It was hinted at days ago, but now, Marvel has officially announced an ongoing Hawkeye series coming later this year from writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja. The series will star, obviously, Clint Barton and focus on his role as the non-powered everyman among Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Besides that premise, no other details about the series have been revealed.
The announcement of Fraction writing another Avengers title comes as no surprise, but expectations were probably that he was going to take over one of the main team titles rather than launching a new solo title. As the writer of both Mighty Thor and Invincible Iron Man, Fraction is no stranger to writing solo Avenger books.
Marvel Comics must be expecting quite a popularity windfall for Hawkeye coming out of the Avengers movie, because he is not a character known for his ability to sustain a solo series. While entertaining reads, Jim McCann's various limited series starring Hawkeye and Mockingbird showed that there isn't a large audience out there right now for the Clint. An argument can be made that a higher profile creator team will make the difference, but that is exactly what Marvel recently attempted with their Big Shots Initiative. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's final issue of Moon Knight will soon be released.
It's got to be said, though. Matt Fraction and David Aja are two of the three creators who made Immortal Iron Fist work. They may be able to work their magic again. I wouldn't mind having a good Hawkeye series to read every month.
Here's hoping Marvel has learned from DC's mistake and don't think that trick arrows are all you need to make an archer character interesting.
That's right. I'm still annoyed about Green Arrow.
