Review: Hawkeye Freefall #1
People can’t seem to get enough of an archer; well maybe over at Marvel at least, given that Green Arrow has been reduced to “team character” for a while over at DC. The universe is full of checks and balances; where one archer’s books fall, the other one steps up. Maybe the comic book universe hates a void as much as the real world. Whatever the comic book karma involved, Hawkeye, and his new book are the beneficiary this time around.
For fans of Hawkeye in his previous books, the off beat nature of his adventures looks to continue. There is no real big bad par se to counter. Fair enough there is a demon cloak wearing mob boss, but doesn’t every book have one of them? So there is a crime, a fight, a court appointment and a new Ronin running around. That of course brings the newest buddy team of Falcon and Bucky (just in time to get some press before the Marvel TV show appears on Disney +), to have a conversation with Hawkeye. Seems that Hawkeye’s pals don’t trust him, especially as they keep calling him names throughout the book, but more on that later.
Matthew Rosenberg is the writer set to fire puns and wisecracks around like arrows, as we get the not quite a hero stereotype with this Clint Barton. I enjoyed Rosenberg’s work on the lame duck Uncanny X-Men book. In fact, it was that book that got me interested in the merry mutants, rather than House/Power of X. Here, Rosenberg is allowed to give humour a try; gone is the straitlaced Cyclops, the straitlaced Wolverine and the even more straitlaced White/Black Queen/King. In their stead is a character who feels completely at ease with himself, although there is a sense of self deprecation in play especially when reviewing his coffee choices. Rosenberg’s dialogue make it a fun book, but therein lies the problem for me. It seems that every Marvel book is trying to do funny, with maybe the X books and Avengers the exceptions. If you are reading a ton of Marvel books, how does this Hawkeye feel any different in humour than say Spider-Man or Peter Quill? Are they really interchangeable? I hope not as in the past Rosenberg has delivered some strong stories.
OK, so there is an archer, a bow and some arrows. There is also one more link between Clint and Oliver; that’s the fact that the previous Green Arrow artist Otto Schmidt is on this book as penciller and colorist (I assuming the latter as there s no color credit) Following a very successful Twitter, almost audition like, presence, fans can enjoy Oliver….. sorry Clint in a style that adds to the fun of the character that has been the source of his popularity for a while. Given his history with both characters, there are some similarities to be found in the book, most noticeably when Hawkeye is sans shades . Wait did I say shades? it’s a good think Clint is not wearing his cap backwards to further muddy the which archer is which problem! All joking aside, the panel structure of the pages works well, keeping the pace of the story moving well; no pesky nine panel pages to slow things down here! If you liked Schmidt on Green Arrow, chances are you are going to like the art here. Back to the name calling I mentioned earlier; letters are provided by VC’s Joe Sabino who continues to use the old comic book foible of using capital letters for everything. Now, that seems well and good, that is the tradition after all. But when you put the word Clint in capitals, with a font that has very little space between the letters… well you get the picture. Maybe this is why the book is Teen +?
Whilst the interchangeable elements of the humour could be a sticking point, this book is a fun read despite itself, that shoots it’s quips from the lips without missing their target.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Overall – 4 Stars
Written by; Matthew Rosenberg
Art by; Otto Schmidt
Letters by; VC’s Joe Sabino
Published by: Marvel Worldwide Inc.
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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