Hawkeye: Kate Bishop

Hawkeye: Kate Bishop #1-5

by Marieke Nijkamp, Enid Balám (Illustrator), Oren Junior (Contributor)

Kate Bishop has her sights set on the Big Apple! But a lot has changed since she was last in New York. So before she completes her journey back, she’s taken on a pit-stop case first. A confidence-booster, to prove to herself that she’s making the right decision and not going to backslide into her old ways just by changing time zones. Besides, the case is perfect: Swanky resort? Check. Jewel heist? Check. Almost definitely 100% a trap? Check! But when Kate learns who invited her to Resort Chapiteau in the first place, she has a triple mystery on her hands: Can she find a missing girl, discover what the resort is hiding…and work out what all of it has to do with her family? Get ready for your favorite Hawkeye in a high-octane thriller!

COLLECTING: Hawkeye: Kate Bishop (2021) 1-5

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Action, Fantasy

120 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2022

About the author

Marieke Nijkamp a storyteller, dreamer, globe-trotter, geek.

***

Please note I don't respond to friend requests or messages on GR, but you're always welcome to tweet or email me. :)

Reviews

[Scott]

"I'm Hawkeye, the type of person who will always stop petty evil plans like yours. Have you considered a better hobby? Knitting? Stamp collecting? Baking sourdough bread?" -- archer extraordinaire Kate 'Hawkeye' Bishop, lecturing apprehended goon# 6 in an opening scene

An enjoyable (more so in the first half of the narrative) and disposable little romp, Hawkeye: Kate Bishop has the bow & arrow-wielding private investigator / crimefighter leaving the sunny streets of L.A. to assist her wealthy and estranged older sister at an exclusive but obviously suspicious enclave in the opulent Hamptons section of New York's Long Island. What at first appears to be a simple but unusual jewelry theft quickly spirals into a child's kidnapping, mind-controlled guests / employees, and then even more ridiculousness courtesy of some vengeful wannabe super-villainesses. Again, it was not necessarily a great graphic novel, but it was entertaining - and Kate Bishop is a dependably winning character, especially with her sardonic narration (like in the best private eye novels) that never becomes cloying - so to see her tackle more oddball cases would be a plus, just in my opinion.

[Molly™☺]

Perhaps Thompson just set the bar a little too high when it comes to Kate Bishop content, but this interpretation falls incredibly flat in comparison. Both the plot and the characterisations feel unimaginative and one note. What's really missing is the charming humour that exudes off the titular character when given the right writer. A disappointing entry into Kate Bishop's lore, and one that will probably leave fans feeling unsatisfied.

[TJ, the Librarian.]

Take a shot every time Kate quotes a meme. She reads like someone trying to sound like a "fellow teen." I appreciate a lot of the things this series tried to do, like bring back Kate's sister, but the execution was mostly cringe to boring or amateur. I'm begging Marvel to let Kelly Thompson write Kate again. 2.5/5 stars.

[bri 🧸]

lucky is really the main character always

[Mark]

Sometimes you pick up a comic that is only mildly interesting but the price is too tempting. This time it proved still a waste of money.
The art is good and the story undoubtely enjoyable for another generation than mine.
This is a whole New generation of Superhero's whose parents are known to me. That makes me an old person I guess.
Kate Bishop this generations Hawkeye returns home where all kind of things happen that this young Avenger takes in her stride toeter with Clint Bartons dog Lucky. Next we meet all kind of New generation Avengers show up.
Simply not my generation of Superheros so while well presented just not my cup of tea.

[Rod Brown]

Kate Bishop is lured to a resort in the Hamptons where she gets involved in a mystery involving a family member. For long-time Marvel readers, the cause of the problem will be immediately obvious when a juggler shows up walking around the grounds before the end of the first issue. But the story drags on for four more issues filled with family bickering and some pretty tame action scenes. Meh.

[mel]

3.5

It was an okay story, nothing that blew my mind, but it was fun. It sometimes felt a bit boring, but overall fun.

[Billy Jepma]

A fun romp, but not much more than that. I enjoyed Thompson's (all-too-short) run with Kate Bishop very much, and while Nijkamp does a good job at continuing the vibes that series set, it doesn't do them as well. The cringier elements in Thompson's writing (i.e., the almost-meta-level humor and sarcasm) land significantly worse here than they did there, so Kate's snarkiness feels forced and stilted instead of playful. There's fun to be had, especially in that final issue, and if the series had been ongoing, I might've stuck around a bit longer. But as a miniseries, the dull, by-the-numbers plot and rushed characterizations don't amount to much.

