Hawkeye, Volume 4: Rio Bravo by Matt Fraction
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This volume is dark and gritty. We meet Barney Barton, Clint’s brother as he comes into town. Unbeknownst to him, he’s walking into a firestorm. The trouble brewing between the Tracksuit Draculas, the Clown, and Clint is coming to a head.
Barney is Clint’s older brother. We get flashbacks to their childhood and learn that Barney is the one who taught Clint to fight. Their father was abusive and it was Barney who Clint how to stand up for himself. There’s a hint that the two brothers may have been involved in their parent’s death before running off and joining the circus. Regardless, like most brothers, they have each other’s backs but don’t trust one another completely.
Meanwhile the Tracksuit Dracula’s or “Bro’s” launch an all out attack on the building, which Clint took over in volume 1. Both Clint and Barney are very wounded. Especially Clint. He’s deafened but due to flashbacks he may have had hearing problems as a child so he’s fluent albeit rusty in sign language and lip reading.
Kate shows up in the nick of time and lends her skills to not only saving Clint but to giving Clint the emotional boost he needs to stop wallowing in his own melancholia. We end on a sober note so I’m not sure where we go next from here. Overall this was an interesting saga in the Hawkeye world. I’m glad I delved in.
