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_____It's ironic, really, that when I was twelve I did a school project on Hawkman. Our projects had to revolve around something with wings. Lots of stuff on birds, insects, planes, mansions (get it?), mythical things like pegasus, angels, and even one on tampons (get it?). I chose Hawkman.
_____I didn't own a single comic starring him. Nor did I buy any. I consulted Who's Who, my issues of JLA and Super Powers, and some Encyclopedia of Super-Heroes.
_____Why I chose him was basically that I knew zero about the X-Man Angel at the time, being a DC fan mostly. And of course the oppurtunity to do a school project on a comic book character was one I was not going to pass up.
_____What's interesting though is this gap that existed in my collection at the time. Though nowhere near as big then as now, it was still sizable. If DC published it between 80 and 85, then I usually had at least a few. But no Hawkmans.
_____Basically, he was not a very interesting character. He flies. So do a lot of cooler heroes. He's a alien. So are a lot of others. True, he was the only one who went home from time to time and was even still an agent of another planet. But somehow that wasn't enough to interest even a Sci Fi fan like myself. Basically, Adam Strange had that angle better covered, since his adventures were actually ON ANOTHER PLANET. Hawkman was happily married to a woman he respected as an equal, and therefore engaged in the only healthy relationship of any Silver Age DC hero. Well, I have to admit that that wasn't exactly the selling point I was looking for in a comic book, though it did more to make him unique in the JLA of the period than anything else.
_____I don't much like Armagaddon 2001, but I have to admit that it introduced me to the new Hawkworld series. Enough to also pick up the Eclipso annual. And, several months later, to buy the first ten issues (minus #1).
_____This was Hawkman?
_____But Hawkman's lame. And this... was great!
_____That's the preamble. Here's the breakdown.
_____Let's start with the mini series. Three prestige format books. Nice art. It set up several elements of the ongoing series, but clearly seems designed as a "quiet retcon" a la Batman's origin being modified in Year One, and not a "loud retcon" like The Man Of Steel. I have to say that the writing is uneven, with series of events that only occasionally feel like a unified story. The central theme of Thanagar's decay is completely at odds with the more interesting angle on Thanagar as totalitarian colonial bastards who deserve no sympathy presented later in the ongoing series. Still, as a background for Katar Hol it gets a complicated life across fairly well.
_____Then we get the Byth on Earth storyline, in the first ten issues of the ongoing series.
_____Hey, see that horribly mangled thing lying in the ground. The one writhing in pain? Yeah, that's continuity. The retcons presented later in the series are decent damage control, but the bad timing (so far after crisis) make this impossible to integrate properly. Still, since it is easily the most interesting take on the character, I would urge DC to ignore everything before... and since.
_____Where was I? Ah yes. Byth On Earth. This, you'll remember, is where I got hooked. It's bloody great stuff. Though the American jingoism that dominates the series is present, repitition hasn't made it grating yet. The idea of an alien awakened to the notion of sentient beings having rights, combined with culture shock, some humour (Shayera's guns), great characters and character interaction (especially Katar Hol and Shayera), small nostalgic touches (Joe Hardy and Mavis Trent, both vaguelly remembered from my school project), a touching romance, a tragedy, and a damn fine superhero vs supervillain plotline.
_____Not to mention the humour in issue ten's alternative costumes. Heh heh. Oddly, the Hawkman circa Zero Hour seems to be wearing a combination of hideous elements from Joe Tracy's fake costumes. Oh, while I'm on the subject, the Uniforms the Hawks wear during this period are in my top ten costumes list (coming soon). They are distinctive, functional, and look cool.
_____Here was a Hawkman I could like. A stranger lost among aliens, a man who finds himself becoming an idealist and unsure how to react, a character with depth. And Shayera Thal, Hawkwoman. Taking no prisoners, seemingly violently amoral, SPYING ON HAWKMAN! And yet also in that tragic love story, and growing attached to Katar, the man she's betraying...
_____This was Hawkman?
_____Meanwhile, in the Annual #1, we get a confusing series of retcons. Ah well, a JSA appearance is always welcome. And the notion that the Golden Age Hawkman was the one in the JLA is decent.
_____Story Arc #2 in this title spans the next few issues, from 11 to 14. It concerns the seperation of the partners, as Shayera returns to Thanagar. Though Hawkman's adventures on Earth are interesting, and continue his ideological maturity, the real story is Hawkwoman's, and Thanagar's. We see the corruptness of the society again, this time better written. We see backstabbing, assasination, cruelty, political scheming, oppression, and the hint of rebellion to come. And we get one bizarre revelation about Shayera. Still, in a world of predators, she manages to play the game and win.
_____Her return leads into two War of the Gods issues. The first is much better, and for some reason seems to be much harder to find than any other issue of this series. At any rate, these are both more or less fillers.
_____Starting with 17 we get a three part story featuring an anti-abortion villain Atilla, and attempts to insert relevance (remember, political theory was the underlying point of the series) comes across oddly. It's evenhanded in its approach, and shows something one rarely sees in comics: super-powered characters taking a violent stance on a real life controversial issue. However, it ultimately seems to trivialize the issue, since it does degenerate into a slugfest. Gripping, but more for the standard battle-danger reasons than for the politics.
_____Issue 20 is a bizarre filler that mostly sets up the following story arc.
_____That would be "Escape From Thanagar". Hawkman and Hawkwoman, on their home planet, siding with the oppressed minority. Things that had been building since the mini series come to a head, Hawkman's political growth gives real force to his paraphrasing of the U.S. constitution (although the religious lead in is annoying), the battles are fast and furious, we get a revolution, and when it ends you feel that the story you've been following since the beginning has reached an eminently satisfying conclusion.
_____There are problems. The ending, with all the oppressed aliens escaping, is too pat. And the Trial of Katar Hol, an event that had been foreshadowed since issue one, occurs off-panel. But these are small flaws.
_____Where does the series go from here?
_____Very shortly, downhill.
_____Before I continue, let me mention that the second and third annuals, mentioned long ago, will be discussed in connection with their respective crossovers.
_____Issue 26 is basically an epilogue to what has gone before, with Thanagarian agendas and the refugees still taking centre stage. A nice coda, even if the new costumes are awful.
_____Then comes the last story. 27-32. Flight's End. Dreck. A bizarre and misguided attempt to explain where DC's other metahumans go, a racist villain with no real depth, and in Count Viper and Katar's discussions of America we get a poor parody of the political literacy of earlier issues. Even an appearance by the Golden Age Hawks doesn't redeem this mess.
_____The only reason I would hestitate to say "Stop reading at issue 26 and leave your pleasant memories intact" is that this story is where Katar and Shayera finally get together. But you should just take my word on that and avoid this. You were warned.
_____But before that last slide into awfulness, Hawkworld gave us a fresh and interesting take on characters who had been around for year. It also, despite the American jingoism that occasionally creeps in, presented us with a comic book series whose real point was an examination of individual rights and whether a society with high ideals can ever live up to them If not, is it better to fail to achieve one's ideals or not to falsely claim them? Some brilliant writing here, folks.
_____Well, that's Hawkworld. So now I had finished with Hawkman. His following series seemed to revolve around the stuff that had left this bad taste in my mouth, and its revelation that Hawkman was half-human was enough to keep me far away. I did pick up the issue that focussed on Shayera, but that was because she seemed relatively intact. I was done with Hawkman.
_____And then, one day...

On to Hawkman Part 2: The Shadow War?