The best Hawkeye run is Matt Fraction and David Aja's (Hawkeye, 2012-2015), which follows Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in their lives outside the Avengers. For Kate Bishop, start with Heinberg and Cheung's Young Avengers (2005-2006), then Kelly Thompson's series (2016-2018). The other picks in the ranking serve as complements: Gillen and McKelvie, Lemire, Gruenwald.
Hawkeye is a case apart among the Avengers: an archer with no powers, a reformed former criminal, whom writers used for a long time as a foil before a 2012 series changed his status. Since then, two characters carry the name: Clint Barton, created in 1964, and Kate Bishop, who appeared in 2005. Our ranking treats them together, because the best recent stories pair them.
As always in this guide, only verified information (creators, issue numbers, dates) is stated as fact; the analysis is our own, with no reproduction of artwork or protected dialogue.
How we ranked these runs
No dedicated Hawkeye hub exists yet in this guide; we therefore point to the Avengers hub, of which he has been a member since Avengers #16 (1965). Three criteria separated the candidates. First, the character's place: the run must carry Clint or Kate as its subject, not as reinforcement. Second, closure: we favored series that read from start to finish. Finally, availability, in single issues as well as collected editions, because a run you cannot find remains a curiosity.
For the character's origin, from his early days as a criminal to joining the Avengers, read our history of Hawkeye; here, we are talking about reading and collecting.
Top 1: Matt Fraction and David Aja, Hawkeye (2012-2015)
Writer: Matt Fraction | Artists: David Aja, with Annie Wu and Javier Pulido on several issues
What the run is about. Hawkeye #1 (2012) shows Clint Barton in the days when he is not an Avenger: his apartment building, his neighbors, a conflict with henchmen he could have done without. Fraction writes a small-scale urban serial, where wounds and debts weigh more than cosmic threats. Kate Bishop shares the billing and takes on an autonomy the character had never had.
Why it matters. This run changed the way publishers think about a supporting character: it proves that a hero with no powers can carry a series on character alone. It rests on precise formal choices, like issue #11 told from the point of view of the hero's dog, or #19, built around sign language. These experiments set a trend. The Matt Fraction page lays out the rest of his career.
Starting and ending issues. Hawkeye (vol. 4) #1 (2012) to #22 (2015). The exact publication dates are stretched by delays, but the numbering is stable.
Who it is for. Almost everyone. It is the best entry point for a reader who knows neither the Avengers nor the archer, and it reads with no prerequisites.
How to collect it. Twenty-two single issues are enough for the series, and issue 1 is the most sought after. In collected editions, several volumes cover the whole; check that the edition you choose includes the issues drawn by Annie Wu and Javier Pulido, because some editions separate them.
Top 2: Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero, Hawkeye (2016-2018)
Writer: Kelly Thompson | Artist: Leonardo Romero
What the run is about. Kate Bishop heads to the West Coast and founds a detective agency, with the complications of a young woman who has to earn her living without help. Thompson gives Kate a funny, stubborn tone, and ties the plot to a family past that is uncovered in fragments.
Why it matters. It is the first regular series built around Kate Bishop alone. It makes the second Hawkeye a complete character rather than an heir to the first, which explains why it is now read as a stage of its own. The Kelly Thompson page presents the rest of her series.
Starting and ending issues. Hawkeye (2016) #1 to #16, from 2016 to 2018. We give these bounds with caution: reprints have sometimes renumbered the whole.
Who it is for. The reader who liked Fraction's tone and wants to follow Kate further, or who is looking for a light, quick read.
How to collect it. Sixteen single issues in a recent format, plentiful and inexpensive. In collected editions, the title is generally grouped into three volumes; check how they line up with the issue numbers above before buying.
Top 3: Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, Young Avengers (2005-2006)
Writer: Allan Heinberg | Artist: Jim Cheung
What the run is about. A group of young heroes appears in the shadow of the Avengers, each tied to a former member of the team. Kate Bishop makes her entrance in Young Avengers #1 (2005), which makes it the character's first-appearance issue. The plot follows the formation of the team and its first clashes.
Why it matters. Because this is where Kate is born. Everything Fraction and Thompson will do with her rests on this starting point. The collecting side is important: Young Avengers #1 is the character's key issue, as we detail in the key issues of Hawkeye.
Starting and ending issues. Young Avengers (vol. 1) #1 to #12, from 2005 to 2006.
Who it is for. The reader who wants to know Kate's origin, and the one who enjoys a young-hero team story with a tight plot.
How to collect it. Twelve single issues that turn up without difficulty; the first is the only one that takes a bit of searching. In collected form, the series fits in one or two volumes depending on the edition.
Top 4: Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, Young Avengers (2013-2014)
Writer: Kieron Gillen | Artist: Jamie McKelvie, with other artists on some issues
What the run is about. A new team, of which Kate Bishop is one of the pillars, faces the consequences of a past she thought was behind her. The tone is bouncier than in the 2005 series, with very pop artwork and attention to relationships between characters.
Why it matters. It shows a Kate who has grown up, already more assured than at the start, and it confirms that the character can hold a team without Clint's shadow. The Kieron Gillen page gathers his other series.
