Shooting for 9

Hawkeye #2 (2012)

Long before Hawkeye was a popular movie character played by Jeremy Renner, he was one of my favorite comic book characters.  It's not every guy who can pull off wearing purple.  I loved the West Coast Avengers so much more than the regular Avengers (wait, was I the only one?) and he was a big part why.  I also enjoyed his dynamic with Mockingbird.  Although Marvel will deny it, it was obvious that Hawkeye and Mockingbird were modeled after DC's Green Arrow and Black Canary, but they felt like a totally different couple.  

After numerous mini-series and short-lived attempts a couple of monthly series, with his popularity surging from the Avengers movie, Hawkeye finally gets his own solo monthly comic book series.  Again.  (Hey, to be a success and be his longest running series EVER, it only has to last more than eight issues.) 

Immediately by looking at the covers, you can tell that this is a different Hawkeye.  They have a retro-mod look to them.  The letters are all in lower case.  The colors are minimal, but there is that predominance of Hawkeye's signature color, purple.  I wasn't sure, though, how David Aja's minimalist cover art would translate to an entire comic.  And, upon starting the first issue of the series, I seriously had my doubts. The art seemed too rough and rudimentary.  However, after reading the first two issues, I really think it works. And I love the heavy use and different shades of purple. 

The issues introduce Hawkeye with the promise that the series will be about his non-Avengers adventures:

I hope that the writer, Matt Fraction, keeps this promise.  Hawkeye is a strong enough character that he doesn't need his teammates always stopping by.  He doesn't need crossovers.  He has stories that can be told without intertwining them with other series.  So far, with the first two issues, Fraction has kept his promise.  Hawkeye's biggest worry has been taking care of the other residents in his apartment building from the big, evil landlord.  Let's hope that he continues to deal with these more human issues and interactions.  And, of course, canine issues (Clint adopts an injured dog that he rescues). 

Kudos to the start of what I hope will be an 9+ issue series!