Hawkeye #12 Review

Kelly Thompson makes team-ups mean something again in comics

Writer: Kelly Thompson / Artist: Michael Walsh / Marvel Comics

Whenever I review a Hawkeye issue I feel like a broken record. For one year straight now, Kelly Thompson and has delivered time and time again. It’s slightly annoying because I’ve had to find new innovative ways to praise her work. Why? Because Kelly Thompson doesn’t fucking slip. Thompson has Kate Bishop down pact, inside and out. Kate Bishop character-wise is synonymous with Kelly Thompson now, that’s facts. What’s incredible though are the instances where Kelly is able to have other Marvel characters have chemistry with Kate ‘n Barrel as well.

Thompson has a unique niche in writing team-ups issues. They never feel like filler and not only add depth to Kate but the guest character as well. Wolverine (Laura Kinney) is this month’s guest along with her young partner Gabby. Laura gets the Axel Foley treatment out a window and crosses paths with Kate Bishop. Fucking magic ensues for the rest of the issue, that’s the best way to describe it. I’m only vaguely familiar with what’s going on in Laura’s corner of Marvel and who Gabby is to her but after this adventure, I wanna brush up.

Kate’s dealt with some clone issues recently thanks to Madam Masque. Laura and Gaby are on a mission to stop clones of their own, which leads them to look for the same person (thanks to a list Bishop swiped from Madam Masque). I really enjoyed the dialogue this issue between these characters. Laura has a lot of personality and growth in this appearance, which makes you think of how far her character has come over the years.

Kelly Thompson make sure the whole squad eatin’

First of all, seeing Laura play straight man and use one-liners works wonders for her character. I enjoyed getting to know Gabby’s demeanor as a bubbly killing machine too. Thompson has a gift of not only nailing her guest character’s personalities but showing other sides of them in their interactions with Kate. I’m such a fucking fan man, team-ups mean something when they occur in Hawkeye. Everyone shows up to show out for a reason and Thompson makes that shit work perfectly in every story.

Now lemme talk my shit about this art cause Michael Walsh is back up in these panels. Walsh’s style gives a visually pleasing mature noir vibe. It’s reminiscent of Romero’s but slightly different which shows me why these two are the artist on this series. The spreads this issue, not only in fight scenes but the dialogues, are glorious. They help move the story along for the narrative and stand on par with the action sequence shots. Kate Bishop in action with the Wolverines is such a good look, man.

The best thing about this issue is how much fun it is. It’s quick, concise, and cute as hell. The closing is perhaps the best as we see some name dropping and hilarious gossip occurs. Thompson, Walsh, and Romero continue to make sure the Hawkeye name stays relevant, different, and brilliant.

9.8 Tag Team Champions out of 10

Reading Hawkeye? You should be. Find BNP’s other reviews of the series here.

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  • Omar Holmon is a content editor that is here to make .gifs, obscure references, and find the correlation between everything Black and Nerdy.

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