Read: Hawkworld

Finally cracked the spine on Hawkworld #1 a couple of days ago, and finished the series last night.  I had intended to read #2 to my infant daughter while my wife put the other kids to bed (at her age, simply reading is fine, doesn't matter what the material is... no, really...).  I ended up essentially tearing through #2 and then #3 in short order.  So, needless to say, I enjoyed this series quite a bit.

I have had some contact with a fellow (but admittedly much more prolific, talented, and respected) podcaster about doing a show about Hawkworld, so once I have more information on that I will communicate it here.  As such I don't want to get into my thoughts too much in this space, but I will share a couple notes.

First off, while I knew that this series was where the utopian Thanagar was jettisoned for the dystopian "modern" version, I was not privy to the details of the story, only some broad strokes (namely, Byth's presence).  So the twists and turns in the story were fresh to me, and I very much enjoyed being surprised by them.  I liked how Tim Truman included some subtle aspects of the original Katar Hol in the personality of the new one, but made him a more complex and involved character.  I mean, I'm a huge fan of the Silver Age Katar, but he's, by design, a straightforward kind of guy.  This version has a lot more facets.  

I also really appreciated the themes of dichotomy and duality, which is common in science fiction comics but very well executed in this series.  Like it says on the back cover: As Above, So Below.

Truman's art is a great fit, especially on the nice paper of the square bound, prestige format books.  I get a strong 2000 AD vibe from his work, which I suspect may be a combination of the subject matter and the muted colors.  But considering said subject matter, the art fits very nicely and I think the overall presentation is helped out tremendously by having Truman handle the visuals as well as the words.

I also have to laugh, because I was reminded of how I acquired these books while listening to an episode of the Quarter Bin Podcast, hosted by Professor Alan Middleton.  The Professor was discussing the three part prestige format book Adam Strange: Planet Heist, which he pulled, complete, out of a quarter bin.  While I did not get quite as good a deal as that, I did get the entire series from a discount bin... for a buck.  Talk about getting your money's worth on your comics!  (As an aside, I heartily recommend the Professor's show, along with the other shows over on the Relatively Geeky Podcast Network.  Go give 'em a listen!)

Overall, really dug this series and now will be queueing up the ongoing Hawkworld series as my next bit of Hawk reading.  And given that, how else can I sign off but...

As Above, So Below.

Image: Hawkworld #1, Tim Truman, 1989, image obtained from Mike's Amazing World Of DC Comics.