All New Hawkeye #1 - A Review

I must confess to being disappointed in All New Hawkeye #1.  This is not because it is a bad comic - quite the contrary! I had just expected something new to go along with the new title and the new numbering. I had expected something revolutionary akin to when Jeff Lemire took over Green Arrow. Instead I got a serviceable but unremarkable Hawkeyes vs. Hydra story.


Whether by intentional design or by editorial fiat, the writing and art for this issue seem to be aping the styles of Matt Fraction and David Aja. This might not be a bad choice given the acclaim the previous Hawkeye team had won but Lemire and Perez are no green rookies who need to play copycat!  In terms of original content, the best bits of the book are the flashbacks to Clint Barton's childhood, which are largely rendered in a purple haze excepting when the story turns violent and red flows into the coloring.


That is unique.  That is different.  That is what I was expecting when I bought this book. Still, fans of the previous series will probably be relieved that nothing has really changed. And if the worst thing I can say about a comic is that it seemed derivative of one of the best series in recent memory, it must be pretty good.

Hawkeye #14 - A Review

There comes a time with some forms of revolutionary art where one ponders just how revolutionary said art truly is.  You find yourself second-guessing your first impressions, wondering if a unique method of storytelling was merely a mask for the artist's unwillingness to tell a story conventionally.  You start to seriously examine whether or not the artist is taking their work seriously or if they are, in the words of Mel Brooks, "just jerking off."

With Hawkeye #14, it is now clear - Matt Fraction is just jerking off.


Fraction's story here does not read like a comic book.  It reads like a section of a spec script for a movie or the script for a television pilot.  Taken on its own terms as a single comic story, one might guess after reading this issue that that Fraction decided to make a grab for some of that Netflix money and is trying to build the case for a Kate Bishop as Hawkeye series.

It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, save for two problems.  The first is that Kate is REALLY lousy at her job as a solo hero for hire under Fraction's pen.  When acting as Clint Barton's foil, she is a match for Madame Masque.  Left to her own devices, she can barely manage a campy drug dealer.

The second problem is that Fraction's acknowledgement of his own cliches in the script - while making Kate Bishop seem a perfect role for Ellen Page - does little to excite the reader.  Hell, Kate even complains about never getting to use a bow anymore and it's a legitimate complaint.  I can't remember the last time we saw either Hawkeye using their bow to help people in this series!


If Fraction is writing a film script, Annie Wu is drawing the storyboards.  The artwork of this issue fails to be anything more than inoffensive.  It gets the job done but it's fairly pedestrian and there aren't any sequences in the book that really stand out as exciting or memorable.  Then again, I suppose Wu can't be blamed for not depicting any dynamic moments when Fraction's script is so lacking in action and filled with endless scenes of talking heads.

Hawkeye #13 - A Review

Hawkeye #13 brings decompressed storytelling to a new low.  Remember everything we saw over the last few issues that only related to Clint Barton in the most indirect ways possible, including a story told from the perspective of his dog, Lucky?  Now, after four issues and six months, we finally get to see the events of those issues from our main character's point of view. 


Thankfully, there's enough new material to make the repetitiveness tolerable.  Still, it is frustrating to see a writer of Matt Fraction's talent resorting to art for art's sake in order to pad out a storyline.  This series does not need such trickery.  It needs more straight-forward action and humor. 


At least David Aja and Matt Hollingsworth are back doing that voodoo that they do so well.  Aja's distinctive artwork gives this book an aesthetic all its' own.  Hollingsworth's palette completes the amazing effect.  Every page of this book is Eisner worthy. 

Hawkeye - Annual #1 - A Review

Sorry, Clint Barton fans! Once again your regularly scheduled comic book has been subverted!  For Hawkeye Annual #1 focuses upon Clint's sidekick/partner/something, Kate Bishop!

This issue is all about Kate striking out on her own in Los Angeles.  Without her mentor.  Without her team.  Without her rich dad.  Sadly, Kate is about to discover how difficult things can be when you're all alone and - suddenly - without resources.  For Madame Masque - whom Kate was not exactly gentle to in Hawkeye #4 & Hawkeye #5 - is out for revenge and has ample power to make Kate's life difficult.    


It's redundant for me to speak of Matt Fraction's writing on this series at this point.  Either you hate his knowingly smart subversion of the classic action movie cliches or you love them.  I love them.  I love how Kate isn't fooled for a moment by Madame Masque's attempts to win her confidence in disguise and is portrayed as being smart and competent enough to cope with a revenge-minded villain far more easily than she is sudden destitution and joblessness. 


I likened Javier Pulido's previous Hawkeye work to the second coming of Jack Kirby.  Seven months later, I stand by that statement, though this issue has little of the dynamic action that usually defines the term Kirbyesque.  Yet there is a smooth simplicity of function to Pulido's artwork that is reminiscent of The King and the book maintains a classic Marvel feel throughout. 

Hawkeye #9 - A Review

There is no small irony that Hawkeye #9 should leave me unsatisfied on the same week that the series was nominated for multiple Eisner Awards.  The sad fact is that this issue has little of the humor or action that made the previous issues so enjoyable.  Dead.  That's the only word I can use to describe it.  This book is dead.