Starting and ending issues. Young Avengers (vol. 2) #1 to #15, from 2013 to 2014.
Who it is for. The reader who already knows Kate from Fraction, and who likes stylized team series.
How to collect it. Fifteen recent single issues, accessible; in collected form, one or two volumes. Some editions of this title contain alternate covers whose order differs from the original single issue: a point to check if you are after completeness.
Do you collect this series?
Track what you own, what you're missing and what your collection is worth. 7-day trial.
Start my trial →Top 5: Jeff Lemire and Ramón Pérez, All-New Hawkeye (2015-2016)
Writer: Jeff Lemire | Artist: Ramón Pérez
What the run is about. Clint and Kate team up across two alternating timelines. Lemire unfolds a more inward story, where Clint's childhood and his relationship with his brother weigh as much as the present-day action. Pérez's watercolors clearly distinguish the eras.
Why it matters. It is the best reading of Clint's past, far from the reformed criminal of 1964. It usefully complements Fraction's series, which leaves that past in the background. To place Lemire among his other projects, see Jeff Lemire: where to start.
Starting and ending issues. All-New Hawkeye, from 2015 to 2016, in two short series. We give no precise total for the second, as sources disagree on its numbering.
Who it is for. The reader who has already read Fraction and wants to go deeper into Clint, and the one who enjoys a more melancholic story.
How to collect it. Recent, inexpensive single issues. In collected form, the title is grouped into one or two volumes; check that they cover both series.
Top 6: Mark Gruenwald and Mark Bright, Hawkeye (1983)
Writer: Mark Gruenwald | Artist: Mark Bright
What the run is about. A four-issue miniseries, the first to carry the character's name. Clint is presented there as a hero in his own right, with his personal relationships and his limits. It lays the groundwork for the West Coast Avengers, where he would soon take on a leadership role.
Why it matters. It is the starting point of the idea that a Hawkeye can carry a title. Without it, the 2012 series would have had fewer antecedents.
Starting and ending issues. Hawkeye (1983) #1 to #4.
Who it is for. The period collector, and the historian of the franchise; it is not an entry point.
How to collect it. Four single issues from the early 1980s: a short project but harder to complete than the modern entries. Collected editions exist in limited numbers; look for them first if you simply want to read.
Which one to start with, depending on your profile
You don't know Hawkeye. Take Fraction and Aja's Hawkeye (2012-2015): it reads on its own, in twenty-two issues, and remains the best received. If you are coming from the TV series, our feature on the series versus the comics shows what the adaptation borrows.
You want to follow Kate Bishop. Read Young Avengers (2005-2006), then Fraction, then Thompson (2016-2018). This order follows the character's evolution from her birth to her solo series.
You prefer inward stories. Lemire's All-New Hawkeye (2015-2016), after Fraction.
You collect. Aim first for the launch issues of each period: Young Avengers #1 (2005), Hawkeye #1 (2012). Fill in with collected editions, and save the 1983 miniseries for last if the publishing history interests you.
What these runs are worth as a collection
Demand concentrates on a small number of issues: Clint's first appearance in Tales of Suspense #57 (1964), Kate's in Young Avengers #1 (2005) and the first issue of the 2012 series. These three markers structure the Hawkeye market. For the details, see the feature on Tales of Suspense #57. The rest of the ranking, that is almost all the intermediate issues, remains affordable and serves mainly as reading.
A practical method. Compare each series' launch issue to the median of the other issues in the same run: the gap measures the market's real interest in that period. Then separate your reading purchases from your collecting purchases. A launch issue held as an object justifies careful condition; the rest of the run reads just as well in collected form. To build the whole in an orderly way, start from the Avengers collection guide.
If you already own copies of these series, an estimate lets you place your set before any further purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Matt Fraction and David Aja's run, published from 2012 to 2015 in twenty-two issues, is the consensus pick. It follows Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in their daily lives and reads without knowing the Avengers. For a read centered on Kate alone, Kelly Thompson's series (2016-2018) is the logical next step.
Hawkeye #1 (2012) by Fraction and Aja. The series requires no prerequisites, ends in twenty-two issues and gives a complete portrait of Clint. If you prefer to begin with the origin, Tales of Suspense #57 (1964) remains a period document, but it reads as a historical object rather than an entry point.
In Young Avengers #1 (2005), written by Allan Heinberg and drawn by Jim Cheung. This issue is considered her first appearance. She joins a team of young heroes tied to the Avengers there. The character then grows in importance in Fraction's series, then in Kelly Thompson's.
No, Fraction's series reads without it. Reading Young Avengers first does, however, give useful insight into Kate Bishop, whose character is set from 2005. If you hesitate, start with Fraction, then work back to Heinberg and Cheung when you want to understand where the character comes from.
The modern series (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016) run between fifteen and twenty-two issues published after 2005 and are easily completed. Only the launch issues and the 1983 miniseries take more searching. In collected form, each period fits in a few volumes.
Do you have single issues of Hawkeye or Young Avengers? Have your copy estimated to place your collection.
Estimate my comic