Hawkeye #1 Second Review - Mobile Edition

Marvel Comics
Hawkeye #1 Second Review
By Hervé St-Louis
November 2, 2003 - 10:21

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Fabian Nicieza
Penciller(s): Stefano Raffaele
Inker(s): Stefano Raffaele
Cover Artist(s): Paolo Rivera

I don’t know what ‘s going on at Marvel these days, but everybody seems to be getting a comic book series. When it fails, it suddenly becomes a mini-series. Now, I like Hawkeye a lot. He’s one of my favourite Avengers and the Avenger/JLA series have done a lot to remind me of why this character is not a Green Arrow clone. But sometimes, it’s not right and this series is just not right.

Nicieza is a good writer, but my main complain about this series is that it feels like I’m reading Nomad, another series written by the man about a travelling hero. Just like in Nomad, it’s a moody scene, closer to slice of life than crime noir, but engaged heroism with common folks. This suits Hawkeye, but the problem is that the character talking is not Hawkeye, it’s Nomad.

Raffaele uses heavy inked lines. It makes the book’s tone darker. A lighter style would have fitted better. There’s a slice of life funny scene in a Jacuzzi with Clint Barton and some overweight people. It’s very funny, but the style is off. Although a great storyteller, unlike most, I didn’t like the one page action scene where Hawkeye disables an opponent with a homemade slingshot.