Hawkeye 8, Journey into Mystery 649, Gambit 9

Hawkeye 8
Fraction (w) and Aja and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Another really solid entry in this Hawkeye series. This one is a little tougher to follow than the standard Hawkeye (which may be tougher to follow than the standard Marvel production anyway) as it bounces around the story a bit and, this is largely where the confusion comes in, it focuses on Hawkeye's "bad penny," called Penny and Cherry at different times, as we don't know her real name. That is exactly why she makes it a little harder to follow; Penny/Cherry is the best example of an unreliable narrator. We don't know when she's telling the truth, we don't know IF she's told the truth and we don't know why we should believe her. Hawkeye certainly isn't sure at any point except that he's a hero and she's pretty attractive so probably he should help her.

The story is framed around a series of comics Cherry has been discreetly sending Clint. The comics, illustrated wonderfully by Annie Wu, feature a protagonist who looks shockingly like Cherry and drives a car that looks shockingly like the one she sold Clint back in her first appearance. Clint can't help wondering if it is actually her that these comics are depicting but, given Cherry's level or reliability, we never get any sort of clear answer. Regardless, they certainly inform our opinions about her nonetheless. Each comic cover (there are four in total) looks exactly the way they're supposed to, like an older woman-centric kind of magazine (they even have the correct titles, like "Love Fugitive" and "A Girl Like You" which both play into what's happening in Hawkeye and look and sound exactly like the comics they're meant to represent). It's really a great framing device and I can't say enough how wonderful these comic covers look. The clear and detailed style reminds me of McKelvie's work and definitely make me want to look into Annie Wu, who I'm not sure I've seen before. They also represent a clear break from Aja's work while simultaneously fitting perfectly alongside it. It's a really gorgeous issue, maybe more than a regular Hawkeye issue. The story revolving around Cherry is similarly entertaining and has that extra layer of ambiguity given the subject matter.

As the issue winds down, we learn that things are heating up for Hawkeye, as the tracksuit Draculas are offering their services to the major crime players of New York and offering up Hawkeye's life. The crime lords seem pretty split on whether to take the Draculas on their deal but, led by Kingpin, they eventually consent, deciding that in the best case, Hawkeye dies, and in the worst case, the Draculas fail and all get arrested, leaving their new territory a little more open. Thrilling times ahead.

Journey into Mystery
Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Uhhhhhhhh, so I think that (SPOILERS) Sif just decapitated Heimdall? So that's a thing that happened.  Huh.

Right, so, when we last saw them, Sif and her newfound trio of Asgardian berserkers slipped through a portal to Earth that happened to bring along various monsters. Sif's battle with a legion of near-spiders (they're only six-armed) ends in some spider-slaughter (assisted by Superior Spider-Man) and leaves us watching around the world (and the atmosphere) as various other heroes (including Monica Rambeau, Hellcat, and Namor) dispatch the remaining monsters with ease. The berserkers in New York bicker about where to go next for a minute before Sif puts her boot down and says that they're going to return to Asgardia to protect the realm. After some more discussion on logistics, Sif manages to place a call to Broxton that sets the wheels in motion for Heimdall to open the Bifrost for our heroes, who promptly pass it and slice off Heimdall's head. Nope, still sounds weird.

I do like the way this comic is executed. It doesn't feel the need to stick with Sif throughout its entirety and it doesn't feel like it has to trap Sif in a threat that doesn't fit with the Marvel Universe. Yes the monsters were real threats but, when this sort of thing happens in other books, that usually leads to the titular character trying to track down each one him or herself. In this case, Immonen rightly points out that, though the monsters are menacing, the other heroes of Earth are capable of taking care of themselves. It's a clever device that also frees Sif up to leave Midgard without spending too much time there and without leaving readers asking why she didn't clean up her own mess. She would have but others got to it first. It's also a nice way to showcase some heroes who have slid off the radar a bit, like Hellcat and Monica (which is not her hero name). Then we get the cliffhanger at the end and boy do we need to get to the next issue to clear up what is happening.

Gambit 9
Asmus (w) and C. Mann and S. Mann w/ Martinez (a) and Rosenberg (c)

I think the best thing that Asmus has done with this book so far (which has been a pretty good book overall) is simply in his feel for the character. Gambit's a tough character to get right and a really easy one to get wrong. You throw in a couple Cajun sounding things and make him pun a lot and boom, classic Gambit. Marvel recently, though, hasn't opted to take the easy way out at any turn. Gambit, like almost all other characters in their own single title or even in their team titles, is being portrayed as somewhat more complex, but not so complex that he gets away from the roots of his character, which is complex enough in its conceit. Okay, that was convoluted. The point is that Gambit, a lifelong thief and regular X-Man, is a complex character just in that description, but his personality seems pretty straightforward. It's not an easy line to walk and Asmus has it lined up pretty well.

This story takes Gambit back to Joelle, the femme fatale that got him into trouble in the first arc of this series. Now she's consorting with super-villains in New York's infamous "Bar With No Name" (the Marvel bar where all the villains hang out and occasionally where Punisher and Daredevil go to let off steam or follow leads) and trying to make deals with some of the bigger members, specifically Tombstone. It's a great little bar atmosphere which features a lot of risque dancers and what not, which would normally have me crying foul but it fits with the establishment. You don't expect the villain's bar to be full of dart boards and sadness. Anyway, it's a nice set-up because it also shows us how Gambit fits into this world. He's greeted courteously by some villains, who consider him a fine member of their ranks (including by Batroc the "oh man you guys I totally love Batroc" Leaper), and treated with suspicion by plenty of others. It just serves to again show the complexity of the character, though he keeps his normal personality throughout his time there. After trying to persuade Joelle to leave with no success, he plants incriminating evidence on her to turn the establishment against her, then gets her out of the bar. Tombstone swears revenge. Later, Gambit and Joelle have a talk wherein she reveals that she has a dying daughter, which is driving all of her actions. It's like the Hawkeye issue in that we're still not sure of her true motives or whether or not she's lying.

This has been a solid run so far. I'm looking forward to where this plays out but I also won't be too upset to eventually lose the Joelle story (if we do). I don't know why, I just haven't connected to the character well. I think she just sprang a little too much out of nowhere and it's left me a little surprised at how quickly Gambit fell head over heels in love with her. Maybe this arc will develop her more (or, quite probably, maybe it's my fault because I didn't pay enough attention to the first few issues) and this will go away, but for now I'm a little hesitant.