I'm 23, but I basically had the same experience as you. I tried to get into comics seriously when the New 52 first came around a fell off the train pretty quickly. I always respected the history of comics even if I didn't read them, but Hawkeye is what sold the medium to me as something I want to engage on a regular basis.
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Hawkeye by Matt Fraction February Comic Book Club |OT| Everything Awful, Bro
- Thread starter Zombine
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I'm 23, but I basically had the same experience as you. I tried to get into comics seriously when the New 52 first came around a fell off the train pretty quickly. I always respected the history of comics even if I didn't read them, but Hawkeye is what sold the medium to me as something I want to engage on a regular basis.
I've spoken about this in ComicGAF quite a few times in the past, but Hawkeye was one of those books like Sean Murphy's Punk Rock Jesus that I picked up on day 1 without having any knowledge of what was in store. I had just gotten back into reading comics with Marvel Now, and I had to pick between Hawkeye #1 and Gambit #1 (lol). I'm a pretty huge X-Men fan so I almost went with Gambit, but I decided to dive into Hawkeye instead and was beyond impressed with what I read.
For those of you who have read Hawkeye and may be looking for something similar, I suggest you consider reading Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Spencer and Lieber. That book is an absolute treat, and it has the same sense of humor and beautiful art that Hawkeye has:
For those of you who have read Hawkeye and may be looking for something similar, I suggest you consider reading Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Spencer and Lieber. That book is an absolute treat, and it has the same sense of humor and beautiful art that Hawkeye has:
Screaming_Gremlin
My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
Funny enough, the second time I tried to get into comics (after Ultimate Spider-man and Marvel Knights Spider-man) was the Nu52. Like you, I read for a few months, eventually lost interest and quit reading for another year or two. When I finally got into comics for real, I went back and got into a few of the series like Batman and Wonder Woman.
I also recommend this series. Fantastic humor and a bit of a different perspective than what you normally get. Also, a sort of feel good moment for the Shocker in the last issue. Spencer's Ant-man has a similar feel, even if it isn't quite as good.
I do have to ask, has Spencer done anything weird in social media that makes people dislike him? I occasionally read the Something Awful comic forum (like our comic thread, but actually on topic more often than not... and unfortunately with more people being shitty to each other) and there seems to be a group of people that just hate him and for the life of me I have never been able to figure out why.
Seriously, Seriously, Seriously, Seriously,
Seriously, Seriously.
Got all of these in the library system I work at, so I just wrapped them up last week. Great series.
Similar experience here. Never read too many comics growing up as I didn't really have the money or lived near stores. Now, both my work and my apartment are within walking distance of stores. Went into a store one day and bought a random Hawkeye tradeback, guy who worked there suggested I look into this series too and I've never looked back.
Spencer is unapologetically left-leaning/liberal. I don't think he's all that obnoxious about it (he's got criticisms of democrats and more democratic thinking, too), but he will feed the trolls on Twitter. His feed is fun to read during debates, in particular.
LaunchpadMcQ
Banned
I've spoken about this in ComicGAF quite a few times in the past, but Hawkeye was one of those books like Sean Murphy's Punk Rock Jesus that I picked up on day 1 without having any knowledge of what was in store. I had just gotten back into reading comics with Marvel Now, and I had to pick between Hawkeye #1 and Gambit #1 (lol). I'm a pretty huge X-Men fan so I almost went with Gambit, but I decided to dive into Hawkeye instead and was beyond impressed with what I read.
For those of you who have read Hawkeye and may be looking for something similar, I suggest you consider reading Superior Foes of Spider-Man by Spencer and Lieber. That book is an absolute treat, and it has the same sense of humor and beautiful art that Hawkeye has:
Superior Foes would be a good follow-up book club to this one. The OHC drops next week.
Just a quick reminder that we are 3 days away from the start of the book club on Monday, February 1st. For you last minute folks who may want to get involved, Hawkeye in its entirety is available on Marvel Unlimited. For only $9.99 a month you can read Hawkeye and over 17,000 other books on your tablet or mobile device. If you do decide to join us I hope that you check out MU and discover other books you may enjoy.
wilder.Boy
Member
Here we go!
Best. Comic. Ever.
Bro.
Seriously, as others have already said, this is also the comic that got me into reading comics. There was a lot of hype going on in this thread which drew my attention. And after reading the first issue, I still can say: those dudes were absolutely right. Still awesome!
