I'm Assuming The Shift In Artists Was Planned Ahead Of Time

I had meant to post about the art shift on the last two pages of Avengers Solo #5 some time ago, but it somehow slipped my mind. Basically, Roger Robinson drew all of the Hawkeye story in issues 1, 2, and 4, then drew 18 pages of for issue 5. The last two were drawn by Declan Shalvey (I'm not positive about the color artists, but it looks like it was Fabio D'Auria for Robinson's work, and Jordie Bellaire for Shalvey).

There is a significant difference between Shalvey and Robinson's styles, since Shalvey's is a bit simpler. Not as many small lines to convey shadows as Robinson. Shalvey also seems to give the clothing more of a solid texture, as opposed to the look where the clothing appears painted on the character. Shalvey's work feels more old school, which could go along with how his two pages start. Hawkeye, Captain America, and Iron Man on the roof of Avengers Mansion, comparing notes, mostly getting along with a little chops busting going on. It's maybe more significant that it's happening during the daytime, since it's one of the only scenes that doesn't take place at night. Besides this, the only other scene I can remember is Clint trying to track down leads and meeting a person on a ferry in issue 1. He wasn't in costume then.

It is interesting that those final pages start in the sunlight, but move into some seriously deep shadows inside the Mansion on the second page. So deep we can't discern any details other than the three characters and an Avengers symbol in the last panel. Which also happens to be the point when we learn Hawkeye's making a deliberate decision to lie to Steve and Tony, to protect everyone involved.

It makes me wonder if the change in artists was meant to change the reader's expectations. We see things are brighter, the art has less of a gritty texture to it, and we think everything is OK. The long, dark nights of not knowing who to trust are over! Hawkeye's going to mend fences, the Avengers will help out all those people who didn't really what was being don't to them, back slaps and camaraderie all around. Then surprise, Hawkeye's still keeping secrets, because while Jake, Emi, and the rest might trust him, that trust doesn't extend to the Avengers as a whole.