Writer: Matt Fraction, Artists: David Aja, Francesco Francavilla, Annie Wu, Steve Lieber
IANN ROBINSON: Wait. What? I have never been a fan of Matt Fraction’s work. How the hell did his book about my least favorite Avenger end up on the top of this list? Easy. Hawkeye is about as good as comic books get. Removing the character from over-the-top storylines and giving him a normal life, with normal problems and a knack for doing the wrong thing, has made Hawkeye incredibly endearing. Smartly written with an eye towards a more adult audience, Matt Fraction has given new life to what has long been the Avengers punch line. David Aja’s artwork is second to absolutely nobody. The elements of ’60s pop art give Hawkeye a look no other comic can claim. An absolutely wonderful read, and one of the few books I get excited when a new issue comes out.
ANDY HUNSAKER: We are in agreement here, bro. Aja is amazing, bro, but his fill-in artists also stepped up to the plate in a big way to maintain the proper tone, bro, while Aja spent a lot of time crafting an amazing issue from the perspective of Clint Barton’s dog. Also, we can’t neglect to mention Kate Bishop, bro, an integral part of this book as a Young Avenger who finds partnering with Clint to be too frustrating to deal with, so she moves to Los Angeles to start her real life, allowing this book to be bi-coastal whenever it wants to be, bro. Fraction’s Kate is very engaging, willfully confident and unassailably cool, bro. I’m not a huge fan of Hawkeye in other books, but on his own and separate from everything else, he thrives, bro. Both Hawkeyes thrive, bro.
