Friday, April 24, 2015

Upcoming: Bat-Mite #2 featuring Hawkman (or Hawkmen)

One of the new titles debuting for DC after Convergence is Bat-Mite, which is being done by Dan Jurgens and Corin Howell.  Newsarama caught up with Jurgens, and he explained how Bat-Mite is out to "fix" the heroes of the DC Universe.  The fanboys should love this...

How does this involve Hawkman?  The cover to Bat-Mite #2 features not one, not two, not three, but FOUR Hawkmen!  The solicit for the issue is as follows:

BAT-MITE #2
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art and cover by CORIN HOWELL
On sale JULY 1 • 32 pg, 2 of 6, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E
Bat-Mite assists Batman on yet another case…whether the Dark Knight needs his help or not. This time, it leads the imp to the diabolical Doctor Trauma, who has terrible plans in store for Hawkman!

If this is a done-in-one story, I might pick it up.  I have no real interest in Bat-Mite outside of his fun appearances on Batman: The Brave And The Bold, and I have no illusions of this book lasting more than 12 issues.  Still, it sounds like a fun concept for a series starring someone as insane as Bat-Mite, and if the cover is an indication of the art, it should look nice if nothing else.  

I am assuming that the green suited Hawkman is the New 52 version, but I'll be darned if I can remember a sequence where he wore that costume.  The Post-Crisis, Golden Age, and Silver Age Hawkmans look fantastic, though!  I love the frown on Post-Crisis Katar, and the wild take on Carter looks fantastic and very full of character.  For what it's worth, Bat-Mite looks good too.  

So what do you think?  Are you interested in reading the adventures of Bat-Mite "fixing" the DCU?

Image: Bat-Mite #2, 2015, Corin Howell.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

What Is The Sneak Preview in Convergence: Hawkman #2?

DC has been leaking little snippets of what we can expect in the previews of the second issues of the Convergence tie-ins, week by week, and with Week 3 being revealed on Newsarama, we know what the preview is going to be in Convergence: Hawkman #2!  Take it away, Newsarama!

CONVERGENCE: HAWKMAN #2 features a bonus GRAYSON story written by Tom King and Tim Seeley and illustrated by Mikel Janin.

Dick and Spyral join the mile-high club as they attempt to save a young boy from an airplane mid-flight.

Huh.

Huh.

Well, looks like I can safely skip the preview pages in the back of Convergence: Hawkman #2 without any concern or worry.  Really DC?  You really think that readers who are champing at the bit for a Hawkman and Hawkwoman fix want to read about super-duper secret agent Dick Grayson?  

This is a complete fumble on the part of whomever made the editorial choices of which previews to include in which Convergence title.  As far as I am concerned, this is a complete waste of pages now.  No disrespect to King, Seeley, and Janin, but I am just not interested in Dick Grayson, secret agent man.

Move along, nothing more to see here...

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Waiting In The Wings -- April 9, 2015

Been a long time for one of these, but with Convergence upon us, it's once more into the fray!

Convergence: Nightwing & Oracle #1 -- The Flashpoint Hawks versus Gail Simone's favorites!  I wonder who will come off smelling like roses and who will come off smelling like something else entirely?  What, no one wants to lay money on that action?

I am very excited for Convergence -- after reading issue #0 earlier this week, the unfolding story has me really champing at the bit to get my hands on the books and see exactly how everything will unfold, both in the context of the Hawks and for the DCU at large.  

So what about you folks?  What looks good to you this week?

Monday, April 6, 2015

Hawkgirl Coming to CW's New DC Comics TV Series!

Well, just goes to show that if you wait long enough, events will conspire against you.

As you no doubt have heard, The CW is currently developing a spin-off of Arrow/The Flash to serve as their third (or fourth, if count their online Vixen series which apparently is forthcoming) DC Comics TV series.  And one of the casting announcements this past week is for the Winged Wonder herself, Hawkgirl!  

This is all well and good -- except that while I would have loved to bring you breaking news about the casting of Ciara Renée as Hawkgirl, I was on vacation at the time and completely missed the opportunity.  So I present to you the news you already knew, but is still fit to print here at Being Carter Hall.

In any event, this is still huge news!  We have not had a live action Hawk hero since Michael Shanks back on Smallville, and as much as I enjoyed his portrayal, he was only ever a guest star.  The press release indicates that Hawkgirl will be one of the leads on the show, but what exactly this entails at this point is speculatory.  But putting the announcement out here in this early stage of the show's development would suggest that she is going to play a substantial, if not necessarily pivotal, role.

Ciara Renée is a new name to me, but the Deadline blurb quoted by Newsarama makes it pretty clear (to me, anyway) that she will be playing a version of Kendra Saunders, which is pretty unsurprising.  Said blurb: Hawkgirl is a "young woman who is just beginning to learn that she has been reincarnated over the centuries."  Newsarama's speculation about her "alien origin from the comics" kind of misses the boat here; Kendra has no real "alien origin," being the reincarnation of an Egyptian princess (they are clearly thinking of Shayera Thal).  But confusion over Hawks is pretty standard, yes?

The image provided of Renée shows her with a big smile on her face -- so from a visual standpoint I have to reserve judgement until I see her wearing a proper scowl and snarl, heh.  

This Hawkfan is beyond excited to be getting Hawkgirl on the small screen!  Both Arrow and The Flash have established themselves as strong beachheads for superhero television, and this new spinoff (whatever it ends up being called), just keeps on building on that foundation.  Adding in one of DC's toughest, most no-nonsense heroines only makes sense.   I continue to champ at the bit for more information, including seeing her in costume and wielding some ancient weapon, as we slowly but surely begin to roll towards the future.

And do I dare to dream -- with Hawkgirl to be a TV star, and DC seemingly eager to put more heroines in their own titles, could we get a new Hawkgirl series on the tails of this show?  

Time will tell.  For now, let's just bask in the fact that we live in a world where Hawkgirl is going to be a lead character on a live action TV show!

Image: Ciara Renée, 2015, image obtained from Newsarama.