Hawkeye #7

Matt Fraction is clearly greatly affected by superstorm Sandy and the destruction in New York and New Jersey. He has a wonderful chance to do something great and write a story not only dealing with the storm, but he’s donating his royalties from this issue to hurricane relief. That’s putting your money where your mouth is. Over the years, Fraction has proven to be a solid writer, but he sure seems like a good guy too.

This issue tackles the storm from the perspective of the two Hawkeyes. Clint Barton helps one of his neighbors prep a house for the storm surge in New York, while Kate Bishop has to ride out the storm in New Jersey. There are no comic book villains here. Clint’s adventure is strictly man vs. nature as he tries to deal with getting a few people out alive. Kate’s battle does include some man vs. man conflict, but in the end her fate is out of her hands too. In addition to the message it sends, this issue is a solid character piece showing what makes our leads tick.

The text piece at the close of the issue describes how rushed this issue was during creation. Matt Fraction enlisted Steve Lieber and Jesse Alan Hamm, both of whom do solid work. I’m a bit of a Lieber fan; he’s done some nice super-books over the years, although he is more of a non-costume artist. (That tendency to shy away from costumes makes him perfect for this title.) I’m unfamiliar with Hamm’s work, but the work is professional throughout, so I’d expect to see more from him.

Good