Hawkeye Vol. 1 - My Life as a Weapon

Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon
by Fraction, Aja, Pulido, Davis
Collects Hawkeye #'s 1-5 and Young Avengers Presents #6

It took me long enough! Today I read the first of Marvel's indie darlings, the comic that launched a slew of creator-focused, editorial-light titles, Hawkeye.

The first three issues set the scene for Clint Barton as a normal down-to-Earth New Yorker who occasionally has to deal with a criminal Russian landlord, adopting a lucky dog, or a super-criminal heist at a swanky show Uptown. Each of the three issues is a slice of life of Hawkeye when he's not being Hawkeye, and Fraction and Aja tell it with flair. Just look at this sequence when Hawkeye is talking to Kate Bishop, the new Hawkeye! A great visual way to slow down time and expand on the tension of drawing a bow.

It's the next two issues in the paperback that really impress me. It's a two-parter with Javier Pulido pencilling, and here you can see Fraction's sense of humor blow up! He sends Clint off to Madripoor to recover a tape, incriminating Hawkeye as the assassin of a world leader. He could tell it as a straight spy story, but instead makes it humorous.

Javier Pulido is such a wonderful visual storyteller. I wish he had an ongoing! Dig this other piece, near the end of the storyarc, when Clint shoots the office of his captors:

Now, the title is written by Jeff Lemire and it's 3.99. I can't imagine myself paying that much, but always something good to pick up from the library. Because. . . boomerangs.

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Serials: The Flash #8, The New Deadwardians #2 and more

Here's the schedule this week:

Today: Last week's comics
Wednesday: Best of April 2012
Every other day: Free Comic Book day countdown

Daredevil #11
by Mark Waid and Marco Chechetto

I'm really impressed that Marco Chechetto drew through three comics in three weeks. You don't really see that anymore, ever.

I'm really disappointed, though, that he took a lot of shortcuts, outlined here from Caleb Mozzoccoco. Chechetto's images are very dynamic, especially when it comes to Spider-Man, and they're really fun to look at. The major scene in the finale of the three-part "Omega Effect" is Daredevil's attempt to save Cole, the Punisher's ward, from a life of murder, and the ending is a copout that doesn't lead to any definite conclusion except for the continuation of the status quo.

It was a fun ride, but the ending just doesn't cut it.

Flash #8
by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into --"

--The Speed Force! This issue reminded me why I love comic books, and I'm pretty sure it's the one that Manapul and Booch have been waiting to tell -- the story of the Speed Force. Check it: it's a nexus of energy that, over time, accumulates energy. When that amount becomes excess, it lashes out to reality and creates time anomalies, dropping Panzer tanks in Mayan civilizations and the like. When Barry Allen became the Flash, he became connected to the Speed Force and, when he runs, he releases that energy!

It's such an amazing comic book idea. When he runs, the Flash is literally protecting space-time. I think it's a great metaphor for running too: running releases our pent-up energy.

I was so impressed with this issue, I tweeted to the team, and Manapul tweeted back!

 

Jealous? I love the tic they added to Hynes' dialogue, it reinforces how much the Speed Force has warped him. I was so impressed with this issue, visually and textually. I've been talking about how the writing will eventually catch with the art, and I think it's gotten to that point now: the two are telling the same story now, and it's such an exciting one.

The Goon #39
by Eric Powell and Dave Stewart

Here's the "all-parody" issue, in which Eric Powell jabs at the superhero genre in every. single. panel. It's a fun ride, and the material doesn't stop, because there's just so many things to make fun of in the genre.

If you've been following super-comics for the past few decade, you'll pretty much get every joke he makes. Eric Powell has an impassioned column after the 22 pages, and it's important: he talks about expanding the medium beyond superheroes, and breaks down a lot of arguments as to the relationship between superheroes and independent titles. Definitely worth your time.

The New Deadwardians #2
by Dan Abnett and I.N.J. Culbard

Man, check that cover! I love looking at it.

The mystery continues to unfold like a Sherlock Holmes story, and I'm really digging it. It's up to the sole detective of Scotland Yard, George Suttle, to uncover how a British Lord has been killed without the traditional methods that kill a vampire (note: in The New Deadwardians, the upper class have taken "the cure" and are now vampires, while the lower class are either mortal or "restless:" they've become zombies). There's some great world-building here, as well as some great characterization for Suttle, who shows some wariness to having taken the cure.

