Hawkeye, Firestar, Jean Grey, Derek Morgan, and the Hulk head to the SEAR, and things don't go exactly according to plan.
The Good
This is the perfect companion to Ultimate Comics X-Men, which is also awesome. Hawkeye works perfectly in a leader role and he's (aside from Hulk, who isn't really working with anyone) a great "father figure" to the other heroes, and by father figure, I mean a team leader who knows what he's doing.
It's hard to tell whether I like this or Ultimate Comics X-Men more, but I can say they read like two different books. Hawkeye comes off more as a covert-op team or more like Secret Avengers, but better. It also has that "hidden world within our own world" feel to it. This book has a great amount of action in it, including Hulk smashing everything in his path, and each team member is a necessity to the team. No one is there just "hanging out." Don't let that fool you though because this book really is about Hawkeye, who is incredibly bad ass.
I love Hickman's writing. It tends to be pretty high concept (See Red Wing), and this book has elements of that, but Hickman keeps it pretty low-key, and balances it with characters we love. Working with Hickman is Rafa Sandoval on pencils, Jordi Tarragona on inks, and Brad Anderson on colors. There is a two page splash, in this issue, that is downright awesome-tastic (what a terrible, made-up word). This is a great creative team and they're making this book one of the funnest to read at Marvel.
The Bad
It's not a big deal, but that last page reveal... I couldn't stop thinking "Deathstorm." If you see it, you'll know what I mean.
The Verdict
This new season of Ultimate books is top notch, and collectively, the best it has ever been, and I feel like Ultimate Hawkeye is really leading the way. If you love what's going on in Ultimate Comics X-Men, then you'll enjoy this issue since it has a few of those characters popping up in here. The creative team of this book is dynamite, and I'm loving the direction this book is going. I highly recommend this issue and this series.