Issue #1: All-New Hawkeye

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Issue #1: All-New Hawkeye

Title: All-New Hawkeye #1

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Ramon Perez

The Buzz: Pretty much the main buzz for this title was created by its predecessor. The Fraction-Aja-Wu Hawkeye broke and rebuilt the mould for superhero comics, and is widely held up as one of the biggest game-changers of the genre in the last few years. It was so beloved and critically acclaimed that even the slow, often-delayed release of the last few issues didn’t affect its reputation. Even when Issue #1 of the new series (AKA Hard Act To Follow) was released several months before the final issue of the Fraction series appeared. (Which happened today, woo!)

All You Need To Know: Hawkeye is Clint Barton, an orphaned former carnie with hearing problems, dodgy brother baggage and a terrible relationship history. He’s the dude who brings a paleolithic weapon to a gunfight. Oh and he’s an Avenger, which is so not relevant right now. Hawkeye is also Kate Bishop, privileged rich girl who took Clint’s bow while he was dead and refused to let go of it once he came back. She’s practically an Avenger. Together, they get into terrible trouble. But it’s so much worse when they’re apart…

Story: This one hits the ground running, giving us many of the crucial elements we need: Hawkeye and Hawkeye on a mission, banter, and Clint’s traumatic childhood backstory. Neither Barney Barton nor Lucky the dog appear in this issue which is fair enough since it wasn’t clear yet whether either of them had survived the previous series. I’m happy enough with the set up and the dialogue, and particularly with the relationship between the two protagonists, which is one of my favourite fictional friendships. The bit where they argue over who is whose protege made me grin a lot.

Art: Okay, it’s no David Aja, let’s get that out of the way straight off. But it’s no Annie Wu, either, whose spiky visuals came to define Kate just as much as Aja’s elegant lines. But the characters come across well, there’s some experimentation going on in the use of colour – a nod to Aja’s distinctive purple noir, only with a wider colour palette and a clever use of red that I like a lot – and I was particularly attracted to the water colour style art that distinguishes between Clint’s past and his present. The panel where the two stories bleed into each other is just plain gorgeous.

David Aja turned Hawkeye into a title where we expected cleverness, bleak realism in cartoon form, and audatious experimentation. Annie Wu expanded on that, following many of Aja’s conventions and adding many of her own, especially by adding visual humour to Kate’s all-deadpan style. I like very much that Perez has taken their work as permission to be as weird as he likes while the Hawkeyes are running for their lives.

But What Did I Miss?: Not much except for one of the most critically acclaimed comics series of the twenty first century, so if you like the characters in this issue, absolutely run back and read all 22 issues of Fraction’s Hawkeye. But it’s pretty clear that this, like Fraction’s series, is intended as an entry point, no homework required.

Would Read Issue 2?: Oh yes! It’s no Hawkeye, but it’s still Hawkeye. Luckily for my restraint, there are a few issues banked up I can catch up on now. But I’m eyeing the post Secret Wars solicits with concern and suspicion, because while they all seem super enamoured of 1603 Lady Kate, there’s no mention yet of actual Kate Bishop in the All New Marvel Universe, which scares me a little.

Read it if you Like: Hawkeye, Young Avengers.