"All-New Hawkeye" #1

Alright, soooo, yeah. This isn't "AXIS," and, while I'm at it, I may as well tell you that you won't be seeing "AXIS" for a very long time. Why? Well mostly because I'm an overconfident idiot who thought I could be able to acquire the books in time for the reviews. Turns out, nope, that's just not going to happen. 

I feel awful about this. I've had to switch things around before, sure, but this time it's three weeks of material that I promised that I simply can't deliver on. I know "AXIS" isn't the biggest book that I could review right now, but I was really looking forward to having another month-long review. Instead, I do not. And I sincerely apologize. 

Instead, though, there will still be weekly comic reviews up. And, added bonus, they'll all be very recent, if not a same-day review. This one, obviously, is not a same-day review, but, I mean, it did only come out yesterday. I spent the better part of the last two days trying to figure out what to do, and this seemed like the best option. Literally. 

This issue has probably been my favorite read since "Batman and Robin Eternal" #1 way back at the start of October. Not even "Ninjak" #9 got me as psyched. It's definitely up there on my best books of the year that I've read, and I'm really excited to be able to share it with you good folk today. It's easily one of the best books Marvel is putting out (to be fair, the only other new one that I've actually read is "Spider-Gwen," and that too is quite awesome!). 

But, is this book really new? No, it really isn't. This issue reads so much like "All-New Hawkeye" #6 that it makes me dislike Marvel just a little more for having to cancel and relaunch everything. DC actually did something better than Marvel when they cancelled all their titles for their event, then all the ongoing titles simply went from #40-#41, despite a time-skip, and only new titles got the #1 planted on them. There is absolutely no reason why books like this, "Spider-Gwen," "Deadpool," "Guardians of the Galaxy," or even "Amazing Spider-Man" had to get their full reboot if the stories are just continuations as if "Secret Wars" never happened. 

Don't even get me started on that book. I'm the minority that doesn't like it. But, whatever, let's talk about good comics. 

It's not surprising to me that this book should be continued. After all, the "Hawkeye" label has been arguably Marvel's most critically acclaimed alongside "Daredevil," and it's easy to see why. Matt Fraction's "L.A. Woman" trade of his run is comic perfection. Easily some of the best work I've read in recent years, I highly recommend it. The artwork by Aja is wonderful, too, perfectly capturing the vibe as well as the character of Kate Bishop. Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez came and took over the book, infusing a flashback element to shed some light on the past of Clint Barton, which was all well and good, but outside of the third issue, it was either a full flashback issue or full present-day issue. The final one had past, present, and future, though, which was neat. 

And that's kind of where this book picks right up off of. This book was heavily advertised as focusing on the future, but it luckily does not sacrifice the material in the present-day for it. Outside of one somewhat major continuity hiccup, that material is just as good, and it's hinted that we may see more. The same creative team is on board, the characters are still there, so let's jump right into "All-New Hawkeye" #1.

By the way: does anyone else find it absolutely incredible that in the same year, the same book can launch twice? Comics. 

"But wait!" You may be thinking. That's not the main cover. And no, you are correct. However, I purchased the hip-hop variant of it, by Sanford Greene, because why the heck wouldn't I? I didn't pick up the variant for "Spider-Gwen" simply because I forgot. This one is just so...awesome. Mostly, I got it for Kate Bishop. 

Kate Bishop is, without a doubt, one of my favorite female characters. That "L.A. Woman" trade I mentioned, as well as the previous story Lemire and Perez worked on, have cemented that. And in this cover, yeah, Clint looks cool and the car is ballin', but Kate is just so awesome. She's not even bothering to pull out her bow, she knows she can handle any situation as good as, perhaps better, Clint can. 

If you must know, I think the original cover is fine, showing a good glimpse into what the artwork for the flash-forwards will look like, but there isn't anything particularly special about it. 

We open in the present-day, surprisingly (given how the book was marketed somewhat as "Old Man Clint"), to see Clint and Kate getting ready to go on their next mission, with Clint trying and failing to pump Kate up about their next mission against a C-list villain, Hammerhead. 

Go Team Hawkeye, yeah!

Kate, however, is a little more reluctant to go on the mission. I gotta say, I was hooked on the book from just this page. It blends that right flavor of humor with a foreshadowing the tension we'll be seeing later on, as well as showing that, no, Kate can't simply get over what happened between them with the triplets (I'll get into that soon). Ramon Perez does an excellent job of contrasting the expressions of Kate and Clint until they're purposefully identical in their thoughts.

