Ultimate Hawkeye, Arkham City

Don't turn around, dude...

On the advice of my counsel, Marcus, I picked up Marvel Comics' Ultimate Hawkeye.  My first exposure to Hawkeye was the old 90's Captain America video game at the Family Fun Center in Omaha.  That game, at the time, was awesome.  Captain America, Hawkeye, Vision, and I think Iron Man were grouped up kicking all sorts of ass.  I wish I had all the money I threw down at the Family Fun Center.

Oh yeah, Hawkeye.  Clint Barton is our bow and arrow-weilding hero.  Mr. Barton hails from Waverly, Iowa which is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes from my house.  According to my crack staff of Wikipedia searchers, he was born in September of 1964 in Tales of Suspense #57.  His most common affiliation is with the Avengers.  He was in the Great Lakes Avengers for a short period in the late 80's/early 90's.  

Look, I vacation at least once a year in Michigan, and have been to the Great Lakes many times.  Unless you count guys like me walking around in swim suits, then there is really little need for a super-hero presence.  I mean, for the love of all that is holy, send EVERY super-hero to Flint and Detroit to clean up those cesspools.  

Back to Ultimate Hawkeye, I was sincerely impressed with the first three issues.  A smart story, with a special-ops type feel to it.  These were great to read, and I anxiously await the results of this storyline.  I haven't heard of the writer or artist, but hats off all the way around.  The cover art for the first three issues were excellent, particularly number 3, pictured here.

I would suggest this book to anyone with a brain (sorry Twilight fans, not for you).

5 out of 5 arrowheads.

The title of this blog mentions Arkham City, which is the latest Batman video game.  I am not going to go too deep on this one (insert joke here), but if you like super-hero games, this is the benchmark.  I cannot stop playing it without F.I. kicking in.  F.I. stands for Family Interference.  

This game is incredible all the way around.  Buy it!

Aquaman #1

I've been a fan of comics a long time.  Probably way too long.  Whenever I hear the name "Aquaman", I get the following thoughts...

• I want to like him.
• Why can't ANYONE make him cooler?
• Can I get a hold of him for a discount on lobster?

When Aquaman #1 came out, the writer/artist combo of Geoff Johns and Iva Reis, I had to take a look.  Geoff Johns was the person responsible for bringing Green Lantern out of the proverbial toilet by bringing Hal Jordan back from the dead.  Ivan Reis' artwork is simply amazing, and I can look at a drawing of a wall with a freshly open can of paint on it, and if it was drawn by Reis, I will make it a desktop background for awhile.

In this issue, it is addressed that Aquaman is clearly the Rodney Dangerfield of super-heroes, and I was just waiting for him to snap, especially when he was asked "How's it feel to be nobody's favorite super-hero?"

This issue was entirely bad-ass, and I give it 5 out of 5 fish heads.

Now that the new 52 comics have come out from DC, these are my favorites, in no particular order...

• Green Lantern
• Aquaman
• Detective Comics
• The Flash
• Justice League

DC really hit a home run, and despite my initial reservations, I am excited about the new launch.  Other cool news?  The new line sold out, and books like Justice League have sold so well, they are on their 4th printing.  Pretty impressive.  What's next?  Sustain the quality.  It sounds simple, I know.  However, in a field like comics, especially in today's economy/competing mediums (video games, for one), I think it's important to keep your target audience at top of mind.  

You can't fall back into the trap of yearly company crossovers that are so amazingly widespread that readers feel they have to get every single issue to know what in the hell is going on.  Look at Blackest Night.  While I would call it a success, an insanely bigger success than Infinite Crisis, it's easy to get overwhelmed with 30-50 books a month all crossing over.  At the comic shop I visit, I heard people discuss how they just said "screw it" and dropped the storyline, and some dropping DC altogether.  

Please please keep the quality intact, as I'd hate to see comics become a dying medium, as some argue it is becoming.  DC has an excellent opportunity here, and I hope they continue to capitalize.