Clint Barton had another 4-issue mini-series in the mid-90s, this time by Chuck Dixon and Scott Kolins. It involved Lady Viper, Clint getting a teen werewolf (or something) sidekick, and trying to come to terms with Mockingbird's death. It was collected as part of a trade I owned a while back, but I got rid of that trade and everything I just related was based off summaries I read online. I don't remember a bit of it.
Clint got his first shot at a true ongoing series in late 2003, this time with Fabian Nicieza and Stefano Raffaele as the creative team. Nicieza's run on Thunderbolts, which heavily featured Hawkeye, had concluded earlier that year. That run had involved Hawkeye being put in prison as part of a deal to get the rest of the team pardons as he'd promised, then later escaping as part of helping SHIELD with something.
Geoff (again I typed "Geoof" on my first try) put Hawkeye back in Avengers the same time this book started, but Nicieza doesn't make much reference to it. Clint only wears the costume in half the issues, and is actually at the mansion in only one issue (where he's sparring with Captain America.)
Instead, he sets Clint to wandering, perhaps eager to enjoy being out of prison, and the archer sort of finds his way into trouble. The first arc starts with Clint driving to Myrtle Beach to try some chili he read about in a guide book, and ending up trying to help a lady being harassed by a super-strong guy (the guy falling down in the foreground). The second story involves Clint investigating the murder of a guy who just ran a deli near a place Clint goes to practice archery. The guy is Russian, Black Widow is involved, it's a whole thing.
Nicieza sprinkles in flashbacks to Clint's days in the carnival. Mostly as a way of highlighting what kind of person Clint is in the context of a given story. That he tends to believe people, even as he's good at spotting liars. That he can't help pushing things, and that has consequences.
Raffaele draws the first arc. He seems to be going for a semi-realistic look, a busier Sean Phillips, but not so heavy on the shadows or heavy inks. Nothing too fantastic or eye-catching involved in the story, even as the plot gets progressively stranger. It's still just people doing bad things and thinking they have good reasons. Dimagmaliw's colors are muted and dull. Even when Clint does put on the costume, it doesn't really pop off the page. Clint's not bringing any 4-color brightness into the story, but getting pulled into all these other characters' messes.
The title ended after 8 issues. Clint got killed off by Bendis, then brought back by Bendis, then poorly written by Bendis (who made him extremely kill-eager, all the more bizarre on a team that had Wolverine, Winter Soldier and Carol Danvers), before getting another crack at an ongoing. This one would last longer - though not entirely because of the number of issues - and is a lot better known.
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