New York Comic Con had a bunch of big announcements. One of them was the new creative team for HAWKEYE. Beginning in March 2015, HAWKEYE will be written by Jeff Lemire with art by Ramon Perez. With this news, of course there are a lot of questions that remain.

We had the chance to ask Jeff some questions to find out more about what we can expect and how it will compare to the current series.

COMIC VINE: What will be your approach to Hawkeye and this series? Big superhero action or more grounded adventures?

JEFF LEMIRE:Matt Fraction, David Aja and Annie Wu, in my opinion, set the bar in terms of bringing a personal point of view and a singular aesthetic to a modern super hero comic. So, for me, I knew I needed to do the same. And by that I don't mean that Ramon and I are trying to copy what they did, or emulate the style they developed on Hawkeye. That was their unique point of view, Ramon and I want to create our own world the way they did. And bring our own voices to the characters.

I think my take on Hawkeye is the closest thing I've ever done, in super hero comics, to my independent work like ESSEX COUNTY and The UNDERWATER WELDER. It's very grounded and character driven. And likewise, Ramon is bringing the same versatility that he did to Tale of Sand.

CV: Are we going to see Clint and Kate together on the same adventures?

JL: Absolutely. To me Kate is an equal to Clint in terms of who the "star" of the book is. It's equal billing. It will be as much Kate's story as it is Clint's. One of the many wonderful things about Matt Fraction's run was the relationship between Kate and Clint. To me, that must remain central to to the book.

CV: Of course we have to ask, what about Pizza Dog? Will he be part of the book?

JL: I'm more of a cat person. Taco Cat? No? Ok, ok...There will be a dog in the book. Whether or not he enjoys Pizza will remain to be seen.

CV: Have you seen any art from Ramon yet or is it too early?

JL: Yes I have and it is GLORIOUS. Really, really stunning. He is employing two distinct visual styles on the book and its pretty amazing.

CV: Do you plan on keeping the adventures more isolated in Clint's world or will we see the Hawkeyes venture out into the larger Marvel Universe?

JL: Pretty isolated top Hawkeye-world. At least for the first year. This is very much a character study of Kate and Clint.

CV: How are your archery skills?

JL: None existent. But have a great slap shot.

CV: Is it weird switching from a certain character that dressed in a lot of green to one that dresses in purple?

JL: Not at all. The archery aspect is really a superficial similarity when it comes right down to it. Clint and Kate are utterly different from Oliver Queen. And my approach to Hawkeye is nothing like my run on GREEN ARROW.

I'm very proud of my run on GA. Along with ANIMAL MAN, I think it was probably the best thing I did at DC. Having said that, I'm equally as proud of what I've been doing on Hawkeye. It's very different, but just as rewarding for me.

Jeff Lemire and Ramon Perez's HAWKEYE #1 lands in comic shops in March 2015.

<3

Definitely give this a look as I really enjoyed Lemire's work on Green Arrow and Animal Man. I fell off the Fraction bandwagon a while ago and dropped Hawkeye. I thought the first 5 or 6 issues were great and went downhill quickly.

Can we just like, not focus on Kate?

Hope this will good.

i really hope Jeff Lemire doesnt make Hawkeye(character and book) feel like an extended GA book. Even though their both archers, GA and Hawkguy are different in mindset with Clint being the cockier of the 2. I have good faith that Lemire will do contrast these 2 premier archers.

Also, for the love of god Marvel, give Clint a mask again and update it like you did Steve's Cap mask. Hawkeye look so outta place standing next to the Avengers now, well at least to me.

I've never read a Lemire book, but have heard good things. I'm nervous about this trying to mimic the Fraction/Aja Hawkeye style too much and ending up like a pale imitation, a la anything Ales Kot does with Clint. Suffice to say I'm glad Kot isn't writing this.

I will certainly give it a shot. And he BETTER have Pizza Dog in it. What the hell??

Man, I just cannot agree with that sentiment. The best issues of Fraction's Hawkeye were with them teaming up and/or interacting, I thought. Kate Bishop is a fantastic character, at least under Fraction's pen. Absolutely love their dynamic.

He literally addresses both of you guys' concerns in the interview.

I read the interview, thanks. Just stating my concerns and hoping he keeps his word on that. I could very easily see that shadow hanging over Lemire's run, and I want him to do his own thing. But c'mon... Pizza Dog is permanently part of Clint's cast now, right?! Saying there's *A* dog makes me nervous. Just say yes!

I'm super psyched for Taco Cat!

The fact he's comparing his run on Hawkeye to works like Essex County and Underwater Welder makes me very happy. As much as I like Lemire's mainstream superhero stuff, it doesn't hold a candle to his independent work. Sounds like Hawkeye will continue to be a standout book.

I've never been a Hawkeye fan, but I trust in Lemire.

The best parts of the Fraction run were Pizza Dog, The Jogging Suit Mafia "Bro"s, and Clint's ties with the community in the apartment complex. I don't know what Lemire will use to give this book the same kind of "heart and soul", but best of luck to him.

