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This sketch is by Dave Wachter, he of the DaveDrawsComics Sketchblog. I have featured his work on here before, but when I saw this sketch I had to post it. I got this from the Comic Geek Speak Podcast boards, where Dave is currently accepting sketch pre-orders for HeroesCon, coming up next month in Charlotte, NC. So if you are in the South and thinking about heading to the Con, defintely consider tossing Dave a line! The piece itself is every bit as nice as the previous one, with the same balance between grace and strength which is so important for a classic depiction of the Hawks. I would not want to mess with either of them. I also really like the differentiation between the wing harnesess, with Hawkman's looking a bit more massive than Hawkgirl's, but her's looking for lithe. Disclaimer: I do not own or have possession of this sketch. It is being reposted from the cited website only. Image: Hawkman and Hawkgirl sketch, 2009, Dave Wachter, retrieved from Comic Geek Speak.
Is there any Hawk-related stuff at your local comic shop this week? Let's find out! Justice League of America #33 -- Is Kendra even in this book anymore? Can anyone tell me? I think Shadow-Thief might factor in, at least. Justice Society of America #27 -- Not sure if Hawkman will pop up in this arc or not. Oy. Trinity #52 -- The final issue, I don't know if Hawkman will show up in there or not. At least I don't have to list this one anymore! Trinity v.1 -- Ah ha! I am certain that Hawkman appears in this volume, the first collection of Trinity! I want this one, but cannot justify the price right now, yeesh!
Issue: Rann-Thanagar Holy War #3 Title: "Restoration" Published Date: Sep 2008 Generation: Modern Carter Retcon Status: In Continuity Summary: Prince Gavyn intercepts a gigantic fleet heading straight for Throneworld -- and then has his flagship attacked by said fleet, which carries the mark of Lady Styx. Meanwhile, following the temporal craziness last issue, Adam Strange and Hawkman have to put their plans against the Thanagarians on hold for the moment. Comet is disturbed to hear that both the Universal Truth Corporation and Lady Styx are involved, since he has had bad experiences with both of them as of late! Strange decides to take Comet, the Weird, Animal Man, Starfire and Tigorr with him to Hardcore Station (which Sardath has triangulated as the center of the time anomolies), while Hawkman stays on Rann to head off any further time-displaced beasties. On Hardcore Station, Chief Justice Max is investigating temporal disturbances of his own, and has to rebuff Vril Drox's efforts to score a LEGION contract for the Station. But while he investigates, Deacon Dark and his two cronies, Seek and Find, are actively messing with the timestream, and pull the tyranical Synnar, servant of the Nameless, into the present! Our heroes arrive on Hardcore Station, and encounter Deacon Dark -- but he quickly counters with several war mechs! Back on Rann, the fervor of the faithful to Lady Styx is stoked when a Rannian soldier is found hung upside down wearing an amulet of the UTC -- causing them to turn on the "Thanagarian" Hawkman! Review: More space opera fun from Starlin and Lim. We see the emergence of Big Bad Synnar, although now he is in the form from the previous Hardcore Station (which I totally need to track down), as well as a rising tide of religous lunacy from both sides of the fence. Lim's pencils are strong and dynamic, and he handles all of the characters well, giving them their own stances and gaits. I especially like the touch (which Starlin uses a lot) of having each caption box start off with a symbol of the character and then continue to be colored consistantly, so we know who of the large cast is speaking. Starlin is not breaking the mold here for cosmic comics, but what he is doing is concocting a lot of enjoyable adventures, with lots of characters and lots of locales. Maybe I am just prone, but I really dig this sort of stuff. Re-reading this series (I read it in about two days when I first got it) has been a blast and I am really looking forward to each "new" installment. Note: The oft-refenced Hawkman Special was released after this issue, but chronologically occurs during this issue, after Strange and company leave for Hardcore Station but before Hawkman is captured. Image: Rann-Thanagar Holy War #3, 2008, Jim Starlin.
This two page backup appeared, I believe in 52, but as I have never read that series, I am not sure. Currently it can be found on the DC website under their Heroes & Villians -- Origin Stories section. Joe Bennett seems very well suited to working on the Hawks in all of their incarnations. Images: The Origin of Hawkman And Hawkgirl, ???, Joe Bennett, obtained from DC Comics.