Especially the first issue including the rescue of pizza dog. It's so heartwarming. Everyone simply has to love it. And boy, I've not even mentioned the art of David Aja. Imho one of the best artists in the industry.
Can't wait to follow this thread.
Bro.
Best. Comic. Ever.
Bro.
Seriously, as others have already said, this is also the comic that got me into reading comics. There was a lot of hype going on in this thread which drew my attention. And after reading the first issue, I still can say: those dudes were absolutely right. Still awesome!
Especially the first issue including the rescue of pizza dog. It's so heartwarming. Everyone simply has to love it. And boy, I've not even mentioned the art of David Aja. Imho one of the best artists in the industry.
Can't wait to follow this thread.
Bro.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
I own 8 number 1s that I (someday) plan on framing on my wall. Hawkeye #1 is one of them. It's one of the best series ever written and it doesn't wear out its welcome. It'll be seen as a classic of its period in time. Definitely in for the re-re-re-read.
Here we go! Zombine, sorry to bother you with this but did you see my previous question about the reading order?
Anyway, I'll be sure to read #1 when I'm back from work. Looking forward impressions from first time reader!
Anyway, I'll be sure to read #1 when I'm back from work. Looking forward impressions from first time reader!
The
ASL
Woah. I have no idea at all. I read it as it released so I just assumed the collected editions were all in order. Will look into this tonight and we can decide what's best.
LaunchpadMcQ
Banned
I think the ohc and omni have the same order. We can just look through and decide the reading order based on that. TPBs always have weird ordering.
BossDarkseid
Member
Will only really be jumping into this in a day or two. Got something in my right eye today which is irritating me no end and my left eye i what i need glasses for...so atm basically doing my best Deathstroke impression.
Hope it goes well tho!
Hope it goes well tho!
Is there anybody else like me that hasn't read this series yet? I'm hoping there's at least a couple others who are experiencing this stuff for the first time like I am.
I will start tonight and read at least a couple of the first issues. I'll provide brief impressions of them as I get through.
I will start tonight and read at least a couple of the first issues. I'll provide brief impressions of them as I get through.
1st timer here.
Freezasaurus
Member
I flipped through my Omnibus... The order the issues are printed in is as follows:
Young Avengers Presents: Hawkeye, #1-5, #7, #6, #17, #8-12, Annual, #13-16, #18-22
That's different than the OHCs. So the trades, OHCs and Omnibus all have different orders. How bizarre. That will make this a little more difficult to track, then.
Freezasaurus
Member
Marvel did the same thing with Infinity, where they put everything in proper reading order instead of the order the issues came out.
At this point, I think everyone should just read it in order, relative to the numbers. If we're going to keep up with each other, anyway. Less relevant to those of us that read it already, of course.
But what order is proper when the trades have one, the OHCs have another, and the omni has yet another? I mean, I'm assuming the omni has the order they want us to read in, but it's still really weird, because none of the formats have them in the order the issues came out from what I can tell.
Speaking of Fraction's Hawkeye. Did Marvel keep his deaf plotline? IIRC, they dropped it and handwaved it away despite Fraction adding it for a kid and it being a pretty damn good plotpoint and throw-back to the 80's when he blew his eardrums out.
Lemire handwaved it with Clint's hearing aid. Fraction/Aja put that in the last issue though, so he just picked it up. Can't come down on him *too* hard.
Like, just go #1-22? I am assuming all of the formats have 7 and 6 switched (I know at least the OHC and omnibus do), so that one should be okay at least.
In that case, when should we read Young Avengers Presents: Hawkeye (which is in all of the formats) and the annual?
Zombine didn't include which ones we'll read during each week.
I'm in club newcomer as well! I read the first like... 4 issues this weekend. Good stuff so far, I'm hooked on it.
Freezasaurus
Member
It doesn't make a difference to me, I've read the series before.
I'm perfectly content to leave the decision to Zombeen-sama.
LaunchpadMcQ
Banned
So, I read #1 just an hour or so ago. That has got to be one of the best first issues. I remember reading this back in 2012 when I really got into reading new comics, and I was just howling with laughter. It's not as funny to me now, but it brings a smile to my face. I think this was one of the first books where I thought, "man, comics can be really fun."