And here I was all ready to drop Hawkeye after Fraction and Co. left. So much for that.

I love his response about Green Arrow. I get really annoyed when people make comments about Hawkeye being his ripoff, Iron Man being a Batman rip off, Quicksilver being a Flash ripoff, Black Cat being a Catwoman ripoff, etc. And not just because my preferred Marvel is obviously more guilty of copying power sets or motifs than DC is, because it is indeed superficial. None of these characters are defined by their powers for me. They're defined by the person in the costume and their motivations and actions. Hawkeye and Green Arrow are not at all similar characters, Quicksilver and Flash are not at all similar characters, etc., once you look past the powers or motifs and look at what really matters. I have this same attitude when people complain about movies not showing enough of a hero in costume, such as Iron Man 3. Yeah, we didn't see a lot of Iron Man action in Iron Man 3 until the final act, but I didn't come to see Tony Stark put on a robot suit and fly and shoot stuff. I came to see Tony Stark. I'm rambling now, but my point is, I love his response.

Judging from the cover alone, this seems more serious.

This should be great.

Lemire is awesome! At the very least, I'll give the first few issues a shot.

I love the cover. Not only does Clint's shadow form an arrowhead, but the lone kid in a field is a classic Jeff Lemire image.

"...but I have a great slap shot"

I love Jeff Lemire

This almost makes up for Green Arrow beating Hawkeye in this month's poll lol.

I can't imagine not checking out at least the first couple of issues.

Not at all. The archery aspect is really a superficial similarity when it comes right down to it. Clint and Kate are utterly different from Oliver Queen. And my approach to Hawkeye is nothing like my run on GREEN ARROW.

My feelings are so conflicted right now...

@liveforever said:

Tsk, tsk.

I hope Barney gets a good role in the new book

Ha! I'm a 90% Marvel reader (with a side of Image). This is his first Marvel work so that's my excuse!

This is what happens when DC editorials screw up the runs that their creators are doing to put in what they think is best and therefore ruin the story for the fans and creative team. How many writers and artists is it now that have left DC to go to Marvel after DC editorial shafted their runs? J.H. Williams, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Andrea Sorrentino, Russel Dauterman, James Robinson, and now Jeff Lemire. Yes he is stilling doing books for DC but like Charles Soule, I have a feeling Lemire is going where the grass is greener for the creators.

When I first saw the headline that they were changing creative tams I thought there was no chance I would get the new book. But Lemire is a pretty cool idea to go with, so I think I will be hanging around.

I'm nervous but optimistic for this run. Lemire is a fantastic creator, but man Fraction was on fire with Hawkeye, it was superb comics, bro.

Hope this doesn't mean he's leaving DC, love his JLU.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Im so happy fraction and aja are done, i liked it for the first 15 issues then after that i was tired of it. cant wait

JH Williams is still on good terms with DC, as is layman.

I agree with all of those except for the Black Cat / Catwoman thing. Black Cat is clearly just a cheap rip off in almost every sense. The rest you are totally on point about. Green Arrow and Hawkeye couldn't be more different. One of them has an awesome television show and the other missed half of his film while he was mind controlled and came back just in time to run out of arrows. ;)

Kidding, totally kidding. (Before people lose their fanboy minds.)

I really hope this is good. Hawkeye has been such an amazing series with one of the best supporting casts in any series.

@feartheliving Thoughts?

Sounds good, won't know for sure until an issue comes out,

@liveforever said:

You should check out Essex County and Sweet Tooth. They have nothing to do with Hawkeye but everyone should give those a read.

exactly. -_- DC

I have faith in you Lemire. Don't disappoint me.

I'm somewhat new to comics, but if Jeff Lemire is at Marvel does that mean he has to work exclusively for Marvel or can he be writing for DC at the same time?

Indeed. I've got faith. I dug his GA run.

@lamdaddy20: Depends. Some creators will sign "exclusive deals" for, presumably, better money. But that's fairly rare honestly. In this case, it appears Lemire will not be exclusive to Marvel and can continue his work for DC. Some people now seem to be signing with Marvel OR DC with the exception that they can do creator owned books with a company like Image in addition.

Welcome to comics. =)

@liveforever: Awesome, thanks for telling me!

Well...I had fun with Fractions run. Lets see what's next for Hawkguy.

@lamdaddy20: He's still doing JLU for DC and has a few series lined up at Valiant, so he's not exclusive.

@smashbrawler: Agreed! Anyone who considers themselves a Jeff Lemire fan is doing themselves a disservice by not reading Sweet Tooth and Essex County. The Nobody was really great too.

not a huge HAwkeye fan...didnt really see what everyone else saw in FRaction's work

but i am a huge Lemire fan, and he did a stellar job, to say the least, on his Green Arrow run so i will definitely be pulling this title for a few months in support and keeping my mind open to maybe picking it up long term. Lemire seriously is really talented so im sure this will be an enjoyable title.

^^agreed.