Hawkeye #17 – Review

By: Matt Fraction (story), Chris Eliopoulos & David Aja (art), Jordie Bellaire (colors)

The Story: The Winter Friends are here to save a multidenominational, political correct holiday!

The Review: I’ll say this for Fraction’s Hawkeye: it never hesitates to surprise you.  This is not an unqualified asset, since not all surprises are good ones, but more often than not, Fraction’s willingness to aim for the unexpected has kept the series from stagnating in any one rhythm.  But there have also been downsides: confusing chronology, redundant storytelling, and a lack of progress on the overarching plot.  That last item especially has been a problem for the series.

In that respect, it’s a little discouraging to find this issue once again breaks away from the central narrative to deliver a very special episode of the Winter Friends, animal superheroes with the powers of the many winter holidays.  Discouraging and a bit peculiar, seeing as how the winter holiday season is long past.  I would have had a much greater appreciation of such inspired characters like Yaldog (“Proud pooch of power representing the Persian holiday Yalda!”), Rama-in-Pajamas (“This Hindu deity is down with Diwali!  And is also a llama!”), and Samantha Hain (“…the Pagan Princess!”) four months ago.

But Fraction does nothing just for kicks.  If he’s following up last month’s fatal cliffhanger with a holiday excursion,* there has to be a reason.  Otherwise, he’s taking a lot of unnecessary pains to parallel Clint with “Steve, the dog with no powers that [the Winter Friends] let hang out with [them] all for some reason.”  To ensure you know it’s a parable he’s telling here, Fraction throws in Steve’s small, hyperactive companion, Lilly (a stand-in for Kate), buffoonish Herman (Barney), blue-masked Birdie (Mockingbird), accented Spooky (Black Widow), and extra-legged Lady (Spider-Woman).  For good measure, Fraction pits them all against some dingoes in tracksuits, who generously punctuate their sentences with “Dog.”

Despite his numerous and devoted allies, Steve constantly rejects their help, shouting his increasingly frustrated refrain, “I can do it all by myself!”  He can’t, of course, a lesson he learns by the end of the special, after Lilly and Dog Justice free the Winter Friends while he confronts Mister Sun single-pawed.  Even so, Steve manages to get across why he insists on doing things by himself when even Kwanzaagator doubts his effectiveness.  “I don’t care if I’m not a Winter Friend,” Steve says to Mister Sun.  “I’m not gonna leave anybody alone against a big bully jerk like you!”  It’s not about whether Steve (Clint) belongs with the Winter Friends (Avengers); it’s about him standing up for justice in his own way, no matter the odds.

A heartwarming sentiment, but a little bit like preaching to the choir.  For us, there’s no question that Clint is a hero who belongs with the Avengers as much as Thor, Captain America, or Iron Man do.  The real question about Clint is whether he goes about things the right way, not how good his intentions are.  If I can extrapolate to Hawkeye as a whole, you have no doubt that Fraction has a great story in store, but times like this, you have to question if he’s telling it in the most effective way.  Fun as this issue is, does it help more than obstructs the main storyline?

Given the subject matter, Eliopoulos’ art is the perfect choice for the issue, cheery and bouncy and sweetly adorable.  Lately, my niece has been obsessed with Mo Willems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and I can see some of Willems’ retro-cartoony, comic style in the art here, as well as traces of Hanna-Barbera and Tiny Titans.  Art-wise, there’s nothing to complain about here, especially with Bellaire’s warm, flat coloring.

Conclusion: An enjoyable break from the regular series, though perhaps an unnecessary one that doesn’t really add to the mythos, even as fable.

Grade: B

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * And thank God Fraction did decide to switch #15 and #16.  Can you imagine getting the cliffhanger in #15 and then having to live through two months of totally unrelated issues before going back to see what happens?

– “The Jerk Store faxed—and they don’t like you at all!” Steve yells.

Mister Sun is nonplussed.  “What?  That doesn’t even make—”  Maybe it’s a joke about how nonsensical some of the one-liners in this series have been.

– When are we going to get an episode of Dog Cops?  That’s what I want to see.