Hawkeye: Kate Bishop, Vol. 1: Anchor Points by Kelly ThompsonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I took a chance on this, based on reviews I'd seen in various places. I'd never read anything Hawkeye before, and only know of him (I guess this is old Hawkeye, now) from the Marvel movies. I'm glad I did, as I really liked it.
Kate Bishop is one of the most well-rounded comics characters I've read. She's kind, loyal, funny, and determined. I like that her mistakes--and she definitely makes mistakes--come not from stupidity or hot-headedness, but from inexperience. As a matter of fact, she has quite a level head on her shoulders, as this volume amply demonstrates. She's a smart, competent character, and I found that very refreshing. I also like the fact that she's not a superhero, that she can be beat up and cut up (the last comic in this book has her sporting a nice collection of Band-Aids for its entire length), and she needs and is willing to accept help. In fact, one of the storylines here is the gradual assembling of a Scooby Gang--who become Kate's "anchor points," thus providing the title of the book--and I hope we will see more of these characters.
I also appreciate that the stories here are a little more realistic than generally found in a superhero comic. There is mind control and mutating terragen mist stuff, but the launching of Kate's first case is a young woman dealing with a stalker. This is timely, to say the least. There's also an overarching plot of Kate trying to find her father, which I assume will be dealt with in future volumes.
And, of course, there's a guest appearance by Jessica Jones! Be still my heart. The print version isn't quite as snarky as the Netflix version, but it's lovely to see a mature mentoring relationship between Jessica and Kate. This is just an all-around excellent introduction of this character, and I'm looking forward to future volumes.
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