Book: Hawkeye volume #4: Rio Bravo (issues #12-13, 15, 17, 19 and 21-22) by Matt Fraction
Illustration by David Aja (#13, 15, 19, 21-22), Francesco Francavilla (#12) and Chris Eliopoulos with David Aja (#17)
Color by Francesco Francavilla (#12), Matt Hollingsworth (#13, 15, 19, 21-22) and Jordie Bellaire (#17) and Letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Art by David Aja
Edition: Trade Paperback
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
This final chapter of Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye series with Clint Barton and Kate Bishop feels like punch to the stomach. It started out lighthearted with Clint and his neighbor's kids watching a holiday cartoon but then turned into something much more serious.
Clint's older brother Barney stopped by to visit just as the tracksuit guys and their hired hitman Kazi were preparing to ramp up their attacks. They really wanted the apartment building that Clint acquired from the tracksuit guys in vol #1. It's a good thing his brother showed up because he was going to need the back-up especially since Kate and lucky the dog were gone (see vol #3). Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Mockingbird (Clint's ex-wife Bobbi Morse) and Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) make a few appearances but it was going to be up to Clint, Barney and a few of the tenants of his apartment building to stop the onslaught.
Clint and Barney had no problem stopping the little attacks but they were caught off guard by a brutal assault by Kazi who left them both severely injured. Clint was down, nearly to point of giving up but that really wasn't an option not with the tracksuit guys and Kazi gearing up for their final attack. Kate and Lucky the dog returned with their help truly going to be needed, if it wasn't too late.
There are some comic books where you can pick up any volume in a series and start reading but the Hawkeye series is not one of them. I recommend reading this in order because each volume provides information and clues that completes the story. In this fourth volume, the excitement and stress builds as Clint tries to fend off nearly non-stop attacks. The good writing and wonderful illustrations for this series continues as readers get to know more about Clint's childhood through a heartbreaking backstory that also mirrors his current situation. As with each volume, the humor and the drama are perfectly balanced as the story unfolds.
Without a doubt both Hawkeyes are total trouble magnets. However, it's how they deal with the trouble that makes them the heroes that they are. Despite all the destruction and devastation there is still inspiration and hope in the way they help others. This was an amazing ending to a fan favorite series.
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