6. Black Widow #1 by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto (Marvel)
Once upon a time, Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow was a bad guy. These days she's an Avenger and firmly on the side of good but she still harbours guilt from the days when she wasn't. In this new Black Widow series, Natasha takes assassination jobs in between her Avengers work, taking out villains and giving the money from the hits to deserving people. This new series takes its cue from Black Widow's opening scene in The Avengers movie, playing up her espionage links and also reading a lot like a Mission Impossible story. Black Widow's blowing up cars, shooting bad guys, disarming bombs, rappelling out of windows, wearing disguises - standard spy stuff, but still fun to read here. The Mission Impossible stuff creeps in after the opening scene, with the self-destructing briefcase, and a scene that looked a lot like the one from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol where Tom Cruise is climbing up a massive glass skyscraper. Movie comparisons aside, it's a strong opening issue from Nathan Edmondson, and showcases Natasha as the badass she is and why she's got her own series. Phil Noto's artwork is his best work in a while, with the action scenes playing out smoothly and I really liked his Black Widow character design, especially that final page close up of her face - very elegant. Black Widow #1 is a good start to what promises to be a great new Marvel series. Spy thriller fans will love this.