Disney+ continues to draw upon the popularity of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye comic run in the promotional material for the upcoming series about the arrow-slinging Avenger and his protégé, Kate Bishop.The latest poster for Hawkeye, unveiled on Marvel's Twitter, pays visual homage to Aja’s iconic comic cover art. Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop tower over a New York cityscape with purple, red and green Christmas ornament bullseyes surrounding them. The poster puts a holiday spin on a cover instantly recognizable to fans of Fraction and Aja’s run with the characters as it references the art featured on the comic’s first collected run, Hawkeye Volume 1: My Life as a Weapon.
As Fraction and Aja’s off-the-clock Hawkeye is seen by many readers as a definitive modern interpretation of the character, it’s unsurprising that elements of that comic have been incorporated into the upcoming Disney+ series, including popular characters such as Lucky the Pizza Dog. However, much like with other MCU properties, Hawkeye will aim to marry elements from beloved comic runs all the while moving the needle of their sprawling and established on-screen universe forward.
Though a somewhat indirect adaptation of Fraction and Aja’s story, Disney+ has certainly not shied away from embracing the visual elements of their Hawkeye run in posters for the upcoming series. The most recent poster is the second to visually mirror a cover from Aja’s time on Hawkeye, a topic that evoked some choice comments from the artist.
When a recent Disney+ Hawkeye poster, utilizing the downward arrow art featured on the cover of Hawkeye Volume 2: Little Hits, dropped last month, Aja made reference to Marvel Studios' unwillingness to properly compensate artists whose work they benefit from incorporating into the MCU. The Hawkeye artist has not yet commented on Disney's most recent reference to his comic's work, however, Aja has not been the only comic creator to speak up on this subject. During a podcast appearance earlier this year, Ed Brubaker reported that he earned more money from a cameo in Captain America: The Winter Soldier than he did from royalties for the MCU's use of his Winter Soldier character.
While Disney's embrace of the tone, style and sense of humor featured in Fraction and Aja’s Hawkeye run bodes well for comic readers looking forward to the show, it's become evident that the studio could do more to properly compensate artists who initially stirred fan's excitement and imaginations on the comic end.
Hawkeye premieres with two episodes on Wednesday, Nov. 24 on Disney+.
Source: Twitter