The art is quite good, though, and has nice energy that captures the kind of energy Kate Bishop should have better than the writing does, arguably. It's nothing to write home about, outside of some playful flourishes in the full-page spreads, but it does a lot to keep the momentum going even when the derivative plot starts feeling sluggish. Three stars is maybe a little high, but as someone who loves Kate Bishop and wishes we got more of her, I got enough enjoyment from this, however fleeting it might've been, to round up.

[Shaun Stanley]

Hawkeye: Kate Bishop collects issues 1-5 of the Marvel Comics series written by Marieke Nijkamp with art by Enid Balám.

Feeling she needs a change of scenery, Kate Bishop is returning to New York. But before her return, she decides to take one more case along the way. Hoping the case will be simple she takes the job at a swanky resort. But she soon realizes it may have been a trap, and worse, her older sister is the one who arranged the case.

I love Kate but I think she works best with a cast of characters for her personality to bounce off of. And I was was liking her on the West Coast so the change of pace wasn’t really needed in my opinion. The story is also incredibly boring. I just couldn’t get in to it. And while I liked the update to Kate’s costume (Finally getting rid of the hip holes), I really, really, REALLY disliked the art. Note - the interior art doesn’t resemble the cover and Kate doesn’t look like Kate. This was the first Hawkeye book I didn’t care for which is a bummer.

[Jaye Berry]

This was so :/ yikes. I love Hawkeye and this sounded good- Kate heading back to New York and getting caught in a mystery at a resort. The writing was so cringy and the entire thing dragged for way too long. Also for advertising NYC shenanigans (like literally the cover), we get none of that as the entire book takes place in one spot.

It doesn't feel like all the time where the writing stands out as bad when I read comics but the entire time I was like shit, the writing sucks. The dialogue was the WORST for me, with Kate quoting memes the entire time. It felt like someone trying to "hello fellow kids" and it was so bad. An attempt was made to be funny and clever!!!

The story of the resort wasn't exciting and I still feel like it was pointless. It dragged for SO long with such little content, it was so weird. We get cameos from Kate's friends America and Cassie and that would have been the highlight if I didn't have to read their cringe texts to each other.

The action was disappointing too like??? I don't even know wtf she was doing half the time besides jumping dramatically because her arrows were doing jack shit.

The art was... okay. I liked the colors a lot but the style itself was weird and I wish it was the art from the covers.

Lucky was the most important thing here ngl.

[Alex Sarll]

Poor Kate Bishop. It's not all that long since she was starring in two classic runs simultaneously; even after that, the Kelly Thompson era was great fun. Whereas now she's in that limbo of having charmed in her on-screen iteration, while being unable to get comics gigs beyond miniseries that feel like they were intended as first volumes but couldn't get the numbers. And little wonder; there are sparks of good ideas here, like Kate coming to terms with the wealthy background she rejected, but they're wrapped up in a story which starts off overfamiliar, before tipping into a way higher threat level than seems to suit anyone. The creative team appear keen to echo the formal experimentation of those stellar earlier books, but without the same preliminary mastery of the basics, too often that just ends up unclear. Obviously Lucky the dog gets some lovely moments, especially at the end, but mostly it's a bit of a flat soufflé.

[Tim]

Whilst the story is somewhat interesting, the way Kate's face is drawn distracts from the story. But Maybe that is me. The villain felt like a lazy call-back aswell as the call-in of some other Young Avengers to help out in the finale. Really could be better but entertaining at last..
3.2/5

[Gerry Sacco]

Story was fun, art was, not great. Overall the art was ok, but the faces and facial expressions were really weird/off in a lot of the panels...

I really want to give this a 2.5, but I can't on the app unfortunately.

[yvette ★]

entertaining for sure, but not spectacular

[Yentl ♥]

This was a fun and quick read! The art is so bright and exciting. Thanks to Sarah for reading this to me.

[Sara]

I continue to love you with my whole heart Kate Bishop and Lucky (formerly Pizza dog).

ps. Pascale's outfit was so freaking choice 😘

#IndigoEmployee

[Danielle]

I really liked the way this was framed as a mystery - I wish it was an ongoing run, but these characters are so much fun to read.

[Adam Fisher]

This short but fast-paced graphic novel deals with mind-control (from the Circus of Crime) and Kate dealing with her sister Susan. The story is pretty good, but as this is my real first time with Kate Bishop, I'm not sure I loved it. Certainly didn't hate it. I'll try again when the next Volume is released.
Recommend, especially if you love the character.

