing; it gives them some distinction. (Reply to this) (Parent)

ficticons
2009-08-20 01:32 am UTC (link)

The fact that...she's the only one who calls him "James" are nice twists.
Ooh, this. I mean, I know Bucky was his codename back in the day, and that the soldiers probably called him that, but I really wonder why he doesn't prefer to be called James (although I can probably see why he wouldn't want to be called Jim or Jimmy) more regularly.

Theirs is a really interesting and intriguing relationship. I might just have to pick this up to see what the writers/artists do with it, and of course to learn about Natasha herself (clever of Marvel to release a miniseries about her shortly prior to the movie, isn't it?).

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starwolf_oakley
2009-08-18 07:05 pm UTC (link)

Regarding Natasha's romantic past, I hope they have some stuff about Natasha's husband. And I really hope they loved each other, as "married her to brainwash her" I just don't like.

While a lot of this appears to be "pre-Silver Age," I hope elements of the Silver Age (updated, of course) are still in there. Namely her romances with Clint Barton and Matt Murdock, and exactly what attracted her to a "carny turned villain turned hero" and then "a lawyer turned vigilante."

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	colonel_green 2009-08-18 07:19 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not sure about Red Guardian, but Cornell said that he was going to address all her previous superhero relationships and explore how she affected the guys she was involved with. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	foxhack 2009-08-18 07:10 pm UTC (link)
	So that's his name, Adi Granov... I still think his artwork looks like something out of an Unreal Engine video game. Also LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND (Reply to this)

	windonfire 2009-08-18 07:57 pm UTC (link)
	My mother came in whilst I was looking at the Land cover and she immediately thought I was looking at porn. Sigh. Also, hello there, Hugh Jac- I mean, Wolverine... (Reply to this) (Thread)

	colonel_green 2009-08-18 10:20 pm UTC (link)
	Whereas the actual porn you were looking at was quickly minimized, right? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	henker 2009-08-19 03:08 am UTC (link)
	I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw Hugh Jackman. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sailorlibra 2009-08-18 08:23 pm UTC (link)
	And I hate all of these covers. I guess I'll just have to make my own and post it over whichever cover I end up with. (Reply to this)

	scottyquick 2009-08-18 08:43 pm UTC (link)
	It's only four issues now? Darn. Also, holy moley I love the second cover so much. (Reply to this)

	ghosty732 2009-08-18 11:59 pm UTC (link)
	I for one LOVE the Adi Granov cover. It's sexy but not gratuitous (aka the cover for the Psyloche series). (Reply to this) (Thread)

	unknownscribler 2009-08-19 06:23 am UTC (link)
	It really is by far and away the best of the three. I just wish they'd done her with short hair. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	proteus_lives 2009-08-19 04:13 am UTC (link)
	I like the Raney cover. (Reply to this)

l_arlesienne
2009-08-19 08:42 am UTC (link)

Greg Land: still Marvel's highest paid scrap-booker. Her belt is a big as her boobs. There's a random skull on the cover. And why is there a line coming of her mouth, was BW being shot at when she was doing her lip-liner? Eh?

The background in the Raney one is a bit "meh"...and I'm not entirely sure of how BW is staying upright, but the the hair is lovely.

BW looks about 14 in the face on the Granov one, but he so gets points for giving her a realistic body and pose. She may even be wearing a bra there. So yeah, a bit plastic-y but I like it.

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