Hawkeye: My Life As A Weapon

by Matt Fraction, David Aja (Illustrator)

Eisner Award-Winner: Matt Fraction & David Aja, Best Single Issue
Eisner Award-Winner: David Aja, Best Penciller
Eisner Award-Winner: David Aja, Best Cover Artist

The Eisner Award-winning modern classic, presented in a newly designed book format edition with a brand-new introduction by author Matt Fraction.

Matt Fraction (Batman, Invincible Iron Man) and David Aja (The Immortal Iron Fist, The Seeds) deliver a stylish, cinematic, and profoundly human take on Marvel’s most unlikely Avenger — one that inspired countless creators, won armfuls of awards, and laid the groundwork for the hit Disney+ series.

Clint Barton, ordinary guy in a world of gods and super-soldiers, just wants to do right — and maybe grill a decent rooftop BBQ. Alongside Kate Bishop, his equally sharp-eyed protégé, he takes aim at digital digital doomsday, Russian mobsters in tracksuits, and the everyday chaos of life in New York. With Aja’s minimalist brilliance and Fraction’s razor-sharp voice, these stories turned the small details — neighbors, stray dogs, broken tape decks — into unforgettable legend.

And then there’s Pizza Dog. Yes, he gets his own Eisner-winning story.

Bonus Content: variant covers, sketchbook, cover concepts, page process, color guides, David Aja’s drawing playlists

Collecting: Hawkeye (2012) 1-11, Young Avengers Presents (2008) 6

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comic Book

280 pages, Paperback

Published November 25, 2025

About the author

"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.

Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.

"My mother was not happy about that," he said.

But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."

Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.

Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.

Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."

Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.

- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.

Reviews

[Mark]

I honestly like Hawkeye from the movie Marvel world and as such, I thought well lets have try at the comic version. This is a collection of adventures of Clint Burton & Kate Bishop in which I sometimes felt that their relationship is bordering on inappropiate behaviour .
Basicly this collection feels not very balanced in its stories, the colouring is fine but story-wise it never engages me. But still nice that they offer important stories for a low budget release. Which also means that you can try everything and even if you dislike some publications it is not an enormous financial loss.
This book is not my cup of tea, perhaps it is yours.

[Matthew]

I’m giving this four stars only ONLY because the Premier Collection only has half the issues in Fraction’s run >:( I’M PISSED!!! I want more!!!! It cuts off right when the story is picking up!!!

On another note, I am absolutely in love with David Aja’s artwork. It’s so beautiful, I wish he drew more of the issues 😔

Anyway, silly goofy read. Good story. I like Hawkeye. Kind of a Nathan Drake type of “regular dude that white knuckles his way out of every situation but is still human enough to get hurt.”

4.9/5

[Sean Xavier]

Seeeeeeeriously bro. Read this.

[ana!]

-1 star because entire intro about hawkeye being deaf and not a single goddamn hearing aid and he can hear everything. disabilitybaiting, if you will.

[stephen smith]

i’ve read the full omnibus of this but wanted to go back bc christmas and it’s strange that this one only had half the story and ended in the beginning of the second arc in the series

[Ashesh Aryal]

First and foremost, one of the most intrinsically fun and creative art styles I have ever seen in a comic book, not super detailed or anything, but attractive enough to make you want to oogle at the drawings for hours on end. The dynamic between Kate Bishop and Clint Barton was super fun to see develop, and their heists and bickering were very comedic. The action was drawn very well (fluid and easy to follow), as was everything else in this book, like the character designs, the setting, and the ambiance and coloring in certain scenes. The book is panelled similarly to Hunter x Hunter, with lots of sweeping shots and small boxes during dialogue-heavy segments to give each sentence more oomph. This book allows us to see Clint Barton as a real, tangible human, with his own struggles and battles to overcome, instead of just being the background Avenger. Although a greater narrative slowly develops, it's very individualistic in its approach. A mission happens, then he helps out his community and apartment members, then he has girl troubles, and it all circles back to who Hawkeye is as a character. The apartment itself can feel like a character, not unlike the Going Merry in One Piece, where although it is just a living space, it feels like without it there is no story. All of Clint's neighbors play a part in figuring out who he is as a person. The dialogue was witty and sharp, while still feeling emotional and important. It felt like every word choice was used for the intended purpose, and allowed you to care for characters that don't mean much in the overall narrative.

Onto some negatives. I didn't like how much this book relied on Clint's inability to keep it in his pants to cause drama for the story. It was funny for sure, but felt contrived and idiotic. I noticed a lot of comics do this, especially for characters that aren't committed to someone, which I am not a fan of. I also thought the villains were overwhelming, especially the tracksuit mafia. I get their gist, their gusto, and their reason for being in the story; But at no point did they feel like a real threat or intimidating, which is all the more reason for the girl troubles feeling unnecessary.

