My Marvel Life Presents: Fabulous First Issue – Hawkeye 1

Why I picked this comic:

I was given the remit of finding something different from the last issue we looked at. With the silver age melodrama involving a team of super-powered teenagers battling a villain, the furthest from that without going outside of genre was the Matt Fraction/David Aja run on this title.

It’s also really good.

The Comic Itself:

Hawkeye 1: August 2012

Lucky was written by Matt Fraction with art by David Aja with colours by Matt Hollingsworth.

The long-time superhero Clint ‘Hawkeye’ Barton is involved in a battle with his team, the Avengers. He falls from a roof and onto a car. On a team featuring men in tank suits, super-soldiers, mythical gods and others of that ilk, this fall brings into sharp focus how he is just a man, an extremely skilled one, but just a man. Six weeks later, he is out of hospital and heading home. The Russian mobsters who own his building (all tracksuits and calling people ‘bro’) have raised the rents past the point of the tenants’ means in an attempt to evict them all and sell the building. Clint tries to buy the building, but the mob wants to sell and empty building and it all gets a bit violent. Before more bullets become involved a dog that Clnt gave pizza too tries to help and one of the mobsters throws the dog into traffic. An angry fist-fight later and Clint lets the lead mobster know, he’s bought the building and the the mobster should leave. The dog is looked after by a vet, but needs taking care of after that, the collar says his name is Arrow, but Clint decides he needs a better name.

The Thoughts of The MIGHTY Rosie

Question 1: Have you heard of this property before? Yes, from the films and from the oral history of the Avengers.

Question 2: What were you expecting? A lot of ‘razzle-dazzle’.

Question 3: What did you think of the cover? Dark, lots of slurple purple.

Question 4: What did you think of the story? (Exhales) Outrage. How dare they treat a dog so badly. But I loved Hawkeye’s response to what happened to the dog.

Question 5: What did you think of the art? Gritty, I loved it.

Question 6: What did you think of the dialogue? Great, except the bro stuff, that got on my nerves.

Question 7: Does it make sense? Yes, it’s not an origin story.

Question 8: Was it accessible as a new reader? Yes.

Question 9: Did you enjoy it? I really did.

Question 10: Would you read the next issue? I finished the first 6.

Question 11: What would you do differently? I wouldn’t do anything differently.

Next time: More things to annoy her.