Alasdair Stuart writes for Bleeding Cool

Matt Fraction and David Aja's highly anticipated Hawkeye ongoing is upon us and it's not what you'd expect. This isn't quite the cool, zen archer of The Avengers movie, or rather, it could be, but if it is this is pretty clearly what he does on his days off. I loved it to tiny pieces, and here are ten (And a bit) reasons why:

1. Gravity is a Harsh Mistress



The opening page is a clear, nicely realised and affectionate callback to the 'Jump off a building, grapple onto a lower level' action beat in The Avengers. Then…it goes wrong and Clint bounces all the way home. This is the book's mission statement in two pages of Aja's gorgeous art and Fraction's deadpan, laconic dialogue; Clint Barton isn't flashy, Clint Barton isn't perfect, but Clint Barton is lucky. It just tends to hurt a little bit on the way down.

2. 'Paeleolithic. I looked it up.'



Fraction distinguishes Clint from his mile-a-minute Tony Stark and this joke's a perfect example of how. Clint has a well developed sense of the absurd and he's all too aware how absurd he himself is. It's a nice open door to something that happens later in the issue too.

3. 'Fix.This.Dog.'



That's the other half of the book's mission statement; Clint's an underdog, but he's the patron saint o underdogs. Aja nails this page too, showing us a bleeding, battered, intense Clint who could give a damn because someone helped him out, they're in trouble and he's not going to rest until that debt's repaid. He's still a carnie, still got that unusual combination of fair play and ruthlessness, but now he's got the resources and talent to back it up. Most of the time.

4. Once and Again

The transitions between the present day and the past really work, due to the two being set at different times of day, Aja's differing color palette for each and the clever mirroring of posture and position within the art. This is particularly clear on the digital version where you get a fade between the two, but still get a strong cue that the time has changed. This is smart, elegant comic writing and art tailored for both print and digital. Joined up thinking that leads to smart, accessible art.

5. Selective Deafness



I've not followed recent developments with the character so I can't honestly say whether Hawkeye's still actually mostly deaf, but Fraction does a great job of showing how it's changed how Clint interacts with the world. He neatly combines it with the focus a sharpshooter needs to show Clint turning the volume down on the world, focusing only on the sounds he wants to hear. An orderly yells at him in symbols, Clint whistles in musical notes, a piece of foreign dialogue is speech bubbled as 'Some spanish-sounding stuff.' Like the ways in which Matt Murdock's abilities are shown in Waid and Samnee's excellent Daredevil run, it's elegant, unobtrusive and keys us in to the fact the hero has a different way of looking at things.

6. Graffiti



That's odd looking graffiti isn't it? A circle with two arrows coming out of it? And it's in the book at least twice. Anyone know if it's something we've seen before? If not, I'll bet you someone else's money that it's plot significant, especially given that the Avengers' archer walks past arrow graffiti talking about how no one tends to recognize him…

7. Introducing Your Probably Eventually Doomed Supporting Cast



The roof scene is vital, I suspect, to the series as well as the issue. Not only does this show that Clint's grounded, it implies at least a few of these people know his identity and don't care. This is the superhero surrounded by surrogate family and it put me in mind of nothing other than the traditional Hellblazer introduction, and eventual cull of, the supporting cast. Regardless, these people are Clint's support structure in the book and based on his luck elsewhere, that doesn't bode hugely well for them.

7.5 A Disturbing Thought About Point One

Clint lives in Bedford-Stuyesvant as the book opens. Is this the building we see him and the other heroes hole up in during the flash forward with the Ultrons in Point One?

8. On Target, Too Late



That panel, of Clint looking away, is another one of those snapshots of character this book is so good at straight out of the gate. He's an almost supernaturally talented archer, a crack shot and all he can do is watch as a dog that saved his life because he fed it crappy pizza is run over. Clint Barton, hard luck hero. He and Oliver Queen should go get drunk the next time there's a Marvel/DC crossover.

9. 'Right now, Captain America ain't here.'



I love the posture here, the relaxed lean against the cab door turning into cold eyed, in your face, anger. This is a man who's found some peace, who's bled and fought and got a win, on his terms, not the terms of his super powered colleagues. This is Clint Barton at home, Clint Barton on top and the fact we get that at the end of the first issue makes me wonder whether we're heading into Bendis-era Daredevil 'power corrupts' territory for future issues. But for now, Clint wins and that's enough.

10. An Archer and His Dog



This entire final page made me tear up, but that panel was what tipped me over the edge. A faintly ludicrous superhero, who's had the shit kicked out of him, and his one-eyed dog. I'm so sold on the rest of this run it's not even funny.

Hawkeye issue 1 is out now from Marvel priced $2.99

Digital issue purchased from Treasure Island Comics