Is there any new merch featuring the Winged Wonders in stores this week? Let's find out. Rann-Thanagar Holy War v.1 -- The big one this week. Initially I had passed on buying R-THW in singles because I was going to wait for the collected edition, but it turns out it was cheaper to buy the singles anyway. Oh well. There's mixed feelings about this story online, but I really enjoyed the heck out of it. This first volume also includes the Hawkman Special, which is the source of much consternation and speculation around these parts. Trinity #51 -- Just two more issues! Wow!
I came across this house ad for The Brave And The Bold #34 over at Dial B For Blog, which, unfortunately, is no longer updated. But it remains a tremendous source for all sorts of amazing information and images, as demonstrated here. What drew me to this ad, besides the fact that it featured Hawkman and Hawkgirl, was the question motif, which I had previously seen on the house ad for Showcase #101. It's funny to me that about half of the copy stays the same, although at least by the time the Showcase issue had rolled around, Hawkman was considered a "hero" and no longer a "creature." Also funny is that the earlier ad uses "Where" and the latter uses "How," despite the fact that "How" would have worked just as well in the first case. The "Why" copy is unchanged, and uses my favorite Silver Age Hawkman blurb to good effect. A very cool ad from an era when such things were much more commonplace. Image: The Brave And The Bold #34 House Ad, 1961, Joe Kubert (cover art), obtained from Dial B For Blog.
DC Comics Head Honcho Dan DiDio shared this little tidbit with us in this week's 20 Answers, 1 Question column over at Newsarama, regarding everyone's favorite winged heroes (with apologies to people who like the Angel, Dawnstar, Golden Eagle, Mimic, and, uh, Namor?) Newsarama: 16. A quick clarification on the status of the Hawks – the seemed to have died in Final Crisis, but in Blackest Night #0, they're alive and well... DD: What happened was that during the whole integration of the Multiverse in Final Crisis where we saw a version of Aquaman appearing from another Earth, so was the case with the Hawkman and Hawkgirl that met their fate in Final Crisis. That said, the Hawks are very prominently featured in Blackest Night #1, and are very much alive at the start of that book. At this point I am just waiting for Blackest Night #1 to settle all this out. This explanation is as good as any I have come up with, and is a good deal better than the "they just got hurt and are on the shelf" stuff DiDio had previously mentioned. Honestly, Final Crisis was strange enough without the revision, but at least the idea of reality collapsing and fall apart makes it easy to explain things away, I guess. I did just have an amusing thought: what if all that happens was a delay of what Synnar told Hawkman? I'd laugh if in Blackest Night #1, the Hawks die in an inferno, then Kendra becomes a Black Lantern and Katar somehow comes back. But that can't be it -- why stop Grant Morrison from offing the Hawks just to let Geoff Johns do it? Unless it was to keep from the death of Batman having to share a spotlight? Who knows. I just hope we get to see some zombie a-smashing.
One thing we, as comic book fans, are definitely not lacking these days is nifty t-shirts to wear! Around the house, out on the town, at a Con, or on a date, t-shirts emblazoned with comic book heroes are the way to go! Like the poster of a 1970s disaster movie, everyone is featured as a headshot in a little box. A pretty smart move, really, since it means that fans of Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, or Plastic Man can all buy one shirt, rather than having to produce multiple versions. (I guess Firestorm doesn't rate.) Much like the characters represented currently are, the shirt is also "distressed" style. Hawkman is featured via a common piece of stock art, wielding his chain mace as seen in his first Silver Age adventure. I like having him opposite from Green Arrow, but they should have flipped them around -- Hawkman ends up on the left of the shirt and Arrow on the right, and that's a little silly. Hawkman does get to hang out with J'Onn, so that's a plus. I must admit I find it very funny that a "DC Originals" shirt features Captain Marvel. "Original" indeed. There is also a Blue version which features different characters, including The Big Three of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, along with Flash, Green Lantern, Joker, Riddler, and Aquaman. rob! is no doubt proud to be held in such company. Apparently this Red version is for the "second stringers." Bah! Image: DC Originals Boxed Characters Shirt (Red), obtained from Hero Haven.
What kind of Hawk-related stuff is being released this week? Let's take a look and see! History of the DC Universe TPB -- Wolfman and Perez's explanation of life, the universe, and everything in the DCU is in print again, and not too pricey at a cool 13 bucks. Of course, most of this stuff has since been retconed, but it's still pretty good reading. Trinity #50 -- I think we know the drill at this point, yes? Wow... really slim pickings this week!
