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Jack Kirby cover; 1st app of the Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff); 1st app/death of 2nd Crimson Dynamo; Death of the first Crimson Dynamo; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
At the height of the Cold War, Stan Lee and writer Don Rico presented the first appearance of the Black Widow —then a Russian spy instead of a future Avenger. In this Iron Man story, the femme fatale is dispatched to America to kill former soviet scientist and super-villain Anton Vanko, aka the Crimson Dynamo. As seen here, artist Don Heck originally depicted Natasha Romanoff as more of a colorful supervillain. She would soon shed that style in favor of the sleek catsuit that we all recognize today, with the Black Widow's success in the Avengers movies turning this iconic issue into a classic comic and important investment.



Artists Information

Jack Kirby is called 'The King of Comics' for a reason, during his career that spanned six decades he gave us many of the most iconic characters the medium would ever see. From his introduction of Captain America at the height of World War II it was clear he wasn't your ordinary comics artist. But it was his creative explosion at Marvel Comics in the 1960's that cemented his legacy, over a short period of time Kirby would give us The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Hulk, The X-Men, Thor, Ant-Man and Nick Fury just to name a few. Kirby would then go to DC and create his Fourth World, introducing Darkseid, Mister Miracle, The New Gods and a host of cosmic supporting players. Long live The King.

Don Heck was an American comics artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics characters Iron Man and the Wasp, and for his long run penciling The Avengers during the Silver Age.

Inker at Marvel best known for his work on Jack Kirby's pencils for the Fantastic Four, also worked for Fawcett and Lev Gleason in the Golden Age

Lawrence D. Lieber is an American comic book artist and writer best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man; for his long stint both writing and drawing the Marvel Western Rawhide Kid; and for illustrating the newspaper comic strip The Amazing Spider-Man from 1986 to September 2018. From 1974 to 1975, he was editor of Atlas/Seaboard Comics. Lieber is the younger brother of Marvel Comics' writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee.