Hawkman: Wings of Fury (Book 3) [Paperback]

Geoff Johns (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hawkman | Publication Date: June 1, 2005

Hawkman and Hawkgirl have lived many lives over the centuries, all ending in a painful death. As the mystic Highwayman comes to St. Roch, seeking to claim Hawkmans tortured soul, its a deadly battle for survival. But first, the Winged Wonders must survive a revenge-seeking Thanagarian Hawkwomanand then a confrontation with the powerful Black Adam.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A costumed hero's identity crisis fuels the latest adventures of one of DC's less appreciated Golden Age characters. Hawkman has sometimes been presented as a reincarnated Egyptian prince, now living as crime fighting archeologist Carter Hall. At other times, he has been identified as Katar Hol, an alien policeman patrolling Earth while posing as a native. Johns's script makes the most of this uncertainty. In one episode, the alien policewoman called Hawkwoman comes looking for her lover; in another, the confused young woman who is the latest incarnation of Hawkgirl tests the limits of her relationship with him. "Carter Hall," meanwhile, wonders who he really is and whether he can stop obsessing about his past incarnations by collecting gravestone rubbings from cemeteries around the world. The psychological probing is a lot less important than the accompanying physical combat, as Hawkman and his partners soar above the city while battling super-powered villains. A platoon of DC artists does a superb job with the action scenes, and even when the plot is spinning its wheels, it's hard not to enjoy a book this visually exciting. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up–This deeply layered and complex tale incorporates such elements as reincarnation and extraterrestrials to construct an intricate yet exciting story. Carter Hall, an archaeologist, is Hawkman, and after finding a mysterious alien metal (that also grants him his superhero abilities), he is reincarnated from one life to the next, fighting crime all the while. Hall is not alone in his journey–his true love, Kendra Saunders (aka Hawkgirl)–is also reincarnated from life to life, though in these installments, she has no recollection of her past memories or of Carter. Throughout this volume, Hall and Saunders fight one of the scariest villains ever: the Headhunter, a sinister creature who severs his victims' heads to steal their memories. This is a dark tale, exploring the meaning of life and death and of good and evil. The superhero tale is fused with a love story, and should appeal to both male and female comics fans. The images are in lush full color and smartly juxtaposed with the text, creating a seamless production. While the plot gives way to violence, it is traditional comic-book violence and not overly explicit. This third volume in the series will delight loyal fans, but it also serves well as an independent work. An excellent addition to any public library.–Jennifer Feigelman, Plattekill Public Library, Modena, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401204678
• ISBN-13: 978-1401204679
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just A Tad Short Of Perfection; Still Extremely Powerful, March 14, 2007

By 

Stephen B. O'Blenis (Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hawkman: Wings of Fury (Book 3) (Paperback)

The first thing that should be pointed out about "Hawkman: Wings Of Fury" is that, while the previous volume ("Enemies & Allies") reprinted #s 7 - 12 of the 2002 ongoing, this volume inexplicably skips #s 13 & 14 and starts with # 15, reprinting that issue through # 22. Perhaps the other issues are in another collection somewhere or perhaps they're only available in their original form. Nevertheless, those issues are the ones that follow up the cliffhanger from the end of the Enemies & Allies collection, and have some major revelations in them, so I'd recommend tracking those two down before reading the issues in "Wings Of Fury". They're excellent, and usually not too difficult to find.

Moving on to the Trade Paperback in question, # 15 kicks off the three-part arc 'The Thanagarian', the first storyline in the 2002-onwards ongoing to tie in the Hawk history from the late80s/90s - the Katar Hol (Thanagar's version of Hawkman)/Shayera Thal (Hawkwoman, from Thanagar)/Hawkworld aka. the planet Thanagar, etc. - into the current status quo with the reborn versions of the original Hawks. Although this arc is clearly one of the weaker ones in recent years's Hawk history, it's still an exciting, imaginative and rewarding tale with its own standard of excellence; by saying all that I guess I'm showing how high I feel the overall bar on the Hawkman books of this era has been set. In normal circumstances it would have seemed amazing, but there's a noticeable drop-off from #s 1-14, mostly involving an inconstistency with Hawkman himself. I know Carter has an unusually high level of loyalties toward his allies and friends, but it seemed uncharacteristic for him to be so condoning and unfazed by the recklessly destructive actions of one of his colleagues. It's not like he's letting anyone get away with murder, and I know there's a very definate savage side and a tendency towards impulsiveness within Hawkman himself, but something about the situation in question just didn't ring true. Apart from that, 'The Thanagarian' is a fine arc, drwaing multiple elements from the '90s Hawkman stories skillfully enough to provide a real treat for all of us who enjoyed that era of the Hawk mythos in addition to the current one. The art, as usual, is tremendous - detailed, expressive, and dynamic, and enlivened by some of the best coloring work in comics coutesy of John Kalisz.

