Only eleven issues into its ongoing run, and Hawkeye has already become something of a divisive book in the comic world. You either think it's a fun and silly book that's refreshing, or you think it's stupid, fratboy humor that makes no sense. To those who support the latter, all I have to say is...
I myself was in the camp that wrote it off as stupid and vapid after the first issue. But after hearing Alex praise the book over the past few months, I decided to give it a chance. I reread issue one, then sought out and read issue two... then issue three... four... five... and before I knew it, I had read through all eleven issues in about four hours. Like Saul on the road to Damascus, I fell off my ass and saw the beautiful light of St. Barton and his disciples.
St. Barton, Patron Saint of Boats
To be sure this book isn't exactly highbrow, or on-par with books like the Manhattan Projects and Saga, two of the best books in comics right now, but Hawkeye offers its own kind of fun and humor. The premise is pretty simple; the book takes place in between Clint Barton's many adventures with the Avengers, Secret Avengers, and the Sewing Circle Avengers (I think that's a team now) and shows what exactly a superhero does in his time off. In Hawkeye's case, time off means locking horns with the murderous Russian gangsters known as the Bros, palling around with fellow Hawkeye Kate Bishop and Pizza Dog, working for SHIELD on the occasional false flag operation, dealing with the complexity of operating a DVR, and reminding everyone who he is exactly...
And that he's not that Avenger...
This book is just plain fun, with almost every issue presenting a self-contained story that alternates from Hawkeye pulling a strip club heist, to fleeing the bros, to working with SHIELD to recover classified information. Writer Matt Fraction is able to keep every issue different from the previous one, offering a nice change of pace to the multi-issue arc and decompression that we see all too often in comics today.
As fun as the story is, the art is just as much the star as the book. David Aja is the standout in a murderer's row of comic artist like Francesco Francavilla, Steve Lieber, Jesse Hamm, Annie Wu, and Javier Pulido, all of whom bring their A-game and make this one of the best drawn books out there. Colorist Matt Hollingsworth anchors it all together to give the different artist the same feel and continuity to keep the artistic continuity between artists.
In between the humor is heart, though, particularly the issue dedicated to the people of New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In another character this book doesn't work the same, as people like Iron Man and Spider-Man can use their powers to help out. Hawkeye being who he is with his limited rang of powers, is forced to help out on a much smaller scale. You get to see the people in the street and their reactions to the devastation of the storm and more importantly how they come back from it.
And I haven't even gotten to the Pizza Dog issue... which I won't get to, because words can't do it justice.
In summation, this book is the perfect balance to a comics era where tortured heroes and stern looks are the in thing. Like Waid and Aaron's early issues of Daredevil and Wolverine and the X-Men, this book is able to bring the funny and the heart and look gorgeous. In a comics landscape where even Superman is more grim and serious, Hawkeye stands out as one of the most enjoyable books Marvel has out right now.
Don't be a dummy, bro. Read it.
Seriously, bro. Seriously.
Article by Matt Johnson
