Widowmaker (2011) #4

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Swierczynski tries a little Mockingbird and Hawkeye romantic banter moment or two and he fails. It’s all right though, because he’s not really hinging much on it. In fact, he’s hinging almost nothing on those two this issue–Black Widow narrates the issue.

There are still the problems with Garcia and Ruggiero. Lots of eyes getting completely inked over, lots of faces being inconsistent when going from close-up to medium shot (and vice versa). There are some mediocre panels and some awful ones, but there’s at least a decent sense of movement to carry it along.

Swierczynski writes Widow and Hawkeye well together (at one point, positioning them against Dominic Fortune and Mockingbird) but the issue is mostly Widow’s. He can’t quite sell his trick ending though–in fact I had to read it twice because it doesn’t make sense.

Widowmaker limps overall, never retaining that first issue enthusiasm.

Widowmaker (2011) #3

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I miss Swierczynski.

McCann does a decent job plotting the issue–there’s a lot of action in it, as well as the investigation into the spy stuff–but it’s a stinker.

First, yeah, I think the Lopezes are trying to make Black Widow unattractive. There’s a weak romance moment for Hawkeye and Mockingbird here too. Strange how McCann started his work on that aspect of the characters so strong and it’s since become a major problem for him. His Mockingbird is an annoying human being.

But the issue’s also cluttered with movie references. Sometimes McCann calls them out, other times he just suggests they’ve been made. It’s a weak crutch pretending to be thoughtful dialogue.

As for the big reveal of the new, evil Ronin?

It flops. My first reaction was “who?”. My second, after hearing his master plan, was wondering if DC would sue over The Losers being plagarized.

Widowmaker (2011) #2

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So Marvel is now alternating creative teams on limited series? I’m only mildly complaining–mostly about Ruggiero and Bit’s inks on Garcia, who I thought did better work. Maybe I’m wrong. There’s a lot of problems with faces here (and eyes being totally inked over). It’s not terrible art, but it looks very rushed.

As for Swierczynski taking over writing chores, it’s hard to say. About half the issue is a battle with the Supreme Soviets, with some revelations at the end. It’s a boring fight, partially due to the art, but also because it seems out of place. It’s this big battle scene, not dynamically rendered, and it serves no purpose except to fill pages.

When he gets to the espionage angle, Swierczynski does a lot better. He shows Mockingbird and Dominic Fortune out of the comic halfway through, which helps, to bore elsewhere. His Widow and Hawkeye work.

Widowmaker (2011) #1

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So for some reason, while everyone else gets drawn young and beautiful, the Lopezes draw Black Widow aged and weathered. She’s got more lines around her eyes than Rob Liefeld draws on a bicep. I know this book is a continuation of Hawkeye and Mockingbird, maybe making Widow unappealing is to bolster Mockingbird.

Actually, of all the characters–Black Widow, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Dominic Fortune–Mockingbird makes the least impression. McCann establishes a solid espionage story here and he’s so busy working through the details, there’s not a lot of time for characters without personality. Mockingbird doesn’t have much personality, especially when she’s not bickering with Clint.

The cliffhanger is somewhat weak, but so much of the issue is strong–McCann’s plot is good–it doesn’t really matter.

The Lopezes art, besides the Widow stuff, is decent. It’s bright for spy stuff. Widowmaker is a Bond movie in the Marvel Universe.