Hawkeye is one of my favorite ongoing series. Every issue gives you a fun story with Kate and Clint that you don’t get to see in different Avenger titles that Clint is in. This issue was the conclusion to the first story arc of the series called “The Tape”.
The cover was great. It was pretty much the same cover of part one of “The Tape” story arc, but on this cover the tape has been crushed with blood all over the cover. I thought that was really creative. The blood gave a great effect. This has to be one of my favorite covers from this series so far.
In this issue, Clint tries to escape the clutches of Madame Masque. Madame Masque’s goons find out that Kate has been pretending to be Madame Masque this whole time. So, now both Kate and Clint both have to escape with the tape that they had stolen from the real Madame Masque. Will they be able to escape?
I thought this was a pretty good conclusion to a good story arc. It resolves everything that was laid out in part one. It even throws us a curve ball in the end that makes the whole story arc worth reading. Even though this was a simple story arc it wasn’t predictable. There were little subtle things that kept you interested through out the story. For example, in last issue we find out that Kate was pretending to be Madame Masque to protect Clint. I didn’t see that one coming. Even though it wasn’t a jaw-dropping moment. It was still interesting to the story.
Clint and Kate work great together. Their dynamic is probably one of my favorite things about this series. They have great chemistry and that really shines in this issue. My favorite scene between the two of them was when Kate asked if Clint lied to her about killing someone in his past. Clint said he would never lie to Kate. That shows how noble his character is that could be overlooked in the Avenger titles.
The only complaint I have is with the art. This story arc had a guest artist, and it is noticeable. Even though it is the same colorist the art was a little cartoony. Kate Bishop looked like Veronica from Archie comics. That style doesn’t really work for her character. The art wasn’t bad, but compared to the art we usually get it was a little bit of a disappointment.
This was a great ending to this series’ first story arc. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see what stories this series has in store for us. I highly recommend this series. It is one of my favorites, and is worth picking up!
