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By Jason Bourgeois
Someone out there is gonna have my head for that title hinting that this might somehow be about the 80s fantasy film starring Matthew Broderick, but no, we're talking about something completely different this month. Trust me though, it's still good stuff. All you Ladyhawke fans should just move along.
I've long gone on the record that I am absolutely not a fan of non-powered superheroes. Or heroes, I guess, but saying, "I hate heroes," just doesn't sound good, and is totally false. For example, I'm not a Batman fan. He can do stuff that anyone can do, with the right training. Boooring. Give me laser eyes, telepathic powers, and pyrokinesis any day. I read these things that have no budget limitations, nothing stopping them short of ideas in their heads, and the sky is literally the limit. Actually, with books like Silver Surfer and Micronauts, the limits are even beyond the skies. To read a comic limited to just some guy who can jump from roof to roof just seems so limited in scope.
Which isn't to say Batman and such aren't perfectly fine characters, I just am not generally interested in their solo adventures. Even Grant Morrison taking him on his recent time travel trip back from the dead isn't of any interest to me. I'm instead reading the side story with Booster Gold, Superman, and Green Lantern jumping through time trying to find him. Granted, I'm also more of a Jurgens fan than Morrison, so that helps too. Anyways, if Batman and friends work for you, more power to ya.
Naturally, as with all rules, there are the exceptions. I've never been too much into Captain America for the same reasons, but I have always admired his morals and often list him as one of my personal heroes, even though I do not follow his adventures very often. Until recently at least, and that's entirely on the strength of Ed Brubaker's writing, and the engrossing stories he has been telling.
One of the biggest exceptions to my rule has always been Clint Barton, the avenging archer known as Hawkeye. I started reading him when I was young, and he just had this brash, cynical, and sarcastic attitude that always attracts me to a character. It's not the normal hero, and makes them more fun to read. I can't really explain why I let Hawkeye in when the rest get shut out, but there he is. And he doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Well, unless Brian Bendis kills him again.
Anyways, Hawkeye finally came back, and so did his long dead wife, Mockingbird. Er, I mean wife replaced by Skrulls. Best retcon in a long time there, Marvel. The pair were on rocky ground on the best of days, and when she 'died' things were even worse, so the relationship is quite interesting now that they're back together for the first time in, what? 15 or so years?
Not only are they both back, but they were given a miniseries setting up their new status quo, and that led straight into a new ongoing series, Hawkeye & Mockingbird. Not the best named book, but it is what it is, right?
The best thing about the book is, and this is necessary, the writing. Jim McCann has long waxed eloquently about his love of the duo, and how he'd love to write a series with them. He is a true fan, and knows them better than almost anyone. At least anyone interested in writing them. You can feel the love and knowledge for these characters on every page, and it is a joy to read.
The biggest thing that holds my interest in this title, and keeps me around is that I love spy stories and adventures. I am a huge fan of the TV show Alias, and this book really scratches that itch, and is being written by a huge fanboy of the characters, so there is a lot of elements coming together that makes for an amazingly fun book that doesn't shy away from continuity, while at the same time not making it too dense and incomprehensible for the newbies. Everything is explained clearly, I believe. It can be hard to gauge that stuff from inside the box.
David Lopez on art is also a great fit for this book. His faces can be a bit weird at times, but you can tell who is who pretty clearly, and he is a great storyteller. His flow from panel to panel is superb, and he can do great action sequences that make sense, and are easy to follow without being cluttered. A lot of artists fail on that account, and have no idea how to properly set up and use geography and the pages they're given.
So we've got an action adventure spy novel in comicbook form, starring two highly skilled fighters with no superhuman skills and their ragtag band of counterterrorist agents. Somehow, this book shouldn't be so loved by me, but it gets all the right elements out of those things, and makes for an intriguing read, that can still work in character moments and emotions, as well as the cost of this job. It's not just wacky fun hijinks, it's well-written, well-drawn, and really delves into who these people are, which is always an important element. A lot of writers can miss that, and just dive into the fun action stuff.
If you're not reading this book, and this sounds at all interesting to you, or you love spy stuff, or just want to check out a new, fun comic, grab this book. It's one of my favourites right now, and I look forward to it every month. The trade collection of the miniseries that kicked things off and set things up, New Avengers: The Reunion is available now, and the ongoing title is just a few issues deep so far, so now is definitely the time to start.
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