Tag: David Aja

Hawkeye 3 (December 2012)

883567Wow. This issue is simply wonderful.

Fraction’s not worrying about setting up the characters, he’s not worried about coming up with an interesting hook, he’s just trying to have fun. And Hawkeye is fun. Lots of fun.

It’s kind of like a TV show. Clint and Kate bicker while they fight crime. Kind of like he and Mockingbird used to do, only without baggage.

The issue consists of Clint going out to buy tape to label his trick arrows, meeting a girl, hooking up, getting involved with some Mini car-driving bad guys, saving the girl, all while bickering with Kate and showing why trick arrows are really important.

Aja’s probably essential. I can’t imagine the issue being so much for–or so rewarding with so little content–without Aja. He’s already stylized but the action just takes it to another level. He never sacrifices anything.

It’s a fantastic comic.

CREDITS

Cherry; writer, Matt Fraction; artist, David Aja; colorist, Matt Hollingsworth; letterer, Chris Eliopoulos; editor, Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Hawkeye 2 (November 2012)

883566The second issue isn’t what I was expecting. Fraction doesn’t exactly give Clint a lot more personality–he’s from Iowa, to answer my question from last issue and he’s not playing protector of the downtrodden here. Actually, even though he hires an assistant, it’s unclear what Clint’s doing.

If he’s just playing good guy to the people who don’t usually get helped–he has a crime board after all, like a consulting superhero or something–it’s fine. Fraction and Aja have done something similar before (Iron Fist) and the character works for the niche; why not run with it?

And it continues to be a lot of fun. Fraction doesn’t go overboard with the quips, peppering them in mostly, until a big quip-filled conversation between Clint and his assistant (the female Hawkeye). Aja comes up with a checkerboard for their conversation and it all works great.

Hawkeye’s good fun.

CREDITS

Vagabond Code; writer, Matt Fraction; artist, David Aja; colorist, Matt Hollingsworth; letterer, Chris Eliopoulos; editor, Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Hawkeye 1 (October 2012)

880375I realized, finishing the first issue of Hawkeye, is how little the comic has to do with Hawkeye. It’s about Clint Barton, New Yorker. For some reason I always assumed Clint was a West Coast kind of guy, but Matt Fraction writes him as a empathetic New Yorker. And David Aja draws a great New York City. It’s not seventies gritty, but eighties grimy. It’s a great setting.

Wait, I lost track. The comic not being about Hawkeye. I guess it isn’t much about Clint either, at least the reader’s expectation of the character. It’s practically a superhero “Seinfeld.” Clint tries to do the right thing, without resorting to the costume, and has a number of misadventures involving his Russian mafia landlord.

It’s funny, touching, everything one would want from an inexpensive Marvel Studios Hawkeye movie. And Fraction and Aja do a great job doing a soft relaunch slash pilot.

CREDITS

Lucky; writer, Matt Fraction; artist, David Aja; colorist, Matt Hollingsworth; letterer, Chris Eliopoulos; editor, Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #16

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So as Fraction departs–he leaves the next team with a lovely pickle. All the work he and Brubaker did leading up to this issue, the establishing of the Iron Fist history and all… it equals all Iron Fists dying at thirty-three?

Did I mention this issue is a birthday issue?

Aja’s back and he does a lovely job as we catch up with Danny in the weeks following the last issue. He’s rearranging his business, getting even more Jedi with his Iron Fist readings, giving Misty romantic ultimatums, setting up community outreach with Luke….

It’s a great epilogue issue (one with an amazing opening).

Fraction (with Brubaker) put in a lot of perfect issues to this series and this issue is another. It’s a great close and a great setup. Aja’s so on the ball, I’m not even peeved about him disappearing from the series for a while.

It’s excellent.

The Immortal Iron Fist 16 (August 2008)

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So as Fraction departs–he leaves the next team with a lovely pickle. All the work he and Brubaker did leading up to this issue, the establishing of the Iron Fist history and all… it equals all Iron Fists dying at thirty-three?

Did I mention this issue is a birthday issue?

Aja’s back and he does a lovely job as we catch up with Danny in the weeks following the last issue. He’s rearranging his business, getting even more Jedi with his Iron Fist readings, giving Misty romantic ultimatums, setting up community outreach with Luke….

It’s a great epilogue issue (one with an amazing opening).

