This was -- with some minor cameos excepted -- my introduction to the character of Kate Bishop, bought on the strengt of Kelly Thompson's writing in other Marvel comics I've read. And Kate's very fun. Witty, charming and personable, clever and skilled without being perfect. The balancing of being an unpaid vigilante superhero and a paid (if unlicensed) private detective is also a fun set up, though I feel the inherent conflict there should have been played up much more than it was.

I loved how Bishop's "hawk eye" (never named such) is displayed every time she enters a situation, with a mixture of humourous observations and tactical identifications that frequently come back into play in the inevitable action scenes that at some point follows. This is a very clever way of playing up her skillset beyond "oh, she can hit stuff with arrows really well", and it works solidly.

The only major criticism is that there stories are a bit forgettable, unfortunately. The mysteries aren't very complex, the villains (Madame Mystique excepted) aren't very memorable. The quickly accrued stable of sidekicks are bland and largely uninteresting, perhaps excepting Mikka, who also doubles as the first client, and also the gruffy police detective who begrudgingly starts liking Bishop in spite of herself gets to be funny often enough to somewhat overcome her character's very trite stereotype. The Marvel guest appearances, such as the ones by X-23 and Jessica Jones, are thus big highlights, as they provide a welcome change of actually interesting characters for Kate to interact with.

These story issues are somewhat mitiaged through the exciting action and constant humour, as well as through a red thread of Bishop's unresolved issues with her parents, weaving in and out of the otherwise relatively standalone plotlines. This gives me something to care about beyond the pseudo-mysteries at hand, and as it directly affects Kate (whom I cannot help but like) it helps keep my interest going.

All in all, this was a fun read, and I'll definitely read the second volume as well, finishing up the run. Hopefully it'll have somewhat weightier and more complex plotlines to add to the otherwise impressive repertoire of positives that volume one could offer. ( )