Thursday, January 31, 2013

Comic Book of the Week: Hawkeye #7



Serialisation can be an interesting beast, especially when it comes to comic books. I normally struggle with television shows or comic books without at least an element of serialisation to keep me coming back, week after week. Which is why the fact that I love Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye as much as I do is such a remarkable achievement. Fraction doesn’t need plot twists or over-the-top villains with convoluted schemes to keep us coming back week after week – he’s created two outstanding lead characters that do the job for him.

Hawkeye has every chance of being the joke of the team; you only need to look at Saturday Night Live’s ill-fated Avengers sketch to see why. Like any non-super powered character in a super powered world, there are plenty of opportunities to look silly bringing arrows to a gunfight. Or any fight where two of the combatants are Thor and The Hulk. What the best comic book writers – like Fraction - realise is that it’s exactly the lack of super powers possessed by someone like Hawkeye, Batman, Black Widow and co. that makes them great in the first place.

Fraction’s Hawkeye comics almost always start with the descriptor: ‘This is what he does when he’s not being an Avenger.’ Clint Barton lives in the normal world, with normal people and normal problems. He possesses a special, human skill but not necessarily the life smarts to go with it. He can be as headstrong, over-emotional and flighty as he is intelligent, strong, brave and talented. He’s human, and Fraction is clever enough to know that makes him interesting. He’s also witty, charming and by far the best version of this character that’s ever been put to the page.

He’s matched step-for-step by the other Hawkeye, Kate Bishop. Lapsed readers will probably be totally unfamiliar with the character of Kate, Barton’s apprentice-cum-equal-cum-apprentice, but she shares more than a way with a bow and arrow with her namesake. She’s also headstrong, competitive and witty, though she occasionally shows a great deal more street smarts than Clint. The two have a competitive, platonic relationship that drives the book brilliantly.

This particular issue showcases what Hawkeye does best: the two archers helping regular people in New York City. Clint’s a Brooklyn man and Kate’s a Jersey girl, so when Hurricane Sandy hits, the two head off to save some New Yorkers in their respective boroughs. Each half of the book is a simple, down-to-earth story of a small act of heroism – interestingly, less so by our heroes than the characters they interact with. It’s not the best issue Hawkeye has ever put out due to its simplicity and the relative lack of humour, but it’s another issue of high standards in a series that hasn’t come close to producing a dud.

Spider-Man might be the quintessential New York superhero, but if Hawkeye continues in this vein, he might have a challenger.

HAWKEYE #7 SCORES:

20/25

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