Review: Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon

Title: Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon

Author: Matt Fraction (Writer), David Aja (Illustrations), Javier Pulido (Illustrations), Alan Davis (Illustrations)
Publication Date: March 19, 2013
Publisher: Marvel
Genre: Comics/Graphic Novel
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository
Source: Borrowed

The breakout star of this summer's blockbuster Avengers film, Clint Barton - aka the self-made hero Hawkeye - fights for justice! With ex-Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he's out to prove himself as one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes! SHIELD recruits Clint to intercept a packet of incriminating evidence - before he becomes the most wanted man in the world. You won't believe what is on The Tape! What is the Vagabond Code? Matt Fraction pens a Hawkeye thriller that spans the globe...and the darkest parts of Hawkeye's mind. Barton and Bishop mean double the Hawkeye and double the trouble...and stealing from the rich never looked so good.

COLLECTING: Hawkeye 1-5, Young Avengers Presents 6

Hot on the heels of the hit Avengers film comes a new comic book series about Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton. I was never a huge Avengers fan growing up (I was more of an X-Men kind of girl) and pretty much all I know about them I have learned from the recent Marvel movies. You don't need a lot of previous back story to read this collection though and I found it easy to follow along.

My Life As A Weapon is a collection of the first 5 issues of the Hawkeye series written by Matt Faction (The Invincible Iron Man, The Immortal Fist). The first three issues illustrated by David Aja (The Immortal Iron Fist) and the last two illustrated by Javier Pulido (Spiderman: Black Cat). This collection also includes a special issue of the Avengers Presents that features Hawkeye's first meeting with Kate Bishop.

The first three issues of this series are standalone stories. There is no real connection between each episode storywise and I think they are meant to give us insight into how this character ticks. Clint Barton is an everyman who also happens to be an Avenger. He's smart but not a genius and he reminds us more than once that he doesn't have any super powers. He just happens to have really good aim. It's kind of nice seeing a character like this, one who isn't brilliant or have super powers but wants to do the right thing. He gets himself into crazy scrapes and puts his foot in his mouth more often than not.

Kate Bishop is a character that is new to me and I really liked her. She and Hawkeye have an interesting relationship, to say the least, and I enjoyed watching her push his buttons. I would definitely like to read more about them together and see where their relationship goes.

I really enjoyed David Aja's artwork. I wasn't familiar with him before reading this but am interested in reading his back catalog now. He has a clean, bold style that I think works really well for this fast paced action series. I wasn't as big of a fan of Javier Pulido's artwork. There's nothing wrong with it but it didn't wow me. I am also one of those people who enjoys continuity in a comic series and it's a bit jarring when they switch artists halfway through.

While this series is fun, I don't think it's going to be a regular read for me. The lack of an overall story arc didn't give me much to invest in. This may change as the series goes on. If you like The Avengers and/or are curious about Hawkeye's back story, this is a good collection to pick up. There is some great dialogue and action sequences and Aja's artwork is top notch.

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Visit Matt Fraction online at mattfraction.com and David Aja at  blog.davidaja.com/

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