There's a clear tension between them, yet, it's hinted that the mission with the triplets is not the cause. For readers on the book for a while, it may be clear that its their constantly strained relationship, but for new readers, this sort of comes out of nowhere. 

This is where my comment about the book reading more like an ongoing comes into play. Sure, we have the usual introduction of the characters on the very first page about how they're both technically Hawkeye, as well as a sentence on what happened for the last five issues, but no flashbacks or "Previously on" segments. It's not the book's style, but a recap would be nice for new readers. Since, you know, this is a freaking first issue apparently. 

Heck, even when "All-New Hawkeye" first launched earlier this year it was hardly a first issue. 

Anyway, Kate leaves, clearly troubled, and Clint comically remarks that this anger may be because he's back on the Avengers. Well, technically he's on the New Avengers. And I would love to see Kate on the All-New, All-Different Avengers lineup. There's a possible hint that she might've been, too, later on in the book. 

And now, we go back...TO THE FUTURE

Ah, man, even in this future there's no flying cars. Darn...

So, yeah. Our heroes are kind of old now. I just can't get behind how old Kate looks. Let's imagine that she's eighteen in the present. Twenty years from now is thirty-eight. And she has some major wrinkles going there. Look, I get that there's a ton of stress from being a super-hero and gallivanting on floating islands with only a bow and arrow, but, she looks more like she's fifty. Her and Clint look about the same age...and Clint probably is fifty! 

But, still, I have to give it to the art department here. There's a hazy, edgy sort of sketch look to the future. I'm not implying any "the future isn't set in stone" metaphors, I'm saying that it's reflective of their edgy, sketch relationship. We're also looking into the distant future so things are vague from the present point of view of how things will actually be looking. 

Clint, having been called on by Kate at the end of Issue 5 (remember, this is an Issue 6 at heart) arrives at her headquarters, "the Nest," and if you thought Hawkeye was an irrelevant character before, then, well, you clearly never knew about their secret lair.

Yes, but are you going to redo/ open up the dining room, Kate?!

It's also worth noting that Kate's gang of helpers are known as the "Hawkeyes." Eh, it's alright. Makes sense, and builds unity, showing that the main "Hawkeye" is really just another one of them. Though I have to wonder if she really just did it to spite Clint, since there hasn't been just one Hawkeye since Kate joined the team years ago. 

Kate takes him deeper into The Nest to catch him up on what's been going on around the world. Not surprisingly, Old Man Barton has been something of a recluse the last few years. Probably all the reboots and relaunches we'll be seeing for the next twenty years, he figured he'd just pop a drink and let it play out. 

The two bicker for a bit on how Clint just up and left the super-hero business, and Clint takes it as now she just brought him here to throw everything on him. Clint, though, remarks that he hasn't seen her for fifteen years, though we've jumped ahead twenty. This could mean several things. 

The first, and most obvious, is that the book will more than likely remain to be present/future oriented, which I'm fine with. As we'll see with Kate later on, there is massive story potential here for a long, ongoing Hawkeye series, which excites me a great amount. The second thing is that you kind of have to leave a five-year gap, as Hawkeye is still on the New Avengers. I doubt that book will stay afloat for five more years real-time, or even comic-time, but at least it gives them a continuity buffer, as well as a time for when Clint really did go away in hiding. It sounds like she wasn't at fault for that, which lends itself to us eventually seeing what it was that drove Clint back into hiding. 

Anyway, Kate shines as a character here as she says that what has happened in China, presumably with the Mandarin as Clint points out, is actually their fault. Before, as a younger woman, she blamed Clint for not acting wisely. Here, though, she says the blame is on both of them. While there really wasn't much either of them could do, it's good to see her character develop into taking more responsibility. She already showed signs of that in the old book as well as her quickly taking in and assuming a motherly role over the triplets. 

So, what could have attacked China and wiped out 30,000 people?

At least they haven't aged too much...

As ongoing fans were aware, yes, the triplets have returned, and it's up to our Hawkeyes to stop them. For new readers? This sort of comes right the heck out of nowhere. There's obviously mention of them, as well as the mission, but we never see what actually went down at the end of Issue 5. New readers won't be entirely lost, but there's no emotional tether that they have as Kate explains the situation. For ongoing readers, it's clear that Kate has probably been driven mad by this for the better part of the twenty-years apart. She knew those kids, and those kids loved her. They loved Kate Katie Hawkeye (rips my heart out when I think about it). I can't complain about it, I just wish there was a little more recap. 

