Hawkeye #1

If you’re looking for the real Hawkeye, you’ve come to the wrong place. Many characters find out the same thing within the pages of Hawkeye #1, which follows around Kate Bishop and not the world famous Clint Barton.

Marvel continues to replace its older characters with younger ones. They are taking a similar approach to that of DC in the 1960s and 1970s when its legendary Golden Age characters started being replaced by younger, hipper versions. It makes one wonder if this new generation of Marvel heroes will be as popular as Hal Jordan or Barry Allen.

In this first issue, we find Kate Bishop after she has trekked 3000 miles to Los Angeles, opened Hawkeye Investigations and attempted to get her private investigator license. She did everything in the wrong order and has started regretting her impulsive decisions. Still, she’s learning the perks of operating in Los Angeles. The weather’s nice and she gets to check out a lot of hot man abs at the beach.

After a parade of misunderstandings and mistaken identity due to the name of her investigative firm, Kate manages to land her first real client in California, Mikka. Mikka is a local university student who is being cyberstalked. Kate is happy for the work and quickly demonstrates an aptitude for thinking on her feet.

Writer Kelly Thompson keeps the tone consistent with Matt Fraction’s previous efforts on Hawkeye while adding a much needed feminine flair for its female lead. Kate doesn’t need an overhaul and she isn’t given one. We just spend more time in her head than we normally do. Archery targets overlay anything of interest to Kate in her field of view--sandwiches, bad guys, clients, the aforementioned hot man abs. She sings to herself in her head and grumbles under her breath. She’s fun and likeable and the perfect hero for her own series. Kate is so much fun to read that Hawkeye would be plenty enjoyable as a P.I. drama.

Artist Leonardo Romero packs the detail into Venice Beach. Band posters litter every wall, partially covering graffiti. Litter wafts down sidewalks. Racks of sunglasses poke out of local surf shops. Romero takes the time to label boxes lying around Kate’s unpacked apartment.

This is another hit for Marvel. They continue to get more confident as they diversify their geographical settings and their roster of young new characters. Kate Bishop is a more established supporting character than some of the younger Marvel leads, but now she’s proven that she can hold her own as a title character.