Double Bullseye
I seem to be in the minority when it comes to this issue vs. the first issue. I found the first issue to be a little disjointed and bumpy to follow, with art that seemed stylized but not matching the cover. But overall a powerful and enjoyable experience. THIS issue however, in my opinion at least, ramped up the quality in all areas. The story was much more direct, smooth as the flight of an arrow; and the artwork was MUCH more like the covers, which are ASTOUNDING. And I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone that this cover is mind blowing like the first.
This issue is much more heavily stylized, just gushing with purple from beginning to end. Aja's artwork is actually quite simplistic, but undeniably GORGEOUS in its own right. The panel layouts are really played around with, experimenting with deep levels of subtlety and emotional tension. There's an amazing elegance to the minimalism.
The introduction of Kate Bishop was an interesting choice. She and Hawkeye have a VERY weird dynamic that I have trouble piecing together. He says she's 9, but from the way she's drawn, I have a lot of trouble believing that. She looks a little older, and seems far more mature. But she's SUCH a fun character, especially the way she plays off of Hawkeye.
Like I said about the previous issue, this series is a nice delicate tether between the 'Mighty Heroes' tone of the Avengers, and some kind of 'real' street level sense. Hawkeye was apparently a circus kid, and not of the Dick Grayson variety. This isn't played up, but left hanging as a gnawing sense of Clint as a character. And as things progress, we really see the difference in tone between the two archers. There's also a delicious bit of moral ambiguity that REALLY caught me by surprise at the end, and will surely be a mental morsel to chew on for a bit.
I also love how the last page calls back to the beginning and sets up a direction for the series.
In Conclusion: 5/5
Very few things bothered me in this issue, and even they were just nitpicks. This was a POWERFUL comic, with such rich depth and atmosphere. In a sense, it ISN'T what you'd expect if you're just a bandwagon fan of Hawkeye from The Avengers movie. I'm not that, but I'm also not a Hawkeye fan previously, I just picked this up because of the cover and the promise of Aja interiors. But it's INCREDIBLE.
