Black Widow 2 #2

The second chapter of Richard K. Morgan's six-part limited series arrives with a cover by Bill Sienkiewicz that is hard to look away from — a red-haired Black Widow leveling a pistol directly at the viewer, her expression caught somewhere between focus and barely contained intensity. The painterly, loose brushwork gives the image a raw, almost unsettling intimacy that suits a story subtitled "The Things They Say About Her…" perfectly. With Sean Phillips and Sienkiewicz collaborating on interiors, this 2005 series brings a gritty, noir-inflected sensibility to Marvel's most formidable spy.