[David Codd]

Always love some fun Hawkeye, and this tale of reunited sisters entertains

[morgan ☽]

silly fun

[Ross]

Remember when Kate Bishop was part of a teen superhero group? Remember when she went out west and joined ANOTHER teen superhero group?

Well, I think we can finally say that she's aged out of that demographic now. This feels like a college graduate going back to her highschool haunts and reliving past glory. It hits all the usual points for making it a good story and the character is still written well...it's just....trying extra hard.

There's a term they started using in the book publishing industry for books for people who had 'aged out' of the young adult section and were dealing with new experiences like job hunting, online dating, and apartment hunting. They called it, 'New Adult'. It's not the best term, but it feels like that what this is. It doesn't quite have the young, impassioned hero fighting against authority. It's got a main character dealing with breakups, business relocationing, and navigating friends circles.

It's not bad, but it's just ...there. I guess we can say that at least they're writing an 'age appropriate' story

Bonus: Circus of Crime 2.0 ? Ugh...
Bonus Bonus: I like that they've name dropped ALL of her past teammates in this book. Maybe we're gearing up for a new Young Avengers (the OG's v.1) reboot/refresh?

[Tyler Jenkins]

4.5 stars rounded down. I really enjoyed Kate’s story in her first solo adventure, on The Young Avengers, and on The West Coast Avengers. It’s always a delight whenever she shows up and this is no exception. She’s just such a delightful and fun character that can make some super awesome fight scenes. This comic had some great art that really liked to mess with the traditional comic reading style. Definitely worth a read if you’re a fan of Kate Bishop and a great starting point for people new to her character.

[Sean]

I love Kate Bishop. I love her snark, her courage, her independence, her friends, and her dog. Sadly, I didn't love this. The story was lame and the last chapter was full of holes. I still enjoyed Kate but the plot wasn't there. I liked the art (except Kate's bangs) but it couldn't overcome the subpar plot. Overall, Kate's personality wins a lot of battles but there wasn't enough here.

[Bethany Tilley]

I couldn't put these down! Following Kate's (mis)adventures through these pages was truly a delight. The characters were excellent, the dialogue witty, and the art/style of the comics is beautiful. A fun read overall. Can't wait to read more of Hawkeye!

[Fabienne]

Ja war voll geil ich liebe halt Kate Bishop sie ist so lustig 😭 Es war richtig entertaining und ich hätte noch 500 seiten mehr lesen können!! auch richtig krass illustriert - alles in allem wars ne geile story und ich bin dafür im jahr 2026 einfach auch mal ein bisschen mehr nerdy zu werden!

[maria.]

Issue #1 read on 07/12/2021. The rest read on 15/03/2022.

[Sarah]

I really enjoyed this book. Nothing groundbreaking, but it didn’t need to be. Solid action, some nice family moments, and lots of classic Kate Bishop sarcasm. I meant to only read an issue or two, but I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting.

[Emma]

As a huge Kate Bishop fan, I'm pretty disappointed in this volume. Story and art were meh.

[Melia Glubka]

YOUNG AVENGERS TEASE AT THE END DONT PLAY WITH ME LIKE THAT!!! DO NOT

[Chris Lemmerman]

A new case sends Kate Bishop, PI, to a familiar stomping ground and face to face with a familiar face - her estranged sister! With Lucky in tow and the Young Avengers on speed dial, can Kate save her family from the Circus Of Crime, and potentially all of reality from being rewritten by...*gulp*...a mean girl?

I was sceptical going into this, I'll be honest. The last few Kate Bishop runs have been so good, I didn't think anything would be able to touch them. But this little series does a decent job of telling a fun Kate story while setting itself apart from the stories that have brought Kate to this point. The reintroduction of her sister keeps the family drama front and centre without retreading the whole 'dad's a crime lord, mum's a vampire' thing that has been mined to death recently.

Plus, Lucky's still in it, and saves the day more than once. What a good boy.

On art is Enid Balam, whose artwork does a decent job of telling the story that Marieke Nijkamp throws her way. Some people are a little spindly, and Lucky's legs often have too many joints in them, but the battle scenes are fun, especially some of the expansive chase scenes, and it's never unclear as to what's going on.

Following up on the last few Kate Bishop runs from Matt Fraction and Kelly Thompson was always going to be a tall order, but I'm pleased to report that Nijkamp's entry into the Kate canon is just as much fun as those seminal runs, with plenty of nods to the past to connect it to the rich tapestry that came before.