Hawkeye and Mockingbird, Doomsday Clock

Doomsday Clock 4

It’s new Rorschach’s origin story.  Turns out he’s the son of Rorschach’s psychiatrist from the original series.  Went a little crazy from the monster bomb, spent his time in an asylum getting trained by Mothman.  And now that Reggie’s in Arkham, Reggie : Disguised Bruce Wayne :: Walter Kovacs : Reggie’s dad in an intentional bit of symmetry.  

Byron Lewis as Mothman is the real draw of this issue.  There’s tragedy in his dignified madness, and the extra reading material at the end reinforces how he deserved far better than he got.  He’s Ted Knight in James Robinson’s Starman, but without the salvation granted to him by his friends and family after his institutionalization.

Gary Frank’s art remains perfect for this title.  

Hawkeye and Mockingbird 1-6

Speaking of Gary Frank, David Lopez looks a lot like early Frank, before he added all the cross hatching to his work.

David Lopez faces.

Early Gary Frank faces.

A lot more lines on Frank's faces now.  

This comic is another example of the premise outstripping the execution.  Hawkeye and Mockingbird running around the globe as Mr and Mrs Smith sounds like the best idea, but Jim McCann does himself no favors by tying in Bobbi’s complex history with the Phantom Rider.  He should have dismissed it the same way he did the Secret Invasion arc, with a “ long story, don’t ask.”

The plot with Bobbi’s family is pretty decent, a situation where both Clint and Bobbi have defensible points of view.  I also understand both characters’ reasons for breaking up at the end of the trade, but the “you’re a killer, and I can’t condone or do that” doesn’t make sense considering this couple’s history and understanding of each other.  I agree with Bobbi’s assertion that for some people, “We love each other, but that doesn’t mean we should be together.” But it really doesn’t apply to her and Hawkeye.

The title was canceled after 6 issues, but I wouldn’t have kept buying even if it had continued.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Dark Reign: Hawkeye, New Avengers: Reunion

Dark Reign: Hawkeye 1-5

I like the concept of this miniseries more than the execution.  Bullseye goes on a solo adventure during his tenure on the Dark Avengers.  He kills things, he questions his sanity, he kills his father, the end. Nothing wrong with it, nothing stand out about it either.  Tom Raney’s okay, and that’s about it. Thoroughly middle of the pack, and there’s nothing inducing me to keep it.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Didn’t suck

New Avengers: The Reunion 1-4

I love the pairing of Hawkeye and Mockingbird, but somewhere through the second issue, I wondered if this story would read any differently if you swapped them out for Green Arrow and Black Canary.  Wise cracking archers, serious martial artists. Deeply in love, not the best at relationships. If it weren’t for the Marvel-specific references, it’s possible.

I love Jo Chen's covers.  

I’m not the biggest fan of Clint in this series.  I get that he never wanted to divorce Bobbi, but he comes across a little too strong for my tastes.  He doesn’t give her any of the space that she asks for, and fails to recognize that the non-Skrull Bobbi truly wanted a divorce.  Though to his credit, Clint has matured a great deal since Bobbi last saw him. And they do make an excellent power couple. Their fight scenes together are great, and I just love their costumes.  (Credit to David Lopez for some solid, clean art.)

I liked this enough back then to keep buying their subsequent team-up comic, which I’ll get to tomorrow.  We’ll see if Hawkeye can back off a little.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Fine