Overall, I'd give it an 8.5/10. Really good, but some blemishes that keep it from reaching my absolute favorite stories. I definitely recommend it and would read more by Matt Fraction.

[Matt Kaiser]

3 stars.

I’m having a hard time rating this one. The highs are super high, but the lows are quite low. The art is beautiful and the writing is sometimes great, but then there are also some things I don’t like at all. Some totally unnecessary crassness, some really weird and uncomfortable interactions between Clint and Kate, and then and ending that isn’t really much of an ending. Apparently there is more to the Fraction run that Marvel didn’t care to include in this book, even though they did throw in one extra issue that’s not from this run because… who even knows?

Overall, this book is a little disappointing because it starts off strong and it has so much potential, but there’s too much bringing it down for it to get an above average rating from me.

[Cmen]

matt fractions Hawkeye run was always on my radar since I started getting back into reading collected editions. for the most part was really enjoying the story, i think the pacing of the story and different “arcs” being told throughout the issues was really well done. David Aja’s art during his issues were fantastic and his paneling was next level. this premier collection version would’ve gotten a 5 star if the story didn’t run a bit flat and abruptly end.

[marc]

finally did it... really wasnt as bad as i made it out to be. love love the art and coloring in this book, never seen anything like it before. i just wish it wasnt split up into little stories, i wouldve enjoyed this more if it was one straight storyline with arcs. kazi was cool tho, couldve been better if they introduced him earlier in the story.

[Rory Liu]

I wish it finished the whole story like in the actual comic series but I liked the added intro and art explanations at the end that kind of made up for it. This series remains my favorite in the Marvel comics it’s so brilliant and beautiful and unique

[Wendy]

Ooohhhhh, so they based the Hawkeye TV series a little on this comic one, got it. Still love the dynamic between Clint and Kate, especially the "Really." and "Driiiiiiiiivveee!". I just pictured Renner and Steinfeld while reading.

[Gabe Dennis]

Clint and Kate make a great duo, and with all of the cultural references, there’s never a dull moment. The villains are surprisingly extreme for a Hawkeye story, which raises the stakes and elevates the whole thing. Really, really good.

[Andrew James]

It’s good. Artwork and writing is great, but I found the middle section to be filler. The beginning was great, and the end started to pick up, but then it just ends. I need more lol. Hawkeye is pretty cool tho and I love pizza dog.

[Gary Postlethwaite]

I assumed based on the name this was a complete story but it’s actually only half. It’s a collection of issues 1-11 but there are 22 in this run so it just doesn’t end anywhere really. It’s good but I’d get the full story.

[Chad Olson]

Hawkeye works through the issues of not having super powers

[Christopher]

5 stars for the writing; 3 stars for the lack of story resolution.

[Caitlin Gray]

I absolutely loved this story! The art style wasn’t my favourite, but super funny and interesting to see the origins of lucky.

[Brooke Stewart]

4.5⭐️

[Scott A. Love]

The writing, the layouts, and the art come together to make this book a Must-Have for fans of Hawkeye!

[Jacob Del Angel]

why was this only half the story wtf

[Sam]

rly rly rly enjoyed this collection !! i'm gonna have to read the full run for sure

[Flossy G]

I’m a Hawkeye fan so this was absolutely perfect. I love Clint. He’s so goofy. I love Kate too but SHE TOOK THE DAM DOG WHY WHOULD SHE DO THAT TO POOR CLINT WHAT THE HECK GIVE HIM THE DOG KATIE

[Austin Scott]

Disjointed storytelling but it was good though

[mars]

need an entire book pov from lucky cause that chapter was so precious

[L]

But where was his hearing problem… :(
LOVE THE ART THO

[Josh Trice]

Very enjoyable characters and story mixed with excellent artwork makes this a worthwhile read! The only drawback for me (keeping this from 5-stars) is there’s no plot resolution

[Fabian]

Clint is just so unlikable to me.
All of his choices are just so dumb.

The art is kinda cool but it gets dull pretty fast.

Ending was so underwhelming.

Most likely won’t read again.

[Idk]

I absolutely love the art style and the characters but maaan it's so annoying that the stories end in a random point

[mari]

fraction and aja gotta be one of the best duos in the history of the comic industry

[Tom McDonald]

Amazing, love the art style and Matt Fraction's take on Hawkeye. I've never really cared for Hawkeye and I almost didn't pick this up but now I'm ITCHING to read more! Such a cool character