The Black Widow is dead…but someone is killing her enemies. With a broken heart and a bloody trail to follow, Hawkeye is looking for answers. And the only person alive who may have them is Natasha Romanoff’s OTHER ex-boyfriend, The Winter Soldier. Can they trust each other long enough to unravel the web of mysteries that Black Widow left behind?

When I think of the classic Tales of Suspense, I think of crazy sci-fi and fantastical tales involving aliens and larger than life characters. For Tales of Suspense #100, writer Matthew Rosenberg delivers a comic that’s not so much the fantastical but instead delivers suspense in the start of a spy thriller that feels like a big budget action film.

Someone is killing off Hydra leadership post Secret Empire (good) and Rosenberg is one of the few writers at Marvel that seems to be taking on the ruins that were left in the wake of the ill conceived 2017 event. Is it the Black Widow, not really dead? Is it someone else? Focusing on Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, we’re taken through a trail as he attempts to figure out what’s going on and reminds us he’s not so much a spy as much a blunt instrument of screw-up. He’s also heading straight into a confrontation with the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s former partner and also a deadly assassin. Is he killing folks? By the end of the action packed first issue we know.

And action packed it is with set ups that feel grand and movie like the comic is full of moments that entertain and deliver adding to the 70s espionage feel infused in the comic.

That’s helped by Travel Foreman whose art is absolutely fantastic and delivers detail and sequences that flow. From a funeral home to an Eastern European country each setting is excellent in the detail and enhancing the story Rosenberg has come up with. The pencils, color, and ink, come together to create an aesthetic that feels like it’d be perfect for 70s spy thrillers.

A fantastic debut and one of Marvel’s strongest in their “Marvel Legacy” line, the first issue kicks off a mystery that feels like a hard boiled spy action thriller. I’m strapped in for the ride because as a start this promises a good one.

Story: Matthew Rosenberg Art: Travel Foreman Cover Art: Marco Checchetto
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review