The Daily Comic Book Coffee, number 71: Hawkeye #11, drawn by David Aja, written by Matt Fraction, lettered by Chris Eliopoulos, and colored by Matt Hollingsworth, published by Marvel Comics in August 2013.I never really got into the Hawkeye series written by Matt Fraction because I found it waaay too decompressed. Fraction probably could have told the same story in a lot less issues. On the other hand, if he had done that, then we probably would not have gotten “Pizza Is My Business,” an issue told entirely from the perspective of Clint Barton’s one-eyed dog Lucky, aka Pizza Dog. Hawkeye #11 won the Eisner Award for the best single issue of 2013. Perhaps the lesson here is to just wait for the trade? I’m sure Fraction’s story reads much better in one sitting, rather than split over 22 monthly installments.
In any case, David Aja did really stunning work illustrating the Hawkeye series, with Matt Hollingsworth effectively coloring it. Aja definitely did a lot of the heavy lifting on this issue, as we see everything via Lucky, meaning most of the issue is dialogue-free. So, yeah, you need a penciler who is an accomplished storyteller to pull that off.
On this page, Lucky is observing Clint meeting with the police, who are investigating the murder of his neighbor Gil. Clint offers the cops some coffee and, wouldn’t you know it, he drinks right from the coffee pot, totally keeping with Hawkeye’s smartass, rule-breaking personality.
About Author
