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Black [AF]: Widows and Orphans #1
Publisher: Black Mask
Story: Kwanza Osajyefo & Tim Smith 3
Pencils: Tim Smith 3
Colors: Derwin Roberson
Letters: David Sharpe
Cover: Tim Smith 3 & David Roberson

Osajyefo and Smith return us to the world where only Black people have powers and with Widows and Orphans they take things global. Now I say returns because this is the third series in the world of Black. However, if you haven’t read the original mini-series or even America’s Sweetheart then you might need a recap. Something that this issue could have used to ease any new readers into a sense of familiarity with the world they are about to step into. Not everyone who picks this up has read the story from the first series and it would just have helped a bit.

The story wastes no time in getting started as we’re quickly thrown into an assassination attempt on the first empowered senator. The pacing and action beats pull you in as you’re introduced (or reintroduced) to Anansi and Hoodrat then hits a full stop with a reveal that slams Anansi just as hard. This is where the writers open up the story with a reveal that ties to the title of the series while adding several more layers to the narrative and Anansi. A character who seems like two different people depending on whether or not he’s in costume. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays into his development and the overall narrative later on.

As far as the art goes, Smith and Roberson kick things off with some dynamic panels that move the action sequence almost perfectly for eight pages. Every panel builds on the next and we get to see how skilled a fighter Anansi is along with Hoodrat’s abilities. The dialogue is sparse during the action which lets you just focus on how cool the sequence is. However, there is another huge action sequence towards the end that seems to suffer from too much going on and the flow of the story gets jumbled a bit. That aside there’s a nice overall animated style that moves the narrative along.

Despite the initial hiccups for new readers Widows and Orphans takes the story of Black to the next level. So whether you’re a new reader or not this is a series you’ll want to get into and enjoy superhero stories outside of the regular capes and tights books out there.

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