The Savage Hawkman soars once more

An archaeologist discovered his past life as an Egyptian Prince is brought to the present by a glass dagger and an insane killer from beyond time, Hath Set. Taking up the mantle of the Osiris (the image of the hawk) and the ancient weapons littering his museum, Carter Hall fought the forces of injustice as the Hawkman.

Heavily influenced by the pulps and the Mummy feature film, the early Hawkman book is just as nutty as it sounds. Not only did Carter Hall discover his true self, he also found his reincarnated love, Shiera, who took up the mantle Hawkgirl. They remain one of the few husband-wife superhero teams in comics. To add to the drama, Hath Set had a history of killing them whenever they attempted to find true love in each others’ arms.

Chasing a villain from the planet Thanagar, space policeman Katar Hol established himself as an archaeologist. Using the weapons of the past, the Nth metal of his planet and alien police methods, Katar Hol became Hawkman, defender of the skies. Much later after the Crisis of 1985, DC Comics released Hawkworld, a stunning book that delved into the world of Thanagar and depicted a much more flawed Katar Hol and a cold Shiera. The real problem lay in the continuity conflicts when this new Hawkman landed on Earth after already being there.

But that’s another story.

(In fact, I summarize much of Hawkman’s convoluted life in this earlier article)

At some point, a writer decided that these two creations from different periods needed to be merged. Rather ingeniously, Geoff Johns crafted Hawkman into a kind of Highlander, an immortal reborn time and again to resume his battle with his most dreaded enemy who chased him from incarnation to incarnation. However, when he found his Hawkgirl, she had no recollection of her previous lives and could not return his love. Their relationship was a strained one and along with the superb action by Rags Morales, made for an excellent monthly book.

A burly and headstrong man, this Hawkman was a brilliant tactician but often led with his mace and followed up with an axe. After Johns had established Hawkman, he left him in the hands of Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti whose run was no less extraordinary. The real problem arose when the title was renamed Hawkgirl and lead writer Walt Simonson wrapped up Katar’s battle with Hath Set, setting him free to chart his own course.

This is unfortunate because there were no plans for Hawkman other than a brisk death in the pages of Final Crisis. Hawkman recently returned in Brightest Day (along with Aquaman), but it is unclear what parts of that continuity have been held over to the new DC.

The new creative team have their hands full. Before taking over both Batman and Hawkman, Tony Daniel talked to ComicBookResources (I do hope they see the traffic I am referring to them because I adore their site) about his plans.

ComicBookResources: The copy for the first issue reads very much like an origin story. Is that the case? And if so, was it necessary to do an origin due to the character’s long, and sometimes convoluted, backstory?

Tony Daniel:It’s not an origin story, but the approach is, as if we’re meeting this guy for the first time. He’s already Hawkman. He’s already lost the love of his life. It took me several months to work through his initial arc. It was very, very hard work. He’s setting up new roots in NYC. I’m establishing a supporting cast of characters. Some are human, some are more than human. Some friend, some foe. I didn’t feel I had the luxury of a great rogues gallery, such as the likes of The Flash or Batman. I need to make challenges for Carter Hall/Hawkman from the ground up.

My first priority was to introduce a character who will eventually be his nemesis. His arch-enemy. I’m very excited about that.

CBR: What else can you tell us about “The Savage Hawkman” as it appears much more Indiana Jones in style than the gritty Bat-books you’re known for?

TD: Maybe a bit more Sherlock Holmes, the Robert Downey Jr. version, than Indy, but some of that too. Plus some savage beatdowns. It’s going to be very exciting. Lots of adventure. Lots of fun characters being introduced.

Daniel has made a name for himself for his Detective Comics run and I have high hopes that he can transform Hawkman into a real knock-out. The preview pages (below) look impressive and feature some impressive coloring.

The Savage Hawkman #1
By Tony S. Daniel and Philip Tan

Carter Hall’s skill at deciphering lost languages has led him to a job with an archaeologist who specializes in alien ruins – but will the doctor’s latest discovery spread an alien plague through New York City? No matter the personal cost, Carter Hall must don his wings and become the new, savage Hawkman to survive! Witness the start of a new action series from writer Tony S. Daniel and artist Philip Tan that will take Hawkman where no hero has flown before!

(preview via CBR.com)

Aquaman rises from the depths

Alongside Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, DC Comics has several second and third-tier heroes; Green Arrow, the Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern and of course Aquaman. These heroes have their cult following but have never really broken through to the same level of popularity that the trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have. In an attempt to raise these characters to their deserved places of recognition, several attempts have been made to revitalize, re-write or replace them outright.

Most recently, writer Geoff Johns has successfully brought Hawkman, the Flash and Green Lantern up to superstar status (Hawkman has since fallen, sadly). In his ‘rebirth’ comics, Johns not only improved on the past but acknowledged the large body of work that preceded him on these characters.

In an interview last year, when asked what character he’d like to tackle next, Johns indicated that Aquaman was on his radar. The underwater monarch has undergone several revisions in his career but each time his series was canceled and the changes, from a hook hand to a water hand to being a sorcerer squid were undone. These changes were undertaken by some of the best and brightest in the industry, I should point out, from Peter David to Kurt Busiek, yet each time it failed to catch new readers.

