The first thing which is most obvious about this logo is that it is built upon the classic Volume 1 logo, which suggested not only strength but also antiquity in an era of science heroes. Since I have grown to dig that logo quite a bit, it is very welcome here. The main change is the addition of the header above the logo. "The Shadow War" itself is handled in the same style as the main logo, only smaller, of course. You can see the wingtips and "foottips" on each letter, as well as the uneven symmetry of certain letters. The W's and A's are the most noticeable letters with the uneven symmetry, as the thin sides are almost too thin. But they work and maintain the right proportions, to my eyes, of the main title.
I'd also like to point out the E from "The." I really like this E, with the downward curved wingtip and the upward curved foottip. Combined with the double tips on the middle segment and you have a shape which is akin to the two talons of a raptor swooping in on its target. Very sweet! Similarly, the T and the F have two tips which point downwards, suggesting a bird's beak.
Overall I like this one, certainly a lot more than the slapdash The Atom and Hawkman logo. It retains the elegant power of the original logo but is still able to immediately differentiate itself thanks to the new additions. It was clear that, much as the Shadow War story was an evolution of the Silver Age Hawks storyline, they were not trying to reinvent the wheel with this logo. As further evidence, the Special and then Volume 2 would retain the same classic logo.
However, when DC did reinvent the wheel with regards to Katar and Shayera, they would also go with a radically new take on a logo. But that is another story.
Image: The Shadow War of Hawkman logo, 1985, Richard Howell?.
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