Customer Reviews

The Hawkman Archives, Vol. 1 (DC Archive Editions)

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Though not one of DC Comics' BIG THREE characters (Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman), Hawkman has been a fascinating, enduringly popular superhero for almost 60 years now. As a testament to Hawkman's appeal, DC has given him the ARCHIVES treatment, focusing on arguably the hero's most assured period of publishing success, the 1960's. Indeed, the work of Gardner Fox, Joe Kubert and Murphy Anderson on HAWKMAN is legendary, and DC has spared no expense in the lavish reproduction of their work. The crispness of the stories (featuring such seminal HAWKMAN villains as Shadow Thief, the Gentleman Ghost and others), and especially the vivid artwork, are on full display in this ARCHIVE edition.

For those fans who have regulated Hawkman and Hawkgirl to second-string superhero status all these years, this collection goes a long way towards changing their minds. In the hands of these creators, Hawkman was as exciting and compelling a figure in DC's 1960's era as any other character they published, and that mystique is a primary reason why DC has never completely given up on their attempts to revive Hawkman many times in the years since.

Like all of DC ARCHIVES editions, the HAWKMAN ARCHIVES is a bit of an investment, but a wise one in my opinion. Overall, a fine quality collection celebrating a most unsung DC hero.

The Gardner Fox / Joe Kubert Hawkman stories are among my all-time favorite comics. Each story contains a different science fiction premise, like most of Fox's stories, but here we also get his two best characters, Katar and Shayera (Hawkman, Hawkgirl). Much of Fox's work suffers from some perfunctory characterization and dialogue, but his Hawk-folks communicate a unique charm that reminds me a bit of the Thin Man films. I don't think there's a more convincing and effective partnership in a married couple anywhere else in comics.

Of course, it helps that Joe Kubert illustrates most of these stories. Kubert is probably better known for his Tarzan and DC war comics work, but this book contains some of his best. The artwork is comparable to and reminiscent of Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon strips (and you'll notice how much Hawkman's uniform resembles Flash's). I don't mean to slight the Murphy Anderson artwork that appears later in the volume; I like Anderson also, but the Kubert stuff really stands out.

Another excellent Archive collection from the folks at DC, "The Hawkman Archives, Vol 1" collects his early appearances from The Brave & The Bold and Mystery in Space.

The tales are superior examples of Gardner Fox's blend of sci-fi and superhero. Although a bit repetitive (face it...these are meant to be re-read as single stories, not like the multi-issue sagas of today), but always enjoyable. Check out the "Identi-Card" which is described as a plastic card used to pay for things that automatically takes the money out of your bank account, or how Hawkgirl does some shopping from home while looking at a screen. All in two panels.

In 1961, Fox accurately predicted the ATM card and Internet shopping. Unbelievable.

Joe Kubert's artwork is beautiful, as expected. Given the other comics around in 1961, it's no wonder he was considered head and shoulders above his competition. His figure are lithe and graceful. and his faces are rough-hewn marvels.

Anderson's artwork, in the last few stories, rises to the challenge. It's exquisite as well. Different style, but perfectly serving the story and a joy to behold. Detailed and precise, with great facial expressions.

Being horrifically addicted to these Archive Editions, this is a welcome addition to the series. I welcome the arrival of these classic 60's comics.

That title sounds a little like a line from an intergalactic blues song, but it's true. The Thanagarians, an advanced alien race, invented the Internet, anti-gravity metal and interstellar space travel, but they never thought to wrap 2 pieces of bread around a hunk of meat and cheese? It says so right in this book. If I were Hawkman I would have ditched the crime fighting and opened a Subway AND a Quiznos in Thanagar's capitol city. I bet he would have cleaned up.

I've always considered Hawkman one of my favorite heroes. Visually he's one of the most arresting comic book characters, with his massive wings, majestic Hawk helmet with it's piercing eyes and his cool looking ancient weaponry. The wings must have been a pain to draw but they added a dynamic aesthetic to every panel. As far as the weapons, not much was cooler than seeing Hawkman perform a little dental surgery on a bunch of baddies with a heavy steel mace.

