Hawkeye is one of Marvel's most underrated characters, featured in some of the best comic book storylines. With the upcoming Hawkeye series on Disney+, there's plenty of great comics to use as a reference for both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop.
While the best of these comics features both Clint and Kate, the real star of the show is Lucky The Pizza Dog.
Lucky's moment to shine came in Hawkeye #11, by Matt Fraction and David Aja. In this issue, the highly acclaimed series reached its peak. The entire story follows Lucky's point of view, taking The Pizza Dog around Hawkeye's world. Throughout "Pizza Is My Business," Lucky investigates the recent murder of Clint's neighbor, Grills. This tense mystery takes Lucky from Clint's apartment throughout the rest of the building, exploring the evolving circumstances within the series.
What makes this stand-alone story so brilliant is its use of Lucky's perspective. Viewing the world through Lucky's eyes, the reader gets to see a much different version of the story. For example, when people speak, most of the dialogue is scribbled out. Removing the words from the story allows the reader to focus more on the visuals, such as the images which pop up in Lucky's head.
These clever visuals illustrate crucial character details, such as Clint's emotional state before Grills' funeral. Additionally, when Lucky visualizes Grills' murder scene, it's easy to get the full perspective on how and where he died. Valuing images over words, the issue takes full advantage of the comic book medium.
These images also explore Hawkeye's world in full detail, giving readers an idea of everyday life. Within the first few pages alone, Lucky witnesses the escalating tension between Clint and Kate before passing by the neighbors' apartments. There, Lucky visualizes certain characteristics about each resident, including what they eat and their general habits around the apartment. Even when Lucky is going through the building's trash, each item gives a little bit more information about the person to whom it belonged.
Of course, this issue is not simply a look at everyday life. Surprisingly, Lucky's perspective actually adds more layers to the ongoing plot of the series. Following Lucky around the building, readers see more of Grills' killers before either Hawkeye does. This brief glimpse of Grills' murderer's plants seeds for later plot points in the series.
Another point, which would be followed up in the next issue, is the return of Clint's brother, Barney. Lucky sees and recognizes Barney in this issue, visually equating him to Clint. This hint allows readers to figure out who Barney is simply based on Lucky's visualization. Recognizing Barney in this manner builds anticipation for the following issue.
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The ending of this story is also a game-changing moment in the series. Kate leaves the apartment with Lucky, driving off to California. Not only does this change the status quo of the series moving forwards, but it also leaves readers wondering about what happened. Indeed, without dialogue, the scene builds suspense around the final conflict between Clint and Kate.
Yet this conflict can be addressed in future issues. Within Hawkeye #11, all that matters is the overall sense of fun. Considering how Grills was murdered in the previous issue, this story takes a breather from some of the more serious aspects of the series.
This is a welcome change of pace, leaving room for some of the heavier moments to come. Furthermore, some of the actual dialogue between Clint and Kate would be filled-in later on. At this point, then, the objective was to make a fun issue that also laid the groundwork for the future.
While there are many great Hawkeye comics featuring both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, the best one belongs to Lucky The Pizza Dog.
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