Hawkeye: Private Eye

by Kelly Thompson

Other authorsMichael Walsh (Illustrator), Joe Sabino (Letterer), Leonardo Romero (Illustrator), Julian Totino Tedesco (Cover artist), Sana Amanat (Editor), Jordie Bellaire (Colourist), Charles Beacham (Editor), Alanna Smith (Editor)
Paperback, 2019

Description

Collects Hawkeye (2016) #1-12. Remember Hawkeye? No, not that Hawkeye - your favorite Hawkeye! The former Young Avenger, the butt-kicking hero who had to save that other Hawkguy all the time and basically keep his life in some semblance of order. Yup, you know her - it's the dazzling Kate Bishop, making a splash in her own solo series as the City of Angels gets a new guardian angel. There are crimes to solve, and she's the best archer to handle 'em! But is she ready to face the ghosts of her past? This is Kate Bishop as you've never seen her before, in a stirring saga that really hits the mark!.

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

288 p.; 9 inches

Publication

Marvel (2019), Edition: Illustrated, 288 pages

Pages

288

ISBN

1302917951 / 9781302917951

Local notes

Collects issue 1 through 12 of "Hawkeye" (the fifth title of that name, starting in 2016), wherein Kate Bishop relocates to Los Angeles to open a detective agency.

Library's rating

Library's review

This was -- with some minor cameos excepted -- my introduction to the character of Kate Bishop, bought on the strengt of Kelly Thompson's writing in other Marvel comics I've read. And Kate's very fun. Witty, charming and personable, clever and skilled without being perfect. The balancing of being
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an unpaid vigilante superhero and a paid (if unlicensed) private detective is also a fun set up, though I feel the inherent conflict there should have been played up much more than it was.

I loved how Bishop's "hawk eye" (never named such) is displayed every time she enters a situation, with a mixture of humourous observations and tactical identifications that frequently come back into play in the inevitable action scenes that at some point follows. This is a very clever way of playing up her skillset beyond "oh, she can hit stuff with arrows really well", and it works solidly.

The only major criticism is that there stories are a bit forgettable, unfortunately. The mysteries aren't very complex, the villains (Madame Mystique excepted) aren't very memorable. The quickly accrued stable of sidekicks are bland and largely uninteresting, perhaps excepting Mikka, who also doubles as the first client, and also the gruffy police detective who begrudgingly starts liking Bishop in spite of herself gets to be funny often enough to somewhat overcome her character's very trite stereotype. The Marvel guest appearances, such as the ones by X-23 and Jessica Jones, are thus big highlights, as they provide a welcome change of actually interesting characters for Kate to interact with.

These story issues are somewhat mitiaged through the exciting action and constant humour, as well as through a red thread of Bishop's unresolved issues with her parents, weaving in and out of the otherwise relatively standalone plotlines. This gives me something to care about beyond the pseudo-mysteries at hand, and as it directly affects Kate (whom I cannot help but like) it helps keep my interest going.

All in all, this was a fun read, and I'll definitely read the second volume as well, finishing up the run. Hopefully it'll have somewhat weightier and more complex plotlines to add to the otherwise impressive repertoire of positives that volume one could offer.
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Rating

(6 ratings; 4)
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