Fraction (with Brubaker) put in a lot of perfect issues to this series and this issue is another. It’s a great close and a great setup. Aja’s so on the ball, I’m not even peeved about him disappearing from the series for a while.

It’s excellent.

CREDITS

Happy Birthday Danny; writer, Matt Fraction; artist, David Aja; colorist, Matt Hollingsworth; letterer, Dave Lanphear; editors, Alejandro Arbona and Warren Simons; publisher, Marvel Comics.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #13

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It’s not the deepest issue, it’s probably not the best written, but it’s completely awesome. Everything comes together here (with the promise of a big fight next issue).

Unfortunately, Aja’s not along for the ride. Instead, it’s Zonjic doing most of the art. He’s a lot like Javier Pulido. He’s fine, but I was used to Aja on the title.

Brubaker and Fraction get in a lot more about K’un-L’un here, stuff they probably should have made clear a lot earlier. The book moves real fast–this issue’s fight sequence is between Davos and the Thunderer, but otherwise it’s mostly talking heads as everyone prepares for next issue.

It’s interesting how this story arc has had an annual and a special published alongside it, both essential reading to keep up. It suggests something big. I wish there’d been more specials, actually, for the supporting cast.

It’s a great issue.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #12

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Is there even a fight this issue? Wait, yes. Davos gets beat up for being a tool last issue.

The art chores are apparently getting to be too much for Aja, as Javier Pulido fills in on some of the pages. Pulido covers the stuff with Luke, Misty and Colleen, but also some of the K’un-L’un stuff… so it’s not like there’s any rhyme or reason to it. In fact, at the beginning I just thought it was Aja trying a new style. Pulido’s great… so great one might wish he was doing the whole book.

Kano does the flashbacks, which feature Danny’s father fleeing K’un-L’un.

Brubaker and Fraction give the background on the revolution here. The Thunderer is going up against the ruler, Yu-Ti, who is revealed to be a tyrant. Shame they couldn’t foreshadowed it.

It’s good–there’s some great dialogue–but it’s real jumbled.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #11

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I feel like I’m missing something. It seems like Yu-Ti (the “mayor” of K’un-L’un) is secretly bad, but I’m not sure if it’s in the comic or if I’m just remembering it. I mean, he seems really bad. But he could just be a sexist jerk too.

Some more great Kano art for the flashback, this time concentrating on Davos. The flashbacks work differently here, with them being intercut a lot less organically. It’s jarring–it comes in the middle of a tournament fight–but effective.

Danny briefly teams up with Luke, Misty and Colleen to fight some Hydra agents. It’s barely a fight scene, so it’s not clear why he was worried about it. We also get to see the big Hydra plan–to attack K’un-L’un–and apparently Danny’s figured this out too.

It’s a faster read than usual, with Brubaker and Fraction experimenting with tone.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #10

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It’s nice Danny gets the cover, because he’s not in the issue at all.

The intrigue really starts coming together here, with the Thunderer revealed to be in some secret society with Orson’s daughter, terror priests (guessing priest has a different connotation in K’un-L’un) sent out into the world to hunt for Danny, the Hydra bad guy getting busy with his attack, the Thunderer and Davos’s unspoken family problems… the list goes on and on.

Not to mention Misty’s GPS doesn’t work!

Plus there’s a tournament match, which shows off the nastiness of one of Danny’s (presumed) future opponents.

The flashback art is great this time–it’s Kano showing Wendell Rand in his pursuit of the Iron Fist mantle. It’s a shame Kano doesn’t get more work.

Brubaker and Fraction fill the issue; it’s a bridging issue for the arc–introducing the intrigue and drama–but it works great.

The Immortal Iron Fist (2007) #9

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Koblish’s flashback pages start all right, but in the second set, he draws Wendall Rand rapidly punching and it looks like he’s got eight arms. It really drags one out of the narrative.

The principal story, with Danny losing his match in the competition so he can go out and save the world, moves a little fast. We find out the blue-eyed K’un-L’un girl is really Orson’s daughter (or she says she is… Danny sort of just accepts it). There’s almost nothing with anyone else in K’un-L’un, though there are some hints of personality coming through.

It’s hard to tell if Brubaker and Fraction just didn’t have space or if they wanted to be so abbreviated. When Luke, Misty and Colleen show up at the end (I’ll bet their paths cross with Danny’s eventually), it’s a welcome breather. The writers savor the scene.

It’s solid as ever.