There are a few more little hints of things to come before the scene ends, such as Kate getting a text from "Noh-Varr" as well as Clint fiddling with an earpiece, one that he needs so that he'll be able to hear things. "Noh-Varr" could, perhaps, be "Nova," but simply a code for it. And which Nova is around Kate's age? Well Sam Alexander, who just so happens to be a main-team Avengers nowadays. Perhaps he called up to join, and they, well, had a little romance on the side? I'm really stretching here, and I'm more than likely wrong. The way the scene is written shows that we will eventually find out, but it isn't all that important. 

We return to the present to see that Kate has thwarted the villains, much to Clint's dismay, as it's apparent he wanted to take them out together. Kate, though, it still being held up by something.

This scene in particular highlights the frustration Kate's having. She already has several father issues so having another man, who really is her father-figure, being out-of-the-loop throws her off her game. Not to mention that while they've been maintaining this relationship in the past, it's really strained ever since the mission with the kids. For her, as a surrogate mother for the kids and having to be torn away from them, it's not something you just walk away from. And for Clint, who has no doubt experienced these types of missions before, it's clear that he doesn't understand why she just won't get over it. The tug-of-war is what drives the present-scenes forward, and it's handled incredibly well. 

In the future, the Hawkeyes suit up together for the first time in a while and head into snowy China. While there, we see that Sue Storm may be having her abilities wildly abused by S.H.I.E.L.D. (what a great organization) and the Hawkeyes still scuffling over the past. 

Really this scene goes to show the confusion among them over their fallen comradeship. Luckily, some robots (Mandarin Bots to be specific) attack and our heroes fight them off. Sort of. 

It's alright Clint. You'll have a cheesy shining moment later, I bet!

I just love the banter between them. Fighting-wise, sure, they're out of sync. But comedicly? They still got it. It's no surprise that Clint misses, but, I just love that Kate hits it on her first try. It's so consistent with the rest of their relationship, just a perfect reflection of how their lives have gone so far. Kate has almost always upended Clint in terms of fighting, but, this scene can't work without him. 

Back in the present, things aren't so much fun as Kate and Clint continue to discuss what they should do next, or, even, if there is a next for them. Clint brings up the fact that throughout all of their troubles, their relationship is the most consistent, and it always works best for them. He knows they can gut it out. Obviously that's not the case this time, but, he's making an effort. Last time she left, she just sort of left (with Lucky) and Clint was just stuck in New York to do his own thing. 

Ramon Perez steps it up here again with his characterizations, the standout part of his art for me. He captures their expressions and body language perfectly throughout the entire issue, and this last part is no exception.

But there's a bit of a trip-up here that had me tilting my head. See, the way that's written, in terms of tone and what not, makes it sound like this is the first time Kate has left the team for a brief period of time, that this is a major move. And, yes, it is major, but it isn't the first time. That trade, "L.A. Woman" I keep mentioning? It's Kate on her own as Hawkeye. She goes out to L.A., meets a couple a pair of hilarious gay men, fights Madam Masque, and struggles to pay rent and find jobs as a neighborhood superhero along the way. We've seen, in great detail and storytelling, Kate already leave. So, why does this make it seem like that never happened? The Matt Fraction stories are still in continuity, as "Secret Wars" did not mess around with that at all, it just seriously changed the status quo of the Marvel Universe. 

I'm simply left scratching my head. 

This issue comes to an end, though, after Kate is blasted down by a figure off-panel, only for him to be revealed as...

What in the heck...Mandarin?!

Mandarin? What the heck happened to him? I can't complain, we have no really no reason why he is like this, but I'm just left dumbfounded at the whole situation. 

Oh, and this final page is absolutely incredible. The Mandarin sticks out as new arrival as we have the fantastic art of Kate and Clint just over the dramatic departure of Kate Bishop, silhouetted, leaving a sullen Clint Barton, left alone. It sums up the book perfectly, a great way to end it. 

This comic is nothing short of amazing. It doesn't skip a beat from where it left off in the summer and perhaps even adds a few. It's the best of the creative team so far. Lemire's writing is at it's finest, masterfully crafting a tale between present and future as well as capturing the great character of Kate Bishop and clashing her with Clint Barton. In the future, it's the same, and there is a great amount of mystery left for us to discover. Ramon Perez's art is also superb, getting the characters right at every turn and his sketchy, almost minimalist/ simplistic art goes great with the book in all aspects. 

If you're interested in anything Hawkeye, I suggest you make your way through Matt Fraction's work, then head on back over to this issue. It's one heck of a ride and I can't wait for what's next. 

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