Hawkeye #1 Review - Marvel Monday

Stalk This!

Written by: Kelly Thompson
Art by: Leonardo Romero, Jordie Bellaire and Joe Sabino
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 14, 2016

Here I am, reviewing my first Hawkeye book ever and it's not Clint Barton.  Nope, it's Kate Bishop and I am fine with that!  I know that Reggie will have you think otherwise, but I love strong female characters and LOVE sassy gals and Kate is both is spades.  So, I am just going to jump right into my review and see what is going on in this Marvel now book.


The issue opens with Kate doing a little "sight seeing" at Venice Beach and while she is big on abs, she also notices something a little off.  A bunch of Men in Black are hanging around and while I thought they were government goons a first, they turn out to be Bank Robbers...Point Break style.  POINT BREAK STYLE!!!  Nice!

Kate suits up and stops the bank robbery with skill and sass to boot and I really enjoyed this cold open.  As someone not that familiar with Kate, Kelly Thompson shows instead of tells the reader what she is all about and I appreciate not having my hand held from the start.

We then head off to Kate's apartment/office where she is running a detective agency.  While her workday seems to be all about parking privileges, it changes for the better...or does it?  After a ton of people come by, looking for the "real Hawkeye", Kate finally gets a case.

It's all about cyber bullying and Kate promises to make things right for a young blogger named Mikka. So, she heads off to Kinney College to muck around and before finding her mark, meets a guy that looks like he may become her Oracle (I'm sorry to go cross company for that) and notices a lot of food and abs..again!

Things heat up when she does find the stalker and gives him the taste of a little street justice, but the issue ends with a cliffhanger that shows that a guy messing with her blog may be the least of Mikka's worries.

This is a very low key issue, even for a #1 trying to ease the reader into the character and her world.  Kelly Thompson really takes her time to show us what makes Kate tick and as a new reader, I appreciated that.  Did I expect and hope for more action?  Yes, but the time spent in this issue getting to know Kate should pay off in the long run.

I can't say I was a huge fan of Leonardo Romero's art in this issue.  It fits in the whole Hawkeye motif of the past somewhat, but it just didn't have the wow factor I was looking for.  Maybe it will grow on me, but right now I find it...just okay.

Bits and Pieces:

This first issue of Hawkeye gives the reader a good idea who Kate Bishop is, but that's about it.  I loved the character work, but was hoping for more in the action department.  The art didn't do anything to change my overall enthusiasm, but still, I found myself enjoying the book more than the sum of it's parts.  It's all about Kate and for now, that's almost enough for me!

7.0/10