Holiday Hiatus

As I mentioned earlier, my family and I are heading out of town tonight to head down to Florida to spend the holiday with my wife's family.  I'll be back next week, and hopefully actually have something to blog about.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Waiting In The Wings -- 11/24/2009

Well, my wife, son and I are heading out of town for the holiday tonight, so you get the Hawk-related titles a day early this week.  Of course, I won't get to read them until next week at the earliest, but them's the breaks.

Blackest Night #5 -- No doubt that the reanimated corpses of Carter and Kendra will play a role in this comic, the first installment of the second half of Blackest Night.  I'm pretty sure Johns has some utterly evil stuff up his sleeve to spring on us all.

Green Lantern #48 -- I have not been following the tie-in titles to BN that I was not already reading, but I know in one of them we saw the Black Lanterns of Khufu and Chay-era, and they could show up here.

Justice League: Cry For Justice #5 -- The end of the last issue had Green Lantern and Green Arrow's little group running afoul of the Justice League, who for some reason at the beginning of this title had both Hawkman and Hawkgirl in it.  So hopefully we can see them all throw down with that lovely Cascioli artwork.

Smallville: Absolute JusticeTeaser Image

More teases for the upcoming Smallville: Absolute Justice telefilm were provided, appropriately, from the teaser trailer at the end of last week's episode, which can be seen here.  Points of interest include glimpses at the Sandman, Alan Scott's Green Lantern ring, the JSA's meeting table, and this portrait showcasing the Golden Agers in all of their glory.

Right in the middle, of course, are Hawkman and Hawkgirl, though they are slightly obscured here.  They're flanked by Jay Garrick and Dr. Fate.

Between the new information provided here and what we already know, this is shaping up to be one nerdtacular event.

Image: Smallville: Absolute Justice trailer screencap, 2009, retrieved from Speed Force.

Smallville Feature Changes Name

The oft-mentioned upcoming Smallville feature event starring the Justice Society now is "officially" a telefilm.

Say hello to Smallville: Absolute Justice.

Sources confirm to me exclusively that The CW has jettisoned the separate titles that were initially assigned to each of the two episodes — "Society" and "Legends," respectively — in favor of the singularly sensational (and far more marketable) Smallville: Absolute Justice.

What's more, I hear the movie — which marks the debut of Michael Shanks as Hawkman (pictured) — will air as a seamless two-hour event with only one set of credits.

This sounds more awesome with every little snippet which is released!  Mark your calenders for Feb 5th!  

Waiting In The Wings -- 11/18/2009

Do we have any new Hawk-merch coming out this week?  Let's check it out!

JSA v.3: Thy Kingdom Come Part 2 -- This collection finishes up the "Thy Kingdom Come" storyline and leads the way into "In The Name of Gog," which was Geoff Johns' penultimate arc on this title and the last one for Hawkman.  There's some good stuff in here, and is definitely worth checking out.

Justice Society of America 80 Page Giant #1 -- I haven't been reading JSoA since Johns left, so I am not really sure what is going on at the moment in the title.  But the JLoA 80 Pager was a nice treat, and there is always the possibility of this taking place before Carter and Kendra sloughed off this mortal coil.

First Look: Hawkman on Smallville

Check it out folks, we've got a first look at Michael Shanks as Carter Hall, AKA Hawkman, from Smallville's upcoming feature-length Justice Society adventure.

I am pleased with how the helmet and wing harness look, but Shanks looks like he needs to beef up a little bit.  Maybe it's just the picture, but he looks a little too scrawny to wield that mace effectively!  Otherwise, I have only minor complaints, which is tantamount to "where are the stripes?"  I don't mind the breastplate look, and the presence of the chestpiece is excellent.  I guess the real test will be when the rubber hits the road, so to speak, when it hits the airwaves.

There is also an interview which Shanks where he sheds some light on Hawkman's role in the story:

TV Guide: What's Hawkman's story?

Michael Shanks: When we first meet Carter Hall he's in his museum. (Luke sez: HECK YES!)  We'll learn he's a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society's time in the '70s, but we have since disbanded.

...

TVG: Is there any reference made to Hawkgirl?

MS: There's a lot of referencing to Shayera/ Hawkgirl throughout as his one true love, given the fact that these two have a tremendous history as thousand year-old reincarnated beings who continue to find each other lifetime after lifetime. And we will learn where she is now.

I don't know that I can get any more jazzed up to see Hawkman on the small screen at this point!  The special is set to air February 5, 2010.

Image: Hawkman from Smallville, 2009, image retreived from Comic Book Movie.com  

Hawkman and Hawkwoman Postcard by George Perez

I got put on to this postcard by Shag over at Firestorm Fan, and it certainly is a nice image.  I wish I could find a bigger copy, but you make do with what you have sometimes.

Anyway, I really like the symmetry which Perez uses here.  Besides their arms and wings, notice how the strip on the right boots line up, and then is nicely broken up on the left.  I also dig Shayera wielding the big two handed axe!

Image: Hawkman and Hawkwoman postcard, 1984, George Perez, image retrieved from Cosmic Teams.