Anyway, I really liked the subversion on the last page with the dog's name. I know it's obvious and all, but it's still fun that Fraction pokes fun at those usual tropes. I think it really captures what kind of book he sets out to make, even if you take out the rest of the story and just took that one page on its own.
Sidenote, the OHCs are awesome.
Anyway, I really liked the subversion on the last page with the dog's name. I know it's obvious and all, but it's still fun that Fraction pokes fun at those usual tropes. I think it really captures what kind of book he sets out to make, even if you take out the rest of the story and just took that one page on its own.
Sidenote, the OHCs are awesome.
Freezasaurus
Member
I was very surprised by how good it was when I first read it. To me at the time, Hawkeye was little more than the boringest Avenger. But the whole "What Hawkeye does on his days off" schtick was a great idea, and Fraction / Aja / Wu really crafted something special with this book.
Yeah, pretty much. She was an annoying 16 year old.
And later on her story in Cali just dragged on and became sort of a mess.
The first 10 issues or so are damn good though. But then it just became jokes and gimmicks (I've never hated the word "bro" before...until I read this series).
Okay, so here's the deal:
Marvel really fucked up with how this book is put together. It has more cuts than Blade Runner at this point, and each one seems to serve a particular purpose. Here's how we'll break it down:
Each week, finish 5 issues per week starting at #1. We'll treat the additional issues as supplemental material which isn't necessary to the enjoyment of the main book, but we can discuss it here at any point. So today, we'll start with #1, but feel free to discuss "Young Avengers Presents" at any point this week.
It took me a minute to post because I went to get drinks and went to a game.
Edit:
So let me begin with #1 by saying this: wow. It still doesn't wear off on me how stellar that is for a first issue. The panneling is glorious and fits together like this perfect puzzle, drawing your attention directly to where Aja wants you to look. That first page is a real kick in the teeth and is just one of man awesome sequences in the title. I really love the fluidity and motion to everything Aja does, and it only seems to get better as we go on. It feels like everything that is drawn is thought about, and not just placed there because it "looks cool." I really love the sense of scale present in the entire issue.
A few particular things that stand out to me in #1 are some of the symbols in the alleyway as Clint is walking down it. Do they represent something? It's very similar to the Hobo code, and it's the kind of imagery that's present on a majority of the Aja covers. This particular image was a circle with two lines through it. It looks like it's the hobo code for "go out fast"
And it's interesting that directly after that we are met with Ivan bullying the Spanish speaking family. It's just a cool touch if it's intentional. But overall, great first issue, and I love it when he flicks the card at the one dude at the gambling spot. Fucking love looking at his prowess with shooting objects.
I'll finish up with some bro stats for #1:
On to issue #2 tomorrow.
Marvel really fucked up with how this book is put together. It has more cuts than Blade Runner at this point, and each one seems to serve a particular purpose. Here's how we'll break it down:
Each week, finish 5 issues per week starting at #1. We'll treat the additional issues as supplemental material which isn't necessary to the enjoyment of the main book, but we can discuss it here at any point. So today, we'll start with #1, but feel free to discuss "Young Avengers Presents" at any point this week.
It took me a minute to post because I went to get drinks and went to a game.
Edit:
So let me begin with #1 by saying this: wow. It still doesn't wear off on me how stellar that is for a first issue. The panneling is glorious and fits together like this perfect puzzle, drawing your attention directly to where Aja wants you to look. That first page is a real kick in the teeth and is just one of man awesome sequences in the title. I really love the fluidity and motion to everything Aja does, and it only seems to get better as we go on. It feels like everything that is drawn is thought about, and not just placed there because it "looks cool." I really love the sense of scale present in the entire issue.
A few particular things that stand out to me in #1 are some of the symbols in the alleyway as Clint is walking down it. Do they represent something? It's very similar to the Hobo code, and it's the kind of imagery that's present on a majority of the Aja covers. This particular image was a circle with two lines through it. It looks like it's the hobo code for "go out fast"
And it's interesting that directly after that we are met with Ivan bullying the Spanish speaking family. It's just a cool touch if it's intentional. But overall, great first issue, and I love it when he flicks the card at the one dude at the gambling spot. Fucking love looking at his prowess with shooting objects.
I'll finish up with some bro stats for #1:
- bro was used a total of 34 times in issue 1
- "bros" was used once out of the 34 times
- Clint said bro once
On to issue #2 tomorrow.
