Advance Review: White Widow #2 Extended 2nd Print

It may have escaped the notice of the majority, but there is another female spider character out there.  No, I am not talking about Spider-Gwen’s rename, and no, there isn’t another attempt at a Jessica Drew book (more is the pity!).  I am actually talking about White Widow, a book from the Absolute Comics Group.

Gabrielle Garcia is one of the types of characters you only find in comic books.  A nerd studying for a computer science degree at NYU, who is also a jock on the beech volleyball team.  So in the previous issue, she spends time either in a bikini or hanging out with her lesbian best friend and Chase, who is the ubiquitous “she only sees me as a friend” character.  Since the first issue, where Gabrielle was injected with a serum by her father, things have taken a bit of a turn, with the onset of her powers and her first confrontation with the mysterious Group.  This issue, acts more of a fulcrum piece with explanations and extrapolations of powers coming thick and fast.  Of course, there is still the Group to deal with and their interest in our heroine.

The book is a created by Jamie Tyndall, who provides the art for page 12 and writer / letterer Benny R. Powell.  In essence, White Widow is a bit of an mash up of several sources, including, Spider-Man, Venom with old school Witchblade tendencies. Powell keeps things pretty stable,  not over cooking the various elements, letting each aspect come into their own at a natural pace.  In order to work, there has to be a “guy in the chair” step forward Regina who seems to have a degree in assumptive technobabble.  The discussions that the pair have is all setup and it is to Powell’s credit that this doesn’t detract from the pace.  Finally, Gabrielle’s inner monologue is strong enough to carry her doubts and concerns over the impact of her suit and power.

The art is provided by Iwan Nazif in style that  is pretty much a throw back to the times of curvy girls in skin tight clothes.  Now I don’t have a problem with that at all; the problems arise when the said curvy girl is not on the page.  Too often, the secondary characters seem to be less than detailed as Gabrielle.  I get it; its fun drawing the heroine and not so much fun drawing standard style characters.  Maybe that explains Pulse’s cut down to her navel jumpsuit.  For the most part the art does well to convey the action pieces, though there are some perspective and anatomy liberties taken.  As solid as Nazif is, Tyndall’s page, with its Michael Turner or Ian Churchill styled lines acts as a contrast that doesn’t help extol the virtues of Nazif’s line work, which is a shame.  Colors for the main story are by Fahriza Kamaputr and Brian Argel  Magnaye with James Brown’s colors used for the second part of the book, all of which get to mix it up with various environments, though I do feel that the main story carries a more nuanced and textured scheme.

This is the second print of the book, though extra pages are included.  Having read both issues, there does seem to be a subtle change in tone in the extra pages.  Whilst this book will probably not dissuade the theory of comics being all about nubile female characters playing to young male fantasies, there is a place for it in the racks.  I would hate to see the creators back down from their original tone due to pressure from social commentaries.  Instead, enjoy the book for what it is, a comic featuring a strong female character that is, for the most part fun to read and enjoyable to look at.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Benny R. Powell
Art by; Iwan Nazif with James Tyndall
Colors by; Fahriza Kamaputr, Brian Argel Magnaye and James Brown
Created by; James Tyndall and Benny R. Powell
Published by; Absolute Comics Group

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network

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