[Comic Book Review] Hawkeye by Matt Fraction (2012)
Plot Summary: Clint Barton, a.k.a Hawkeye, became the greatest sharp-shooter known to man. He then joined The Avengers. This is what he does when he's not being an Avenger. That's all you need to know.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: David Aja
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Review: by Anthony
I want to first say that I was not a Hawkeye fan. If he was in a passing Avengers comic or something, that was just fine, but my interest was piqued from his appearance along Spider-Man in Avenging Spider-Man #4.
In that comic, Hawkeye had been teamed up with Spider-Man, at the request of Captain America, to go on patrol, protect the innocent, and catch bad guys – you know, regular superhero stuff. While staking out a potential big crime bust, Hawkeye was constantly training, shooting arrows inside an “O” in a No Smoking sign hundreds of feet away, rather than actively participating in the stake out with Spider-Man. The interaction that followed between these two heroes is what started my interest into learning more about not only Hawkeye but also the man Clint Barton.
“I mean, I can’t miss… I’m on a team with super-humans. And one god, in case you’ve forgotten. Even you… well, you climb walls really well. The training is the only thing that makes me special. And if I’m not special, then none of this is worth it… I gave up a lot for this life. I could have been happy with Mockingbir– Bobbi. We could have had a good, simple life. But I wanted to play with the big boys. And if I miss, it means I’m just another dude with a bow. It means I’ve been fooling myself this whole time. And that’s why I never miss.”
What I Liked:
Many of the issues start off with Clint in some terrible situations, such as falling out of windows, car chases, and dodging bullets, and he simply states “Okay. This looks bad.” He’s covered in cuts, scrapes, and bandages, and we’re just reminded that Clint Barton has no superpowers, no healing factor, no super-soldier serum. He’s just a normal guy with impeccable aim and grit, making a way out of these seemingly impossible situations. The first few issues address some major points such as the fact that Hawkeye doesn’t have a secret identity, it’s public knowledge that Clint Barton is “Hawkguy” as some like to call him.
Now Clint Barton is an official card carrying member of The Avengers, so he’s getting those Avengers paychecks. He could afford a very very nice bachelor pad in New York City, right next to one of Tony Stark’s places, but instead we see him living in some old run down, dilapidated apartment in a bad part of New York that’s owned by the Russian Mafia. “Good Guy” Clint Barton lives amongst the regular folk because he sees himself as one of them. He’s the average joe, the everyman: helping old ladies and stray dogs alike. The deeper you read into the series, the more you see how down to earth Clint Barton is, and you even get to see a bit of the mentor-student relationship he has with Kate Bishop, who is Hawkeye in the Young Avengers group.
David Aja’s art throughout this series is nothing short of amazing. It’s different, fresh, and bold when compared to majority of the main artists on Marvel’s titles now, and I love it. I was a fan of David Aja’s work from the 2007 series The Immortal Iron Fist, and his simplistic and clean line style of covers for Hawkeye are just fantastic.
What I Didn’t Like
This comic is so good that the only thing I can say I don’t like is that it’s not even MORE popular. More people should check out this great book and add it to their comic pull lists at their local Comic Book Shops.
Summary
This is an amazing comic — definitely a must buy for Avengers fans. The art is fantastic, and the story sheds light on Clint Barton, the great, like-able, heroic person that is Hawkeye.
You can purchase Hawkeye, Vol 1: My Life as a Weapon (Marvel Now) from Amazon here:
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