I'm also really impressed with how everyone has a different voice. The way they're written and drawn, you can really tell. (Example:)

Marvel's Secret Avengers #26
by Rick Remender and Gabriel Hardman

For a while, I've been complacently holding off on closing my subscription with Marvel. I originally signed up for the Captain America, when McNiven was working on it, but when he left, I decided to switch over to Secret Avengers, so I could have some foot in with the Avengers and keep a tab on them.

Hardman's cartooning is pretty excellent, and Remender knows what he's doing, but I don't really find the story compelling any more. There's nobody I can relate to.

The storyarc concludes here, and there's a great last page that hooks you in, but I'm not so interested anymore. Pretty sure I'm gonna ask for a refund today.

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Serials for today: Avenging Spider-Man, Chew and more

Avenging Spider-Man #5
by Zeb Wells and Leinil Yu

When I read the previews, it sounded like Zeb and Leinil had something to say about the industry: Captain America used to draw WWII comics! And I was right: the issue's a dedication to Joe Simon, co-creator of Cap himself.

Zeb writes something of a fraternity of Avengers, in which everybody likes to rib around with each other -- beating up the bad guys is merely a formality to these guys. The meat of the issue is Peter Parker fawning over Captain America, because he realized that Cap was a "nerd," just like him. What follows is something like a little dog jumping around to impress the bigger dog. It's sweet and shows a side that super comics doesn't show a lot. Zeb has a knack for character writing, and this is a team-up story that'll be a good team-up story years from now, no matter Spidey's status quo.

One nitpick: here's a shield scene from Leinil:

It's not very good. I can see where the shield starts, but where does it go? Who does it hit first? Is this a quantum shield, that exists simultaneously across different space?

What I'm trying to say is, the shield goes from point a to point b, and the art does a poor job of showing how it gets there.
 

Atomic Robo: Real Science Adventures #1
by various

Five stories! Four pages each! I love anthologies; if you don't like a story, there's four more you can look at. This issue is the platonic ideal of serialized fiction: you're meant to get a full reading experience from one piece, and that's what three of the five stories do. The other two are the first of six-parters, and tell their own self-contained stories.

I'm not sure if I can recommend this to people unfamiliar with the characters of Atomic Robo, but here's a velociraptor cackling as he hijacks a lab in India:

I like Atomic Robo, and if it so happens that you're curious, you can check out the preview.


Chew #25
by John Layman and Rob Guillory

It's the conclusion to "Major League Chew"! And it's a doozy. Amelia takes over the issue, but we still manage to see what every other side character is up to. She does some top-notch sleuthing to save Tony, and it's a sight to see.

Here's a page about Amelia. I think it speaks for itself about the quirky world that Chew's built and what a joy it is to read. If you like good comics, give Chew a try.

Secret Avengers #24
by Rick Remender and Gabriel Hardman

The Secret Avengers make a bigger mess as they try to rescue a mutant's son from the Adaptoids in their own world. Beast gets shot in the chest, both he and Hawkeye are captured, Valkyrie and Black Widow are besieged by Adaptoids, and Captain Britain and the Human Torch (the android version) don't know what to do.

It's a per-diker-ment that's compounded with a killer cliffhanger. Remender's telling an exciting storyline with Marvel characters, and Hardman's drawing it intensely. Check out this one panel here:

It's less than an inch tall, and occupies less than an eighth of the comic page. Look at the detail! There's more detail here than there are in some whole pages in comic books. It's crazy.

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Serials for 3-14: Ultimate Spider-Man and 2 more

Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man #7
by Brian Bendis and Chris Samnee
20 story pages, $3.99

This issue concludes Samnee's two-part run with the Ultimate Universe's all-new Spider-Man, but it doesn't feel all that "concluding." Bendis continues the story pattern of, "Miles tests his powers as Spider-Man, while other things happen in the background." It just so happens that it all looks so awfully nice, and that I don't have the willpower to cancel my subscription to Marvel Comics, that I keep reading this title.