Issue: Flash Comics #12 (Reprinted in The Golden Age Hawkman Archives v.1) Title: "The Heart Patient" (suggested title) Published Date: Dec 1940 Generation: Golden Age Carter Retcon Status: In Continuity Summary: Out on the town with Shiera, Carter Hall runs across his old friend Tommy, who is about three sheets to the wind. Tommy never was a drinker, so when Carter talks to him, Tommy reveals that he has no reason to hold back, since his doctor tells him that he will be dead soon from a weak heart. Carter is incredulous, as the two of them were atheletes together in college. Tommy's physician, Dr. Halliday, overhears this and then tries to convince Carter he too has a weak heart by slipping a drug into his drink. Carter sees through the ruse and fakes an ailment, then vows to get to the bottom of the mystery -- as Hawkman. Hawkman checks out Tommy's apartment and finds out that his girlfriend, Betty, is working with Dr. Halliday to steal Tommy's money. The two of them are slowly poisoning Tommy and plan to kill him, making it look like a heart attack. Hawkman takes out the goons with Betty, but she escapes, so he goes after the doctor. Meanwhile, Shiera and Tommy, unwilling to sit on their butts, start back to Tommy's apartment, but are taken hostage by Betty. As Hawkman interrogates the doctor, Betty arrives with her captives. But, in the ensuing struggle, Dr. Halliday and Betty accidentally shoot one another. Tommy's heart condition will soon vanish now that he is free of the poison, and he expresses to Carter that he wishes he could thank Hawkman in person for his help. Review: This story is similar to the previous one insofar as it is not the type of evil that you would expect to see Hakwman fighting against. Moldoff has some fun breaking up the panels when Hawkman busts through a window, or disarms one of the goons, breaking up the normal panel-grid. Hawkman's use of ancient weapons is demonstrated in this issue through the use of a sling. Unremarkable but still enjoyable little adventure Image: Flash Comics #12, 1940, Everett E. Hibbard.
Our sketch today is by John J Muth, who is best known to me as the artist on Swamp Thing: Roots, as well as "The Wake" arc from Sandman (a personal favorite). He also has done a lot of work for children's books. including Zen Shorts, which he also wrote. This is a very moody take on Hawkman. The wings clearly look like a cape, a look which I cannot recall ever having really seen before. But its not bad. The sketch gives me a sort of Golden Age vibe, where Hawkman was consistantly referred to as a creature of the night or other such monkiers. I also really like how even when buried in the shadows you can still make out the straps of the wing harness across his chest. Disclaimer: I do not own or have possession of this sketch. It is being reposted from the cited website only. Image: Hawkman sketch, ???, John J Muth, retrieved from Comic Art Fans.
Justice League of America scribe Dwayne McDuffie has been talking about his trials and tribulations as the writer of the "flagship" of the DCU over on the DC Message Boards of all places. As detailed in this week's Lying In The Gutters, there has been a whole lot of interference in his run, including this tasty tidbit about Kendra Saunders, AKA the fierce and fiesty Hawkgirl: My plan was for Kendra to break up rather painfully with Roy, in time for that to be the reason Roy left the JLA (to go to the other title he was supposed to be going to back when I planned this). Kendra would have stayed with the team, but been without a romantic partner for a while. Most of the League, friends with Roy since he was a teen, would resent Kendra for staying on when she was the one who hurt their friend. She was going to be pretty much a loner except for her relationship with Wonder Woman (which would eventually be good, although Kendra would misread her for a while, causing friction until Diana helped her through some tough times), and Black Lightning, who would treat her like a surrogate daughter (I'd also planned to have her go to Jeff's for Thanksgiving, and meet the rest of his family). Kendra was going to come out of all this with a new focus, and a slightly adjusted status quo that would keep her front and center in JLA. Roy and Kendra would reconcile in about two years, but never be a couple again, except for one night that they'd both be sorry for, and never mention again. But continuity changed in other books (i was informed that Kendra would die in Final Crisis), so I had to toss it all. Actually twice, because my back up plan was derailed by Kendra's recent undeath. Interesting! So it was life, death, then non-death for Kendra. Overall, this sounds like an interesting character arc for her, and the character bits between her and Black Lightning and (especially) Wonder Woman sounds like they could have had some real meat for McDuffie to sink his teeth into. Besides creating a good opportunity to have a spotlight put on her, character arcs like this are something I enjoy, demonstrating that the Four Color Heroes we read about are more than just the sum of their powers, costume, and quips. But the sad reality is that this is the way that working for the Big Two, especially on such a marquee title as Justice League of America, is in today's environment. The JLoA is a big money maker for DC, and DC's stance is that the JLoA reflects the big events, not the other way around. For what it's worth, I don't think McDuffie is airing dirty laundry here, but rather just telling it as it is. But when McDuffie came on the title, I had really high hopes after both his success on the Justice League cartoon as well as the mess which Brad Metzler's run turned into. Ultimately, this has got to be dissapointing for pretty much all involved. Makes you wonder: did Metzler get the same treatment during his turn on the book? Does Brian Michael Bendis get treated the same over on New Avengers? I don't have those answers, but it is food for thought. Also makes you wonder when the "death" order came down -- clearly it had to be in time for it to be teased in the Hawkman Special? Also also makes you wonder if the collected version of Final Crisis will "correct" the Hawks' implied death? There's more if you head over to LiTG, and from there to the DC Boards. Fascinating stuff.
