Black Widow Modern Era Epic Collection: The Itsy-bitsy Spider

The deadly Yelena Belova lays claim to the title of Black Widow in a foundational tale set in the start of the modern era of comics!

Natasha Romanoff has always led a life of adventure. A former Soviet spy, she defected to the West and became a super hero and an Avenger. Natasha has earned a reputation as a consummate professional, coldly efficient and as deadly as her namesake. But now, her time as Black Widow may be running out! Yelena Belova is the first student in the history of the Red Room to exceed Natasha's skills -—and now she's gunning for the mantle she feels was stolen from her. Plus: A string of international killings leads Natasha back to a Russia she can barely recognize. Whoever said you can't go home again never reckoned with the Black Widow! And when Yelena’s former mentor is murdered, she must go deep undercover to catch the killer!

COLLECTING: Black Widow (1999) 1-3, Black Widow (2001) 1-3, Black Widow: Pale Little Spider (2002) 1-3, Black Widow (2004) 1-6, Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (2005) 1-6

Devin Grayson is best known for her award-winning work on DC’s Batman books — including Batman: Gotham Knights, a title she created, and Nightwing. She has also worked at Marvel on X-Men: Evolution, as well as penning Black Widow and Ghost Rider miniseries for Marvel Knights. She has had an essay published in She’s Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology and Other Nerdy Stuff, scripted an MMORPG, and written several articles about her experience with insulin-dependent diabetes and her Dogs4Diabetics-trained medical-alert dog, Cody.

Eisner Award-winning writer Greg Rucka is the author of nearly a dozen novels — seven featuring bodyguard Atticus Kodiak and three featuring Tara Chace, the protagonist of his Queen & Country comics. He has also penned several short stories, countless comics and the occasional nonfiction essay. In comics, he has written stories featuring some of the world’s best-known characters — Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman — as well as creator-owned properties such as Whiteout and Queen & Country, both published by Oni Press. His work has been optioned several times over, and his services are in high demand in a variety of creative fields as a story doctor and creative consultant.

Richard K. Morgan is a British science fiction and fantasy author of books, short stories, and graphic novels. He is the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for his 2003 book Altered Carbon, which was adapted into a Netflix series released in 2018. His third book, Market Forces, won the John W. Campbell Award in 2005, while his 2008 work Thirteen garnered him the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

J.G. Jones is one of the new century’s brashest and boldest art talents. An in-demand cover artist, his lush art designs have adorned covers to Y the Last Man, Villains United and Catwoman, among others. In 2000, Jones came together with Grant Morrison for a startlingly fresh take on the Kree mythos in the limited series Marvel Boy. Shortly thereafter, he teamed with writer Greg Rucka on the original graphic novel Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia, providing full interior art. In 2003, he was part of a bevy of top artists who took part in the Avengers Finale one-shot for Marvel. His most high-profile work wound up being a partnership with writer Mark Millar on the Top Cow limited series Wanted in 2003-04, which only four years later would turn into a box-office smash starring Angelina Jolie. He spent 2007 turning in covers for the entire run of 52, DC’s popular weekly comic series. Jones later teamed with his Marvel Boy collaborator Grant Morrison on the DC event Final Crisis.

A student of Will Eisner, painter Scott Hampton had his first professional comic-book story, the three-page “Victims,” published in 1981 in Warren Publishing’s Vampirella #101. In the years since, he has worked on such iconic properties as Batman, Sandman, Black Widow, Hellraiser, Hellboy and Doc Savage, as well as creator-owned projects such as The Upturned Stone. Hampton adapted his favorite ghost stories into comics form in 2004’s Spookhouse. Outside comics, he has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, and he wrote and directed the short independent film The Tontine in 2006.

Croatian-born illustrator Igor Kordey has earned a reputation for his prolific output, working on as many as three or four monthly books at the same time. His Marvel work includes Black Widow: Pale Little Spider, Captain America, Conspiracy, Soldier X, Tales of the Marvels: Wonder Years, New X-Men, and extended runs on X-Treme X-Men and Cable. Kordey united with his compatriot Darko Macan on Tarzan projects for Dark Horse Comics.