Hawkeye #4

In case anyone had forgotten, Hawkeye is cool.  I mean really, really cool.  Sure, the guy’s gotten a little bit of bad press lately (see last week’s Saturday Night Live if you don’t believe me) but for my money he still is one of Marvel’ best characters.  So it seems only fitting to me that after years of not having his own ongoing title, Hawkeye finally gets a shot at his own book.  With Matt Fraction at the helm and David Aja handling the pencils, the first three issues of this book have been nothing but spectacular.  After a complete story arc, it is time for Aja to take a break and for this series to really kick into gear.

And without a question, this issue really kicked it into gear.  Fraction gets Hawkeye better than almost anyone who has gotten the chance to write him lately.  Sure, Clint Barton is a playboy and quite often the smart-mouthed Avenger, but he can be, and if written properly is, a lot more than that.  He’s a rogue turned hero.  He’s the guy in the room with no powers.  Hawkeye isn’t as smooth as Cap or as powerful as Thor, but he holds his own in the Marvel Universe because he doesn’t let up.  Matt Fraction gets that.  He writes Hawkeye without the lady-killer clichés and the over the top sarcasm that is more suited for Spiderman.  He gives Hawkeye enough swagger, but writes him insuch a way that we the readers are clued into the fact that much of this is just pure bravado.  Don’t get me wrong though:  this book does not take itself too seriously.  Fraction deftly blends in enough snark and off-kilter panels that this book feels just different enough without feeling like it is trying too hard.

As previously alluded to, David Aja’s regular pencils have been replaced for this issue by the able hand of Javier Pulido.  I have to admit this had me a little concerned when picking up this issue as Aja’s pencils have already come to mean so much to this book.  However, those reservations were quickly shown to be superfluous.  Pulido almost perfectly matches the tone and feel of the previous three issues.  It absolutely helped that colors and lettering remained the same, but make no mistake:  Pulido without question nailed it on this issue.  There is a very particular feel to this book.  The pencils are incredibly sharp and line driven.  It is a style that isn’t hyper-realistic, but isn’t cartoony either.  It is something wholly its own.    

Fraction’s Hawkeye is an absolute “can’t miss” series, and this issue is a perfect jumping on point for new readers.  I very rarely will trot out the cliché that a writer is doing something special, but it is now absolutely clear that is exactly what is going on here.  This is the perfect book for anyone looking to get away from the gigantic crossovers and book spanning events that are synonymous without superhero books right now, but still wants to read a cape and cowl book.  Beyond that, it is just good comic booking.  Stellar writing, unique art, and wonderful lettering all add up to make this one of the best books on the shelf right now.