Review: Hawkeye Vol. 3- L.A. Woman
Quick Summary
Pros: The changes in this volume make it a unique entry in this series. The excitement, humor, and fun of previous entries are still retained here. The volume closes with an exciting tease for the next volume. The artwork looks great from start to finish and works well with the tone of the story.
Cons: Small aspects of the narrative push the limits of believability.
Overall: Kate Bishop shines in this excellent twist for the Hawkeye series. It has tense action, wholesome character moments, and enough lighthearted comedy to make the whole thing even more enjoyable. It also works as a great piece of the larger narrative of this series, shaking things up for a bit and teasing aspects of the next story arc. Fans of this series or just people looking for a good Kate Bishop comic should definitely check this book out.
Story
Hawkeye Vol. 3: L.A. Woman, by Matt Fraction, is a wonderful change of pace for the series that, temporarily, shifts the focus away from Clint Barton and onto Kate Bishop. This shift introduces enough new story elements and changes the structure of the action in a way that positively refreshes the series. However, it does not entirely change the makeup of the comic, as it still captures the excitement, humor, and general fun of the previous collections. Plus, the entire volume closes with a tantalizing tease for the next story arc. Though this volume is different from the rest of the series, it is still every bit as worthwhile.
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The most immediately apparent aspect of the story in L.A. Woman is how different it is from its two predecessors. The shift in focus onto Kate is an obvious differentiation but is not the only one. The stories told here are even more grounded than before and often rely less on bow and arrow theatrics. Instead, they see Kate attempting to outwit her opponents rather than outfight them. This, combined with a change of characters and scenery, provides a unique interlude for the larger narrative in the Hawkeye series.
Outside of these differences though, L.A. Woman offers many of the same positives that were present in earlier volumes. Her actions pit her against cool criminals and typically lead to tense and exciting situations. Her fights are often fought to protect people who have no means of protecting themselves, which has the added benefit of developing Kate as a hero. Plus, Kate is just as witty and fun to watch as Clint, ensuring that each adventure has plenty of comedy to go along with it.
Finally, L.A. Woman closes by teasing some seriously exciting plotlines for the next volume. It reveals that Kate’s father is involved in a plot to kill Clint and that this plot is on the immediate horizon. I’m excited to see how this plays out for both characters and closed this volume eager see what happens next.
The only real negative in L.A. Woman is that everything seems almost a bit too coincidental. Nearly everything that happens to Kate after arriving on the West Coast is a part of some larger conspiracy, right down to chance encounters with strangers. It isn’t a big deal but it does strain the limits on belief just a bit.
(spoilers end here)
Art
L.A. Woman starts out by defining a new art style for this Kate Bishop-centric volume. Javier Pulido gets the ball rolling with an annual issue that maintains the minimalist style present in earlier issues from this series. However, this chapter feels even more cheery and lighthearted, which happily reflects Kate’s move to the West Coast and the misadventures that derive from it. Then, Annie Wu takes over for the rest of the collection. Her work is slightly more bold and dramatic than Pulido’s, which helps bring home some of the collection’s emotions, while still retaining a fair share of playfulness, which helps bring home some of the collection’s jokes. Both artists’ work is also accompanied by colors from Matt Hollingsworth, which helps them maintain a connection to earlier issues from this comic. All of these artists put in solid work and help continue the Hawkeye series’ tradition of artistic success.
Continuity
Hawkeye Vol. 3: L.A. Woman continues the story from Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits (Review).
The story here continues in Hawkeye Vol. 4: Rio Bravo.
This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:
- Kate mentions her association with the Young Avengers. She joined the team in Young Avengers Vol. 1 #4, collected in Young Avengers by Allen Heinberg and Jim Cheung: The Complete Collection.
- Madame Masque’s previous encounter with Moon Knight is mentioned. This encounter took place in Moon Knight Vol. 6 #11, collected in Moon Knight by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev.