Black Widow #5

       And so the all to brief run of Marjorie Liu and Daniel  Acuña on Black Widow ends with a bang. This book actually managed to grow on me quite a bit, and it's sad to see the team depart so soon. I knew this was coming though and will have to learn to deal. Lucky me, I got the balls to the wall action I was hoping for, in more ways than one. So how did Liu and  Acuña end it? Let's dive headfirst into the finale of the Name of the Rose, Black Widow issue 5!  
  

       The issue opens with Black Widow stripped down naked and stuffed into a walk in refrigerator (Sounds a bit raunchy, no?). In walks the robot projection of Imus Champion, followed by his big bald lackey, but it's not long before Natasha provokes the lackey into beating her, breaking her restraints. She reveals that she has a recorder inserted into her hand and that she just taped the confession the lackey gives her. She then proceeds to disable the robot and takes the lackeys clothes, leaving him naked and chained in the locker. What proceeds next is 10 pages of the most brutal fight I've seen in a comic in a long while. After the fight, we flash forward a couple days to Natasha in a park, reflecting on her past and thinking of how what's most important is not that a heart broke, but that it loved. 
 
       Marjorie Liu is a very twisted individual, I must say. The little twists in everyones dialogue are so fun to read but man, they're not PG, that's for sure. Not to mention the ten page fight that includes dismemberment, the woman buried alive, and oh yea, the brain in a jar. I can't help but sense that Liu just threw everything she could think of out there for this comic, knowing it would be her last issue. I can't help but love it all though, as things reach a very fitting conclusion and lots of mayhem ensues. The monologue at issues end was both cliche and appropriate, putting a nice feather into the fine cap of this story. If the last two issues really clicked for me, this one sealed the deal. Liu can write a great spy story. Get her on a Bond movie, fast! 

       Last issue I commented that I was expecting nothing less than balls to the wall action from this issue. Man, I didn't know how right I was. Daniel  Acuña handles the issue with such expertise, you'd think the man had been in a few too many bar fights himself. Black Widow shines here big time, just out right outclassing Imus in their fight, but it wouldn't have been believable if not for the handling of the scene. Not only is the choreography great, but the weight that each character carries themselves with and the strain on their faces as they struggle not to give in look amazing too. I can't praise  Acuña enough for this issue, and if you need a real example, just look at the opening shots of Imus in bed.  Acuña takes a lame, has-been character and immediately makes him a real threat with just one page. I'll miss you  Acuña. 
 
       Overall, the last two issues of this comic really elevated it into something special. With the departure of Liu and  Acuña the book won't be the same, but here's hoping we get the same great quality work. 4.5 out of 5 stars, I can't wait to read this again in trade paperback.