Black Widow 9
Edmondson (w) and Noto (a and c) and Cowles (l)
Black Widow got a hot-tip that Chaos, the organization she's after, has some link to a ship out in the ocean. She arrives there to find it apparently empty but her presence set off a number of alarms elsewhere, including on Crossbone's plane which he's using to transport Punisher back to his boss. He's also planning, apparently, to rig the same ship Black Widow finds herself on to explode. Crossbones arrives on the ship and he and Black Widow scuffle, finding themselves at a stalemate which skews towards Crossbones since he has henchmen. Of course, his henchmen are busy being picked off one-by-one by Punisher, who does appear to help Natasha. With about four minutes left before the ship blows, Natasha gives the ship a once-over to see if she can't find any leads. She finds one worker on the ship who does seem legitimately to not know anything but she comes dangerously close to torturing him anyway before PUNISHER stops her (that capitalization was to show how crazy that sentence is). They manage to escape the ship in time with the innocent worker, from whom Natasha manages to get a little bit more information. Then she turns the tables on Punisher, holding him at gunpoint. More on his landing place in the next review. Fast forward to the next day where Maria Hill wants to know who could have hacked SHIELD's communications and to a phone call Natasha receives where she learns that Isaiah has been taken.
Strong stuff overall and the crossover business is pretty cool as two really good Edmondson books with very strong looks come together. One of the coolest things between the two is a page that has the same starting lines and the same ending lines, which makes comparing and contrasting the page layouts and the focus of the panels really interesting. I'm onboard with this sort of really small, really contained crossover, particularly in this case, which will undoubtedly add to the coming stories in both books (helped by the fact that both books are written by Edmondson). Also, guys, Phil Noto continues to be amazing and I really like this cover AND really like PUNISHER's cover, to be seen JUST ABOUT NOW.
Total Score: 5/5
Punisher 9
Edmondson (w) and Gerads (a and c) and Petit (l)
Punisher is being transported by Crossbones when he breaks out of the jet, taking a couple henchmen down at the same time. He saves Black Widow after working his way through more henchmen and reveals that Crossbones rigged the ship to blow. He takes out more henchmen and saves the worker from Natasha's torture before getting both of them off the ship. Black Widow turns her gun to him, though, and he quickly remembers his standing with the Avengers. She drops him off at a Central American prison and he also remembers that he doesn't really like the Avengers.
Look, I said most of what I wanted to say above. More strong writing, though there's a running comparison of his stressful day to a vacation and it falls maybe a little flat, particularly since it feels a little out of serious Punisher's voice. Still a lot of fun in this crossover and a really well-drawn book by Mitch Gerads. And check out that cover!
Total Score: 5/5
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