The thing about comic book collecting is we like to collect a little bit of everything – a Marvel superhero here, a DC character there, and of course, an Independent superhero every now and then.  It wouldn’t be right to limit oneself to just one publisher, let alone one character.  Always keep your options open, right?  This article will help serve that purpose and introduce you to a character that’s on the “come up”.  A character that might remind you of another favorite character we all know and love with extraordinary powers and abilities.  Easily a character that you probably never heard of but a fan favorite to all Jamie Tyndall fans since his creation in 2018.  Let me introduce you to Gabrielle Garcia – the White Widow.

Origin of White Widow

I know, I know, just by looking at the picture you think Spider-Man or Venom?  Or maybe even Spider-Gwen or Witchblade?  Well kind of, but with a little twist.  Instead, being bitten by a spider, Gabrielle is injected by her father with a special serum that transforms her into who we know today as the White Widow.  Before all that, Gabrielle was a typical college student, very athletic and competitive in sports.  She loves playing volleyball but on this unfortunate day she suffers an accident and passes out.  Her parents, who are medical doctors with multiple PhDs, immediately look over her and run multitudes of tests.  She turns out fine but her parents are still worried.  Ultimately, she goes back to campus and to her normal life.

Unbeknownst to her, Gabrielle’s parents are being hunted down and her father shows up at her dorm room unexpected.  As her father storms in, Gabrielle is injected with a needle and given a USB drive.  Her father apologizes at the same time agents barge into the room killing her father and wanting to apprehend Gabrielle.  She immediately flees the scene.  What she later finds out on the USB drive is that her parents were not just your ordinary doctors but more like scientists working for the government.  She also finds out as a baby, she was diagnosed with a rare disease and her parents spliced her DNA with a white widow spider in order to save her.  Wow!  She also learns why her hair is white.

Solicitation before the release of the 1^st comic book:

Gabrielle Garcia was a typical American girl going to college to follow in her father’s footsteps – or so she thought. One night, her father barged into her dorm room, suffering from a fatal gunshot, and injected her with… something.  That was the moment she became the White Widow. This is the first issue featuring a hero unlike any other.

Powers and Abilities    

White Widow has many extraordinary powers and abilities.  Here is a shortlist of what we know so far:

Superhuman Strength

Superhuman Durability

Superhuman Stamina

Regenerative Healing Factor

Stretching and deforming (hands) 

First Appearance

White Widow was first conceived by Jamie Tyndall and written by veteran comics’ writer, Benny Powell for Absolute Comics Group.  White Widow first appeared in White Widow #1 (2018).   If you don’t read independent comics then you definitely missed this series as it’s typical for comic shops to underorder independent comic book series thus equating to a low print run.  So far the series is only on issue #4 with each issue being distributed out sporadically throughout the year not necessarily month after month as we are accustomed to.

The census is remarkably small when it comes to this particular comic book.  You can look at it in two different ways – no interest hence the low print run or maybe it hasn’t hit its peak yet, time to buy – it’s up to you!  Amazingly, according to the CGC census, there are only 151 graded copies of White Widow #1 (1^st print Cover A) with 95 graded at 9.8.  Very low numbers indeed, especially since only 34 are blue label 9.8s.  According to GoCollect, there have only been four sales of this comic book graded 9.8 in 2020 – $41 (3/2020), $70 (2/2020), $95 (1/2020), and $76 (1/2020)!  Wow!

Interesting to note, according to Comichron, White Widow #1 had a print run of only 7,477.  With issue #1 having multiple different covers, it is hard to say which cover had the more or less of a print run.  Issue #1 – Red foil cover, seems to be the issue to get if you’re into the glitzy covers and 1^st appearances.  If you like a good story and amazing artwork, then starting this series will do you good.  There was also a very popular Kickstarter, released before the first issue, worth mentioning for this comic book.  True hardcore fans will seek this comic book out for sure but the volume 1 regular series is the one to get if you ask me.

Conclusion

One of those characters that make you go hmmm… do I love her or do I hate her?  You have to admit, the artwork is astounding.  That alone should be worth the price of admission.  No one knows where this character will go next but just like with anything else, the slightest hint of something will see those CGC census numbers increase as more and more people will submit and grade what they have.  7,000+ is extremely low for a print count if you ask me.  If you have a 1^st print copy, good for you.  For all the others, it’s not too late.  When people focus on one publisher or one character remember there’s nothing wrong with looking at other obscure characters that may pique your interest.  Collect what you want to collect but be it known, on this day, you now know who the White Widow is – a new female spider-hero who has extraordinary powers and will do anything to find answers about her parents – enjoy the ride!

Please share your thoughts and comments you have about the White Widow.  Are you a fan of comic book characters that mimic other characters?  Does she remind you of another comic book superhero?  Do you see her appearing in a carton soon?  Which White Widow cover is your favorite?  Who is another independent character in comics you like a Character Spotlight on?

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