Hawkman 18 & 19 are both single-issue stories, which you can't really say too much about in a writeup like this without giving everything away. No. 18, while not set in the past like Hawkman # 7, is similar in tone to the 'Past Lives' story presented there in that it delves again into the area of past incarnations of the series's characters, this time focusing of Carter's past life as Koenraad Von Grimm in centuries-ago Germany. Unfolding both in brief flashbacks to that time and in the present frame during Carter's stay in the city where he once lived, it's a powerful, emotion-driven story that adds even more depth to the continuing Hawk saga. José Luis Garcia-Lopez steps in as guest artist and gives a unique look to the story that well captures the historical feel. Scot Eaton and Ray Kryssing step in as guest penciler and guest inker for # 19 and bring some wickedly cool looks to the characters. Number nineteen brings Black Adam into the pages of Hawkman (as well as another, more surprising-to-see character who's captured excellently by Eaton and Kryssing). This issue fits in with the recurring issues over in "JSA" where they were building up with Black Adam into a major storyline, one that would reach its culmination in the "Black Reign" event (available in Trade Paperback under the JSA banner). Excellent issue in its own right, excellent issue as part of a longer, gradually developing plot in the JSA and Hawkman ongoings.

Regular artists Rags Morales and Michael Bair return for the 3-part "Headhunter" saga. The Headhunter is a new character expressly created for the purpose of becoming one of Hawkman's great perpetual arch-enemies (like Lex Luthor for Superman or The Joker for Batman, for example) and the character gets off to a great start. He's a mysterious, vicious killer who's got some really different things going on; he seems like the kind of being a horror movie could center around, or who would stalk through the pages of a horror anthology like Vertigo's "Flinch". A great foil for Hawkman who, along with Hawkgirl, are continuing throughout this whole collection to be defined as two of the main pillars of the DC Universe. The "Headhunter" arc also sees a 'cutting-loose' kind of event that the series has been feeling like it could erupt since day one. One small glitch in the story with the timing is its only flaw, in a scene where the police outside should be rushing a building but inexplicably don't, just to give two characters a chance to have a verbal confrontation that should have taken place at a different spot in the tale. Apparantly, though, there wasn't room, and it got squeezed in where it didn't fit. This kind of thing doesn't happen often in Hawkman, and it doesn't happen often in anything writer Geoff Johns is penning, but it managed to slip in here. A minor quibble, overall.

And overall, the verdict on "Wings Of Fury" is that it drops a tad below the previous two Hawkman Trade Paperbacks, but is still a whopping good volume, probably a nine or 9.5 on a scale of ten. The stuff in these Hawk collections is some of DC's most essential reading.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hawkman: Wings of Fury (Book 3) (Paperback)

After this, this particular Hawkman series starts its slow decline, and not so slow cancellation. However, the Hawkman series with Johns writing and what he came up with is definitely worth a look, particularly for the relationship between the characters, and his brutality in the bits where he is actually fighting, making him somewhat different than the other heroes, rather than just a generic flying guy.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Yuckie Yuckie, February 21, 2006

By 

Skylark Thibedeau "Semper Memento Audere" (Charlotte, NC USA, Terra, Solaris System, Milky Way Galaxy.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hawkman: Wings of Fury (Book 3) (Paperback)

I loved Hawkman as a child growing up in the 60's. he was my favorite member of the JLA. I got this book to share some memories with my 8 year old but beheadings are a little too gross for me. I guess I'll try to find a Classic Anthology with some reprints from a simplar time.