Review: Hawkeye Issue 6

Clint Barton, "come out to plaaay"! Hawkeye issue 6 goes beyond being a simple Holiday issue and sees the return of some villains who previously tussled with Clint Barton. Oh, Pizza Dog has a cameo as well!

Writer Matt Fraction begins things so easily and well joyously with this issue's story, that the latter parts are a bit of surprise. The story kicks off with Hawkeye assisting heroes with a skirmish against A.I.M. with our hero getting roughed up. You'd think he'd get some sort of a break after the adventure Madripoor and what happened during that adventure. Fraction then shifts things a bit for Barton offering a peek at his everyday life. When he's untangling A/V cable wires or when he's mingling with the tenants in his building, I've always enjoyed this portrayal of Barton since the series began. Heroes despite their day job saving the world now and then, need some downtime too. This is nice touch and a great contrast to most books that just depicts action after action scenes and storylines.

There's always a calm before the storm and when it rains, it pours, for Barton with the return of the Tracksuit Draculas element, introduced in the first issue. A bunch of guys with baseball bats shouldn't be a problem for an Avenger to handle, but things really do get ugly for Barton. The rest of the sequence that follows begins a whole new story and leads into issue 8. Barton's uneasiness being the man or the hero, shows up when he has to make a decision affecting innocents once again. Leave it up to Kate to smack some sense into him...again! Be a Warrior, Clint!!! Despite an overall great issue, my uneasiness with Fraction going in this direction with Barton, is that couldn't he just simply ask for help from the hero community? Having Barton hesitant with the heroics is one thing and well, normal but hopefully Fraction will give him the resolve and confidence to just do it with his actions. There's an inconsistent theme with Barton's attitude that shows up here, where he'll go overseas for S.H.I.E.L.D. but won't man-up when it comes to protecting his neighbors.

Issue 6 sees the return of artist David Aja, providing the same amazing intricate panels. The visuals are simply mindblowing once again with audio/visual diagrams and designs that grace this issue. If it's not the handlebar moustaches, it's also  the 80s pop culture touches that you'll enjoy in this issue. Awesome to see both Aja and Fraction collaborate again, since the Iron Fist days. What turned out to be a simple Holiday issue has far a deeper storyline with the upcoming issues. Stay tuned!

Final Verdict: A- 

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