What Hawk-related stuff can you expect to find at your local comic shop this week? Let's find out! Justice League of America: The Second Coming HC -- In case you missed it in singles, or, like me, don't read the series, you can catch up with Kendra Saunders and her teammates. This series should be the bees knees, and while it does hit the sales numbers, it just doesn't do it for me. Tune in tomorrow for a little insight into that. (Dun dun dunnn!) Still, this storyline, involving the mysterious Anansi, sounds good. Strange Adventures #3 -- The cover promises the return of Synnar, THE COOLEST BAD GUY IN THE UNIVERSE, so perhaps there will be some more revealed as to how the Abberant Six has changed, and what Hawkman's role (if any) will be in it. Seriously, I get that Synnar is a sort of stand-in for Thanos, but that doesn't make him any less intriguing as a foe, and coupled with the fun stuff Starlin is doing with Adam Strange, Comet, the Weird, Bizarro, et al, this series has been a lot of fun so far. Trinity #49 -- We're on the home stretch now for this weekly series, which has featured Hawkman from time to time.
I got this image from rob! of The Aquaman Shrine fame. Sorry it's a little small, but even at this small size it's still pretty cool. It's fun to see everyone with their accessories -- a rarity, as most of us lost our accessories over the years. Although, I am proud to say that my Super Powers Hawkman is still complete! Image: Super Powers Catalog pages, ???, obtained from Rob Kelly.
Well, as no doubt most everyone reading this knows, this past Saturday was Free Comic Book Day 2009, so hopefully everyone made an effort to go out and hit their local comic book shop. I spent Saturday morning volunteering for Hands On Greenville's "HOG Day" at The Boys Home Of The South, helping to refloor a stable. So after moving earth all morning long, and then grabbing a quick bite and brew at the After Party down at Fluor Field, I finally made my way over to my local shop, Borderlands, to get my freebies. Normally on FCBD I end up buying some back issues or collections, and this year was no different. But at this point I was a little too zonked to really dig through the discount bins, and instead went straight to the "normal" back issue bins. Luckily, I had thought to bring my punchlist, and didn't have a threat of duplication. I made a bee-line for the H's and went straight for the Winged Wonder. In the end I wound up with seven issues from Volume 4, all falling into that weird uncollected gap in the middle of the run. I was able to pick up issues 27-30, 32-33, and 35. A nice injection, with some interesting looking stuff in there, including a team-up with the Atom, and a past lives tale by Ed Brubaker of all people. I considered getting the second Showcase Presents volume for Hawkman, but decided to pass. Another time. The freebies were a pretty mixed bag this year, but Blackest Night #0 was very cool -- and no, not just because it featured Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and the Atom in a single panel! Should be an interesting summer for the DCU, and the Hawks in particular! Did anyone else out there get anything neat on FCBD?
Our sketch today is in honor of the end of the Geoff Johns/Dale Eaglesham turn on Justice Society of America. As such, we have this lovely headshot of the Winged Wonder by Mr. Eaglesham himself. Unfortunately I don't have a bigger image to use. Still, even in this smaller size we can see a lot to like. I really like the feathering on the top of the helmet and on the Honor Wings. They really sell the texture of the helmet, while also helping give it a sort of Greek or Roman battle helm feel. The bulging traps we catch a glimpse of gives an idea of his physical strength. And the steeled eyes peering out of the helmet is enough to make most crooks feel a little scared. Eaglesham always portrayed Hawkman in a very powerful, impactful manner in the pages of JSoA, and this excellent sketch continues that trend. Disclaimer: I do not own or have possession of this sketch. It is being reposted from the cited website only. Image: Hawkman sketch, 2009, Dale Eaglesham, retrieved from Comic Art Fans.