Finished #2, which I'll probably end at for today. I wasn't sure how they were going to handle the superhero side of Clint, since #1 only kind of set up a slice-of-life story. This issue did a great job introducing where a lot of that side of the story will go. The Kate (I think that was the name) character was interesting so far, I thought. The art really needs to be praised, here. The thing that is impressing me most about Aja's work is the clarity. In every facet, I mean. The expressions, the action, the panel design, etc. It's got a really succinct direction, never forgoing atmosphere nor adding more detail than needed.
The only panel design that didn't really vibe with me was this (the "well that's cool" thing):
But maybe somebody here can explain to me why he paneled it this way. To me it seemed an unnecessarily convoluted way to present the dialogue, but it's possible I'm missing something.
Oh, another couple of things I quickly wanted to point out was that I am enjoying the style of humor within, and I consistently love the color pallet Aja uses.
Will read #3 and perhaps #4 tomorrow.
The only panel design that didn't really vibe with me was this (the "well that's cool" thing):
But maybe somebody here can explain to me why he paneled it this way. To me it seemed an unnecessarily convoluted way to present the dialogue, but it's possible I'm missing something.
Oh, another couple of things I quickly wanted to point out was that I am enjoying the style of humor within, and I consistently love the color pallet Aja uses.
Will read #3 and perhaps #4 tomorrow.
BuddyJoeHooker
Member
Hawkeye #1
Still enjoyable. I really took notice of the colors this time reading it, Clint's purple clothing catches attention immediately on every page, also night and day scenes are very orange and blue while the middle of the book has a green setting. Very interesting work. It also has some of the best panel set up in comics, really wish David Aja would release at least five comics a year of just something more than a project every couple of years. Introduction of Pizza "Lucky" Dog was good, this sort of set out a theme in other comics, Black Widow got a cat, Punisher got a coyote (these titles also had the same writer).
Don't forget your Aja Playlist
Hawkeye #1
My first intro into Marvel comics was the Ultimate Universe, pretty much read the first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and never stopped reading except for a few breaks here and there. These were my first introduction to Hawkeye:
Still enjoyable. I really took notice of the colors this time reading it, Clint's purple clothing catches attention immediately on every page, also night and day scenes are very orange and blue while the middle of the book has a green setting. Very interesting work. It also has some of the best panel set up in comics, really wish David Aja would release at least five comics a year of just something more than a project every couple of years. Introduction of Pizza "Lucky" Dog was good, this sort of set out a theme in other comics, Black Widow got a cat, Punisher got a coyote (these titles also had the same writer).
Don't forget your Aja Playlist
Hawkeye #1
My first intro into Marvel comics was the Ultimate Universe, pretty much read the first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and never stopped reading except for a few breaks here and there. These were my first introduction to Hawkeye:
One series introduced him the other killed him, the Ultimates run made me a fan and later learned that they were nothing alike. Ultimate Hawkeye was a badass spy/archer, MU Hawkeye was a very complicated character, a circus performer turned villain and eventually a hero.
I think it was trying to show how time kind of slows down when focusing on making a difficult shot.
I figured that was probably what he was trying to convey, but, eh, wasn't really sold on it. The rest has been great so far, though, so I'm not worried about it.
BossDarkseid
Member
Was it a sword?
Ha, not quite. Woken up this morning and right eye is so puffy/swollen can hardly see out of it, left eye is what I need glasses for
I'll probably catch up on the Book Club this afternoon though.I think YA Presebts is best after issue #5 or so. That's how I read it (as that's how the trade orders it), but I like that. I think it makes sense as a pleasant one-off flashback story in-between arcs. I definitely don't think it should be read first. It's more fun if you take Clint's word (or leave it) that she's good and then see Kate prove it in the very same issue. #2 gets the core of that partnership across really well.
I see you enjoyed #1. Glad to hear it.
Edit: And #2!
For Zombine:
I'm pretty sure we have to read the annual before #14, yeah?
Issue 3 was awesome! I really enjoyed it. The chase scene in particular felt really well done, beyond what I typically see in comics. The scene direction and pacing felt perfect for the action that was happening. I also found the way they presented the trick arrows interesting.
It cracked me up when Kate saw Clint without his shirt on. Her look was hilarious.
It cracked me up when Kate saw Clint without his shirt on. Her look was hilarious.
Yeah I just came from the Green Arrow by Jeff Lemire Deluxe, so I'm loving trick arrows right now.
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