Secret Avengers 3, Hawkeye 9

Secret Avengers 3
Spencer (w) and Ross (a) and Wilson (c)

I think that the seeds are here for a good book. Maybe it's that I'm coming out of the books a little less confused than I've come out of Avengers and that Avengers is a bimonthly book so there's less time to wonder what comes next, but it's hard not to sit this book next to Avengers and wonder who's doing the better book. It's an unfair comparison for sure because Avengers is bimonthly and is on issue nine while Secret Avengers is only through issue three and has probably as many seeds planted (if not more) than Avengers had at issue three. However, sitting in my future chair secure in the knowledge of the way things are turning out over in Avengers, it's hard not to wonder about this book. It seems like things slowed down a little in this issue. That might just be because I tend to zone out a little when SHIELD gets involved (particularly problematic given the fact that these Secret Avengers are essentially the SHIELD Avengers team, as they point out in the series). However, both Avengers and Secret Avengers are planting seeds and sprinkling water and fertilizer on them so we can eventually see the results. Right now, I'd say the seeds sprinkled in Avengers are blooming a little more impressively. Again, this is totally an unfair comparison to make because Avengers has triple the books out over Secret Avengers right now, but I think the mystery is in the telling right now. Avengers is featuring new characters Ex Nihilo and Abyss playing roles we're unsure of and doing things we're not familiar with whereas Secret Avengers is featuring longtime villains AIM establishing a UN formally-recognized nation and asking us to question what they're up to and our answer has to be "something sinister." No one reading this book would believe (and I don't think that Spencer is asking us to) that AIM is up to anything near legitimate. Now they've stolen the Iron Patriot armor from the US government and are planning to put Mentallo into it. There are interesting things being built, particularly in Taskmaster's maybe-allegiance to SHIELD and in the idea that these Secret Avengers have to be brainwashed  to be accepted in missions, but none of that is really featured in this issue, which I think makes it a weaker issue than the previous two (which have featured both of those things in some order or another).
This book feels like it's still kind of finding its footing. Maybe I'm putting that onus on a book that doesn't deserve it but that's the way it's coming off right now. I don't think my own comparisons to Avengers are particularly fair but they're a little hard not to jump on to. I do think there are things happening right now and off-panel that are going to work to this book's favor and I'm still interested in seeing how Hulk and Winter Soldier (both teased for this team) are going to fit into the narrative, but I think right now we're reaching a pretty crucial point in this book, a point that's going to decide the type of book this is going to be. I think the SHIELD-run Avengers is an intriguing idea, especially when the members have to be brainwashed to accept missions, but SHIELD has never been a particularly interesting organization and that's even more true when Nick Fury (original, not current) isn't in charge. Fury always has that wheels-within-wheels thing going on that makes him an incredibly dynamic character and one who can usually be trusted but you never know quite why you're trusting him. Otherwise SHIELD often comes off as a bit inept at the best of times and entirely irritating (Maria Hill) at the worst. It'll be hard to structure an Avengers book around the organization but I think it's probably possible. The next few issues will go a long way in showing if this book is capable of it.

Hawkeye 9
Fraction (w) and Aja (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

This Hawkeye series, for the past nine issues, has done things that no other mainstream comic does. I think it does a lot of those things. It constantly plays with the narrative and the time in a way that no book, particularly books from Marvel, is willing to consistently do. It focuses on character in a way that most books don't. It humanizes its main superhero, an Avenger, in a way no other book can. It highlights relationships in a real way that no other series tends to do. And it does all of these things expertly. Through nine issues, Hawkeye has appeared in his Hawkeye costume for maybe two full pages, if that. Fraction joked during the holiday issue that Clint has now officially appeared in more panels with a Santa hat on than in his costume. It was a joke in that it was funny, but not in that it was untrue. I can't remember the last time Hawkeye shot someone with an arrow. That might be because I have a bad memory but it also might be because I don't think it's happened in months (real time, not book time). If you ask people who have a fleeting sense of Hawkeye or even who are big Marvel fans but have only seen Hawkeye in the Avengers books what Hawkeye's about, they'll say he's an archer and he has a purple costume. I can almost guarantee that. People who have seen him more might mention that he's hot-tempered and brash for someone with no powers. All of these people are right. So how is it that a book about Hawkeye wherein he never wears his costume and rarely shoots arrows is one of the best books being distributed by anyone anywhere?
It's a really great question and it all comes down to this creative team. I'll be honest, Hawkeye was one of my favorite characters early on in my comic reading but the last few years had kind of put a damper on him for me. He's an Avenger but his solo titles don't tend to last so it can be a little hard to get a true sense of him. He's snarky, sure, he's hot-tempered, definitely, he's a regular guy, okay. All of these things are somewhat true (regular guy is a push) but it's more or less what we had before this series. In recent years, his biggest writer was probably Bendis, who clearly loves the character (I might say a little too much) but who didn't have a ton of time to characterize because he was writing a thousand other characters between all his Avengers books so he mostly keyed in occasionally with something snarky. Fraction has changed that all by delving deeply into Clint's personal life and, as the book states at the start of every issue, the things he does when he's not being an Avenger. It's a bold move and it's paid off time and time again. This issue finds the women in his life, Black Widow (the work wife), Mockingbird (the ex-wife), Spider-Woman (the friend-girl), and Kate (Kate) trying to figure out what he's been getting up to in non-Avengers time. It's a really great idea because a.) it puts us in a place where we get to see Clint's relationships through a nice little lens and b.) it really cements the idea that this is truly the stuff he's doing when he's not an Avenger. It's often hard to kind of separate heroes out from their various allegiances and teams and what not because you'll get a pretty constant stream of guest stars in a book and references to the teams they're on or it's simply in the reader's mind. Fraction and Aja want you to forget all of that and realize that the Avengers know far less about what's happening in Clint's life than we'd assume, to the point where they don't even know where he lives, let alone what he's doing with his time. It's a really brilliant idea and it's presented wonderfully. Meanwhile, the plot moves forward as Natasha has a great scene wherein she catches Penny/Cherry (whose real name is finally revealed as Darlene Penelope Wright) and learns that Clint's in real trouble. We also get Kate and Bobbi beating up some tracksuit Draculas who are hanging outside of Clint's apartment and finally we get the clown from hell who shoots one of Clint's supporting characters and presumably fan-favorite Grills/Gil. This book really has everything; interesting plot, compelling threats, and fantastic characters. And it's all for 2.99 a month. Worth every cent and some (but don't take that as authority to raise the price, Marvel execs who no doubt read this).