HAWKEYE #2

Cover shows good gloss with strong color retention; minor spine stress lines are visible near the top and bottom of the spine with slight whitening, and there is a small dark mark/spot near the bottom left edge of the cover. Corners appear reasonably sharp with only slight blunting, and no major creases, tears, or color breaks are evident in this photo. The book is in a protective sleeve which adds some glare, and the interior and back cover were not assessed.

Hawkeye #2, cover dated October 1983, is the middle-early chapter of Mark Gruenwald's four-issue limited series, the first solo showcase given to the Avengers' archer. Gruenwald wrote and penciled the book, with Brett Breeding on inks and a cover by Gruenwald and Bob Layton, and used the series to rebuild Clint Barton's supporting cast around his new job at Cross Technological Enterprises and his partnership with Bobbi Morse. This issue pits Hawkeye and Mockingbird against the Silencer, a Cross Tech operative making his first appearance, and advances the corporate-conspiracy plot that pays off in the final issue with the pair's marriage and Barton's permanent hearing loss.

Market demand for the series is concentrated almost entirely in the first and fourth issues, and #2 trades as a run-filler rather than an independent target. Certified activity is sparse and clustered at the top of the grade scale, where buyers completing a slabbed set will pay a modest premium over generic early-1980s Marvel pricing; below that, copies move at dealer back-issue rates or as part of complete 1-4 lots. Interest ticks upward with screen exposure for Hawkeye and Mockingbird, but the effect on this issue has been muted compared with the origin-bearing first issue.

Buyers are largely Hawkeye and Mockingbird completists, Gruenwald followers, and set builders who want all four issues in matching grade. In low and mid grades the book is a straightforward inexpensive pickup that rewards patience over urgency, and certification is difficult to justify economically unless the copy is a strong high-grade candidate. Newsstand distribution dominated this print run, so the designation carries little separate premium here; condition and eye appeal, not edition, drive what a copy realizes.