“As French as fries”

If for nothing, this quote pretty well spells it out: Matt Fraction’s left it all behind and embraced ‘irreverent serious’ as his new storytelling motif. And it works.

It’s a new twist on the more whimsical side of the Marvel genre. But at the same time, Fraction keeps the tone of the book serious enough to be followed as an ongoing arc. In other words, it’s not going to become a ‘funny book’ that fans who speak loud and carry a small stick seem to like. You know, the kind of comic ends up being a book that nobody really cares to buy. Instead, Fraction is catering to people who read the following: Graphic. Novels. These people will put their hard earned cash on the counter for this book.

The storytelling keeps the reader aware that there will be some blood and — even more — that there are consequences to come… Just wait and see. ‘Cause Barton’s in for it.

And Aja: his work continues to capture exactly the theme Fraction’s working. Paced perfectly.

Funny. If Clint Barton ever had a personality (by that I mean one that we’ve seen emerging since he first appeared decades ago in the Avengers), this is the best, most modern way to depict it. And what’s so great about Fraction’s depiction is that it’s the perfect semblance of classic personality variables — but mixed in a different way — that has made wildly popular characters like Batman, Wolverine, and Constantine stand out.

A defining moment for Hawkeye. Both he and Fraction will be remembered years and years from now for this run. Hawkeye will have his own franchise ten years from now because of this.