Black Widow #3

       Cat fight! If the premise of Marvels two deadliest female leads fighting each other doesn't intrigue you, well something is wrong with you. Knowing how well-trained each character is, I found it impossible not to find myself at least a little excited about this issue. With Marjorie Liu and Daniel  Acuña on top of it all this though, well you gotta admit something'll click. Luckily, this issue went a long way in reviving my interest in the title and hopefully this standard'll stick around for a while. But enough fluff, let's jump right into Black Widow issue 3! 
 
       Our issue opens with Elektra and Natasha talking. The two of them being who they are though, things quickly turn ugly and a fight ensues. Natasha is still in rough shape though and as the fight ends she feels the pain in her stomach that tells her that her stitches tore. Black Rose happens by though and brings Natasha to a ship on the dock and tends to her. When Natasha wakes up, she talks with Black Rose and tells him she knew all along what the black rose given to her meant, but now things were personal between her and her attacker. Soon she tracks down the son of a man she used to work with and goes to England. She discusses with him what was taken from her and It's not long before they're interrupted and Black Widow has to fight for her life! But as the issue closes, she finally gains a sense of what's going on... 
 

       Marjorie Liu lets loose in this issue and it pays off. Having Black Widow interact with some characters that are not just Avengers pays off in a big way as the opening scene with Elektra steals the show. And I don't even like Elektra. The scene is just a perfect example of how to handle two characters with big presences and shows a wonderful series of interactions of the two. It's the kind of scene you don't want all the time, but when you get it, it's just what you need. On top of that, Liu brings back Black Rose, a great supporting character introduced in issue one. He's a character I'd want to see come back some more. Now, I don't know if Liu tried to do this, but Black Rose quickly becomes top suspect when you read the scene with Black Widow and her associates son. I'm hoping I'm wrong and that he has no involvement so that Black Rose can continue to provide a sense of stability in Natashas life, something she desperately needs. 

       Daniel  Acuña does his best work of the series so far with this issue. Once again, the opening scene steals the show, largely due to  Acuñas simple layouts that manage to set such a great pace for the book and an incredible atmosphere. I was really impressed with all the action here, as motion is done with ease.  Acuña uses motion lines to incredible effect and the letters are so well placed that I can't tell if  Acuña put them into the art himself or if Nate Piekos is really that good. I only wish that there was a bit more in the way of backgrounds, but the use of background really gets the mood across most of the time. Just a few panels could use a bit more background is all. 
 
       Overall, Liu and  Acuña are crafting a nice little spy story. Since this is the halfway point, I think it's safe to say that it's decent but slightly underwhelming. This just really doesn't seem like it's doing much for anybody involved, other than bringing in new characters that hopefully will see past the end of this arc. 4 out of 5. Keep it up!