Hawkeye: Freefall #1: Cast

Okay, this is totally my bad, but I’m not really that familiar with Matthew Rosenberg’s work. In fact, when I looked him up, I thought the guy who wrote this comic was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the New York Times.  All I knew is that THAT Matthew Rosenberg should be super jealous of comic writer Matthew Rosenberg.

Hawkeye: Freefall #1 is a great forward-move that totally embraces what made us all love comics in the first place. This issue reads like your favorite action movie. The kind of action film that while you’re watching it, you have to remind yourself to breathe. Simply put, this book is superheroes in superhero costumes doing superhero things. Thank you, Matthew. This is not just a great first issue of this ongoing series, it’s a great comic book period. Rosenburg does a fantastic job of creating a perfect blend of Clint’s “Avengers life” with his normal life. A little of each crosses over with the other, but not so much that we get annoyed with it. The scenes between Clint and his girlfriend are very playful, and a nice break to the action of the issue. Likewise, Clint’s interaction with his fellow heroes is fun, comedic and it’s the kind of dialogue that you’d actually have with your work buddies.  Despite all the fun, there’s a very real mystery that you’re quickly invested in, and one that you want to try and solve. All these elements combine to make a near-flawless comic.

Artist Otto Schmidt is no stranger to drawing archers fighting crime, but here he seems to turn it up a notch to make the distractingly good. Your eyes are trying to read the comic, but they keep going to the gorgeous art on the page. The action sequences are pure excitement and they drag you along with the characters by your collar, it’s quite the roller coaster ride. Schmidt’s facial expressions speak loudly with a subtle look or smile, a lookout of the corner of someone’s eye, or a piercing stare. You’re going to find yourself going back over this book at least a couple times, just so you can follow the art and really concentrate on it. Schmidt is on a level that few comic artists ever get to, and I only see this getting better.

I absolutely HATE that this book came out on January 1^st, though. When I read it, I thought “This book is gonna be in my top 5 comics of the year!” then I realized that there are fifty-three more Wednesdays to get through. Still, I’m not worried. I don’t see if being eclipsed, except maybe by the following issues in the series.