There have been more incarnations of Hawkman, more reboots and retcons, than almost any other DC hero. During the Golden Age, he was an archeologist who discovered he was also a reincarnated Egyptian prince. In the Silver Age he was an alien police officer who came to Earth trailing a space criminal and stuck around to study are crime fighting methods (Too bad COPS wasn't on the air, he could have gone home within a week) In the 90's he was an Avatar of the Hawk God somehow, a combination of all the Hawkmen who came before him. Then a few years ago he was an Egyptian prince who reincarnated after every death because of his exposure to Thanagarian Nth Metal. There are probably a few incarnations I've missed.

DC never seems able to stick with any incarnation of the Winged Wonder and as a result he's remained more of a supporting character in the DC Universe. This is too bad because I find all the Hawkman variations interesting.

This book contains the version of Hawkman that is the most purely science fiction based. He's Katar Hol, police officer from the planet Thanagar, come to earth tracking a dangerous shape shifting criminal. He decides later to stick around and observe our crime fighting techniques. It's a good, workable idea, but unfortunately among all the versions of Hawkman I think it's the most weakly realized, at least as far as the stories in this book are concerned.

Gardner Fox was a fine writer. But I think DC leaned on him too heavily while revitalizing their superhero line and the guy was only human. Spread as thinly as he was, it is only reasonable that the quality of some of his stories would lag. Hawkman, as Marilyn Monroe might say, "got the fuzzy end of the lollipop." Or, "Even homer nods" if you prefer.

It's not that it's bad writing, it's just inconsistent. It's not representative of Gardner's best work. Dialogue ranges from okay to clunky. Characterization is fairly weak which is typical of many DC Silver Age stories, while the plots themselves range from clever to far-fetched (even for a comic book). Some of the science is a bit sketchy even for its day, although Fox sprinkles some interesting scientific trivia throughout the stories it this book.

Joe Kubert's art is uniformly solid. It's energetic and the various alien beasts are unique to say the least. If you're a Kubert fan, this is definitely your book.

There's a nice introduction by Jules Schwartz and Joe Kubert.

Here's a small sampling of what you get inside:

Brave and the Bold #34-Creature of a Thousand Shapes- Katar and Shayera come to earth tracking a dangerous and clever shape shifting criminal from their home planet Thanagar. Even more dangerous is the naturalist who works at the museum that employs Katar, the marriage-minded Mavis Trent!

Brave and the Bold #36-Strange Spells of the Sorcerer! -Who is the mysterious sorcerer conjuring up mythological creatures in order to destroy Hawkman and Hawkgirl? The Hawks must solve the mystery before it's too late! Then in "The Shadow Thief of Midway City" the Hawks take on a thief who is also a living shadow!

Brave and the Bold #42-Menace of the Dragonfly Raiders-The Hawks travel back to Thanagar and battle the aforementioned Raiders. A fun look at Hawkman's home world.

Mystery in Space #90-Planets in Peril! - A nefarious sinister genius teleports Earth 25 trillion miles away, directly into the orbital path of the planet Rann, adopted home world of space hero Adam Strange. I'm no astronomer, but that can't be good for anyone.

Overall this is a decent book for kids or Silver Age Hawkman nostalgists. If you are unfamiliar with these stories you might want to check them out first in the DC Showcase version because it's a lot less expensive and contains a wider range of stories.

Gardner Fox's stories are well-told throughout this collection of Hawkman tales from the early 1960s, and the artwork by Joe Kubert is crisp and vivid as they are brought to life by the color restoration. It is very amusing to see how demeaning the portrayal of Hawkgirl is by today's standards, even though she was quite ahead of her time when these stories were written. This was a very entertaining read.

I have already read this book and LUV it!! The artwork is great and when that pesky asistant [oops] tries to fall in luv with Katar/Carter/Hawkman, Fox does a great job of making Hawkgirl's "voice"
LOOK icey!