Generally, I hold a preference for DC Comics heroes over Marvel Comics's simply because I find so many of the Marvel heroes - particularly those among The Avengers - disagreeable as characters.  I accept that heroic characters need not always be likeable nor do they always need to act in admirable ways but I read superhero books to be inspired and to get away from unreasonable personalities.  This is not to say that this issue is badly written.  Far from it.  It's just a matter of what I enjoy reading and this issue... well, this issue wasn't enjoyable.  There's none of the fun that previous Hawkeye issues held.


With two exceptions - Black Widow and Kate Bishop, I found every character in this issue to be wholly unsympathetic.  Clint Barton spends the entire issue moping around his apartment while the women in his life are investigating - and cleaning up - the latest mess in his life.  Mockingbird shows up to finalize their divorce paperwork on Valentine's Day and adds insult to injury by calling attention to that fact.  And Jessica "Spider Woman" Drew is revealed to be a physically abusive girlfriend.  Thankfully, Clint refuses to tolerate this (and a good thing too considering she has super strength), so kudos to Matt Fraction for refusing to play this scene for laughs.  Regardless, this issue is low on action and high on unpleasant people being rude to one another.  If I wanted to read that, I could go read the comments on any Yahoo News article. 


At least the artwork by David Aja and Matt Hollingsworth is as fine as ever.  I struggle to find words to describe Aja's distinctive style, which is unlike any artist I can think of.  Hollingsworth's coloring, as always, adds another unique level to the issue's proceedings.  While the story left me flat this month, I have no complaints about the artwork.

Can I recommend this series?  Yes.  Would I recommend this issue?  No.  In terms of story, nothing of note happens until the last page and in terms of character nothing happens apart from it being made clear that Clint Barton is once again single in no uncertain terms.  Go pick up the TPB collection of the early issues if you want to see what all the excitement is about.  There's no excitement to be found in this issue.   

Hawkeye #8 - A Review

Hawkeye #8 came out a few weeks too late for Valentines' Day but romance is very much at the center of this issue.  The action is broken up by a number of splash pages with art by Annie Wu, which resemble the romance comics of yesteryear.  All of these mock-up covers are excellent but my favorite is probably the one pictured below - partly because of the style and partly because it supports my theory that Hawkeye is slowly turning into Oliver Queen.


Behold... the beginnings of The Beard!
The plot centers around the return of the mysterious redhead who sold Clint a car before having a quick fling back in the hilarious Issue #3.  She's in trouble again and is ready to drag a not-totally-unwilling Hawkeye along with her.  Naturally complications abound and hilarity ensues as they only can when Matt Fraction is at the storyteller's wheel. 


David Aja's artwork is as welcome as ever.  All of the artists on this book have been good ones, but Aja's subdued style has quickly become the definitive look of Hawkeye.  The color-scheme utilized by Matt Hollingsworth also adds to the overall excellent effect that makes this one of the most distinctive and unique-looking comics in existence.

If you aren't reading Hawkeye by now, I don't know what else I can say to get you to start.  Great writing.  Amazing artwork.  What more could you ask for? 

Dallas Sci-Fi Expo 2013 - Day Two

I definitely wound up posing for more pictures today than I wound up taking.  Here's everything I did manage to take today.



Starbuck  
Tron  
Harley Quinn  
CAJ Cosplay as Madelyne Pryor.

Rogue and CAJ Cosplay as Madelyne Pryor.  
Kate Bishop Hawkeye.  She was kind enough to pose as I was catching her heading to lunch.  I insisted she pose with the nachos because... well, if you've read Hawkeye, it makes about as much sense as anything else that happens in that book.  
Arwen  
Jedi
Me as The Doctor vs some form of Human/Dalek Hybrid.  
Kimmie Britt of IHOGeek.com as Katniss Everdeen 

Yvonna Lynn of Charisma +2 as Crossplay Han Solo.   
Two models from Gothic Vogue.  
X-23.

Hawkeye #7 - A Review

There's risks in bringing a real-world tragedy into a work of superheroic fiction.  By setting such a story in a world with superpowers, the writer risks begging the question of why our heroes aren't more effective in dealing with a natural disaster.  A writer can also easily become preachy and saccharine when dealing with the theme of the common man rising up and finding their inner hero in a time of crisis.  Thankfully, Hawkeye #7 avoids both these traps as it deals with the Hurricane Sandy disaster.


Matt Fraction tells two tales of our two Hawkeyes.  In the first half of the book, Clint Barton is caught amidst the flooding of Rockaway Beach as he tries to help his neighbor Grills with caring for his invalid father.  At the same time, Kate Bishop is attending an engagement party in New Jersey and must brave natural disasters and petty criminals to secure the medication a fellow attendee needs to survive the night.  There's a lot of drama here, naturally, but still plenty of the humor that makes this book a treat to read every month.


The issue's two artists both do a fine job, though I can't credit which one is responsible for which parts of the book.  It might benefit Marvel editorial in the future to note the page numbers each artist was responsible for on the title page.  It's a small thing, as I like to give credit where credit is due, but everything looks good.

Even if you're not a Hawkeye fan, you might consider picking this issue up for the sake of charity.  Matt Fraction has promised to donate all of his proceeds from the sale of this comic to the Red Cross.  So even if my word isn't good enough to make you believe this comic is worth buying for the sheer fun of it, think of the good you'd be doing the world - in a small way - by investing in a copy.  Just a thought.