Leonardo Romero Takes Aim at Kate Bishop

Kate Bishop plans to strike out solo. That means she’s not only moving, but also taking on her own solo title with HAWKEYE. The series launches next week from Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero and transplants Kate to Los Angeles where she intends to put her private investigator’s license to work.

We talked with Romero about getting Hawkeye’s costume just right, working her into the City of Angeles, and the potential pitfalls of PI work in the Marvel Universe!

Marvel.com: What is it about Kate Bishop and her role as Hawkeye that appeals to you as an artist?

Leonardo Romero: Definitely her personality. Finding the best way to portray Kate’s attitude in body language or facial expressions is always fun.

Marvel.com: Kate’s always had a unique way of seeing the world; does that come through in the art?

Leonardo Romero: Kate has a much sharper perception than normal people. So, she can see elements and small details that would go unnoticed in our eyes. To represent this, we developed this “Hawkeye Vision” where we use bullseyes as a graphic element to show us the points of interest that Kate is seeing in an apparently common scene.

Marvel.com: Kate’s Hawkeye costume in the book seems both functional and stylish. Was there a lot of back and forth in coming up with the look?

Leonardo Romero: Actually no. I think that the previous design is just so strong and I love it so much that I preferred to add small details to it instead of changing. So, of course there [are] some minor differences, but the best parts were already there.

Marvel.com: In the book, Kate’s heading to L.A. Do you enjoy mixing the real world elements of that city with the Marvel version?

Leonardo Romero: Sure; L.A. itself is such an amazing city to draw, especially Venice Beach. Mixing that with some fictional elements certainly makes it more pleasant to me as an artist.

Marvel.com: Kate’s working as a PI these days. Does that put her more on the street level as far as her adventures go or will she be kicking up trouble on a larger scale?

Leonardo Romero: Yeah, I think working as [a] PI and trying to help normal people naturally puts her more in an urban scenario and street level as well. But you never know, sometimes a small problem can unfold into a very large one.

Marvel.com: How has it been working with Kelly so far?

Leonardo Romero: Working with Kelly has been amazing. It’s really cool to work with someone who not only understands the characters so well, but also gives them a lot of personality and makes them reliable. Plus, she’s super cool and kind, so it’s been amazing.

Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero hit the mark with HAWKEYE #1 on December 14!