There's a cute page at the end with a sticker that you peel, in order to find the redemption code for your digital copy. It's a much more waste-efficient strategy then stuffing every issue into a plastic bag so customers can't peek into the comic and take the code. I approve!

Now, we enter the portion where I gush about Spider-Man art:

I'm very fond of this panel. I love the way it uses the page space to show Spider-sense. Innovative!

Here's Miles, doing a fist pump after beating up Omega Red. Fist pump!

Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1
by Mike Mignola and Tonzi Zonjic
22 story pages, #3.50

So I read this about 3 weeks ago, and I'm afraid I've just lost whatever opinion I ever had on it. It takes place in the 50s, so the fashion is legitimately fun to look at, but I didn't really understand what was the point of the comic: I was hoping to see Lobster Johnson brand somebody with that palm of his, but we only get to see it after the fact. There are 22 pages worth of story, but I don't feel that there was enough of a lead to hook me for the future issues. I'm afraid I have to pass on this miniseries.

I don't have any highlights to show you, but there was this one two-page spread that had a particularly awesome picture of a horse:

I love those horse-y legs. Human beings don't have inverted joints on their forearms, but horses do.

. . . what if we're the inverted ones?

Secret Avengers #24
by Rick Remender and Gabriel Hardman
20 story pages, $3.99

Here comes Venom, in Remender's second installment of the high-octane, spy-fi version of Marvel's Avengers! The cover's a bit of a mislead, because Venom doesn't really show up, and Flash (the current holder of the symbiote suit) Thompson's main role in the issue is to be pointed at by Hawkeye and be told that he can't join the cool kids club. It's actually an excellent panel:

Hardman knows how to take Remender's script and turn it into a visual story. The layouts have a high level of creativity, and so does the story. This time around the story's about Ant-Man's need to redeem himself, and it closes on an excellent note to bookend that story.

Secret Avengers doesn't get a lot of hype: it's not a loud comic book from a superstar creative team, but it's telling a worthy comic book story that could use a bit more attention. But -- you gotta keep it on the down-low okay? These Avengers are secret.

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Serials for 11-23-11: Daredevil and etc...

Check it out! It's an all-new, all-action, all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid banner! Whew.

Ya dig?

Daredevil #5
by Mark Waid and Marcos Martin

buddabuddabuddabuddabudda! I'm loving the way Marcos Martin draws his own sound effects. More artists ought to consider this -- digital SFX on top of hand-done inks are jarring.

Aw man just look at the way that fa-THOOM takes over the entire ship. Martin is on a whole new level of the craft.

If you haven't read Daredevil yet, I strongly urge you to check it out. ComiXology has an interview with Mark Waid, and the numbers should not be this low for such a quality super-comic.


Secret Avengers #16
by Warren Ellis and Jamie McKelvie

Check out the cover for this one! One look and I couldn't help myself. I never get the title, but I had to check it out. I'm weak.

This issue consists of the Secret Avengers finding a secret city of terrorism and then blowing it up. It manages to flesh out each of the 4 members in a seamless way. Beast, for example, gets to lecture everyone about the pseudo-science behind the secret city and about "Von Doom radiation." Everybody gets their fifteen seconds.

My one complaint is that the issue is one long, extended scene. It starts with the four entering the secret city, and ends with them leaving it. We don't get to see anything else! Comics are serial, and there's no story reason for me to check out the next issue. It's great that this issue is a full, self-contained story, but it's also a comic book that will be followed by another comic book.

Captain america #4
by Ed Brubaker and Steve McNiven

#4 rounds out our week of Marvel! Captain America is stuck in a dreeeamm world while the new HYDRA queen threatens to trap him there. There's nothing left to learn about the backstory behind this storyarc, so the issue is mostly punching.

It's a nice sentiment to think that, in Steve Rogers' utopia, the world doesn't need Capt. America and he pioneers the Moon for colonization with Sharon Carter. It also hearkens back to a couple panels in Captain America: Winter Soldier. In it Steve expresses regret to Sharon that so many men had to die for the sake of space research, when they could have sent him -- it was what he was built for! It's a nice shade of pathos for the man.

The issue was supposed to come out two months ago, which sucks.This is somewhat ameliorated by Steve McNiven's art. If I were trapped on an island and I could only look at five artists, he would be one of them.

SO PRETTY!