Hawkeye: Freefall #5
Written by Matthew Rosenberg
Art by Otto Schmidt
Lettering by Joe Sabino
Published by Marvel Comics
Review by Pierce Lydon
‘Rama Rating: 8 out of 10
Hawkeye is a character who quite often has to get by on charm alone. (I mean, how else is Marvel’s bow-and-arrow guy supposed to win over any fans?) And thankfully, Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt have fallen into a nice groove with the Amaranthine Avenger. The influence of past runs with the character is clearly felt, but it doesn’t override Rosenberg’s penchant for cheeky dialogue, and the writer is aware enough to push Clint’s down a different path without hewing too close to Marvel’s other street-level heroes.
Hawkeye: Freefall is a really solid adventure comic, but with a modern comedic sensibility that makes it almost like Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Jake Peralta got to be a superhero. Under Rosenberg’s pen, Clint always means well and does his best, but that’s never quite enough – it’s the quintessential Marvel hero concept. And it’s clear that the writer is having a lot of fun here. Between Clint, Ronin, Kingpin, Hood and this issue’s standout Night Nurse, Rosenberg is hitting action, intrigue and comedic beats on just about every page. That makes for some pretty smooth, entertaining reading.
Otto Schmidt is definitely a big help in this regard. Schimidt’s lines are lithe and flexible, really coming alive in action sequences. (And arguably, it takes a hit when the script demands he has to just draw a room of people talking.) Big facial expressions and body language translate well in his style, never feeling over the top. I love his approach to the Hood’s cape. As Parker Hood gets more and more agitated the cape comes alive engulfing not only Hood himself, but the panels he’s in. It puts even greater emphasis on Schmidt’s expression work — which would be a dangerous move for a lesser artist.
Hawkeye: Freefall deserves a place on your pull list. While it doesn’t have the crazy scope and scale of other Marvel titles, Rosenberg and Schmidt make a great case that it doesn’t need to. This is about as street-level as Marvel’s street-level books get and proves that the bland interpretation of the character in the Marvel Studios films is the wrong approach altogether. (Seriously, who is that guy? He better be a Skrull.) If you’re looking for a fun and legitimately funny Marvel book this week, look no further than Hawkeye: Freefall #5.