Part of the problem, in my opinion, is that these other heroes had strong concepts backing them up while Aquaman was essentially a man who could talk to fish. Either a mutant bred by his father or a mutation of Atlantean genetics, it is unclear what the real point of Aquaman is. Rather than re-interpreting this character, Johns may have to start from scratch or dig deep to find some quality that not only makes Aquaman function but reveals how awesome he is, and always has been.

(check out my earlier article on Aquaman if you are interested in my 25 cents on the character)

Talking to Newsarama, Johns indicated that he envisioned a lighter touch for Aquaman. Given that his Hawkman, Flash and Green Lantern books were predominantly gritty and fierce, this should come as a relief to fans of the character fearful of a gruesome book centered on as brooding lead.

I think that he’s the ultimate underdog to me. I think that’s a good thing. He’s underestimated by everybody, except Mera. Balancing the perception of what Aquaman is, and trying to break that perception, is what the book’s all about.

We certainly don’t get goofy, but we do have fun with it.

The stakes are real. The Trench are nasty. And the things he faces are really tough, and what he deals with is serious stuff. But at the same time, I didn’t want to run away from the perception of him.

I’ve read a lot of comics with Aquaman in them, and they really go for the throat when trying to make him cool, sometimes. And I think Aquaman is cool. I don’t think you have to work that hard to make him cool.
But what you do need to do is address why people don’t think he’s cool. And just accept that — hey, you’re writing an Aquaman comic book.

I think that’s what I’m trying to do on Ivan and Joe (Prado].

And Ivan and Joe on art — you know how great they are. They bring a big, regal, epic, powerful feel to these characters. And I think that also legitimizes the character.

The goal is to find a good balance, and not run away from everything that people think about Aquaman.

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Aquaman is this guy who, on land, he’s kind of laughed at. But in the ocean, he’s supposed to be the king of this huge underwater society, so there’s a weird juxtaposition between those two roles. And he prefers to be on land, and his job is to protect the land from sea and the sea from land. So he’s literally caught in the middle of all these things.

I think everyone will be able to relate to Aquaman. I think he’s very, very human, because of all that. But he’s also admirable because he does step up and take care of business, and he doesn’t let what anyone says stop him. He lets it roll right off his back like water.

So I think the character himself, of Arthur Curry, is a very compelling character. It’s a very grounded, relatable take on Aquaman. But it will all take place within a struggle against The Trench and other epic backdrop stories as we go forward.

I think that it’s interesting Johns is taking the absurdity of Aquaman on board straight away rather than denying it. The short preview (below) is a prime indicator that Aquaman is going to be a heavy hitter, but even so the man on the street still views him as a ‘fish out of water.’

As Chief Creative Officer and one of the architects of the new DC, Johns has a lot invested in these creations. Talking to CBR.com, he revealed more details about his vision of the DC Universe and its various heroes. As someone who has revised not only Hawkman, Green Lantern and the Flash but Superman as well, this man knows of what he speaks.

“Justice League” is all about how the world perceives them as icons — but they’re people. We get to see the people behind the masks. “Aquaman” is the same way. I want to build these characters up and make them icons, but I want their stories to be big. The best thing about DC is that characters like Green Lantern and Aquaman and Flash have this massive tapestry to paint their stories across. Green Lantern has the whole universe to paint his story across, this big canvas. Flash has all of time and time travel and parallel dimensions and great villains. Aquaman has the oceans and the mysteries of the deep and the fabled city of Atlantis everyone’s heard about.

One of the big questions this first year of “Aquaman” is, who sank Atlantis and why did they do it? I think that fits the kind of epic, iconic stuff I want to capture, but at the same time, it really humanizes the character. It’s all about humanizing Aquaman and getting into what makes him tick, what he has to deal with, what he’s all about and what it’s like to be the biggest underdog in the superhero community.

I wager that Johns has been planning this one for some time and am excited to see how it pans out.

Aquaman #1
By Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado

The superstar creators from BLACKEST NIGHT and BRIGHTEST DAY reunite to take AQUAMAN to amazing new depths!

Aquaman has renounced the throne of Atlantis – but the sea will not release Arthur Curry so easily.

Now, from a forgotten corner of the ocean emerges… The Trench! A broken race of creatures that should not exist, an unspeakable need driving them, The Trench will be the most talked-about new characters in the DC Universe!

(Preview via CBR.com)

Is the King of the Seven Seas finally getting the 4 star treatment that he deserves? Find out today as the first issue hits the stands… but be fast.

For more information including character design, I highly recommend visiting The AquamanShrine.com

Quick review: Green Lantern #1

Green Lantern #1

By Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy

When Geoff Johns revamped Green Lantern in his Rebirth mini-series, it was a major event for comic book fans. This is a character who has a massive fan following yet hardly made a blip on the radar of the ‘guy on the street’ or even your standard comic book reader. Green Lantern: Rebirth not only brought back Hal Jordan as the emerald gladiator, it also acknowledged all of the questionable choices that had been made that caused him to turn evil and also serve a short stint as the Spectre. Respecting and using continuity is what Johns does best and that is why his first issue if the New GL feels so strange.

DC’s new 52 is being billed as the ideal point for new readers to jump on board and dive into some superheroes without fear of back-story or a need to have read the past 20 issues on the rack (of course DC could easily package and sell dowloadable bundles that brought readers up to speed, but never mind). In some cases, the new first issues of DC’s characters are restarts from day one. Action Comics, Wonder Woman and Batgirl fit the bill as jumping on points for new readers. Green Lantern, by contrast, is a bit more difficult.

I have collected the new Green Lantern series myself up to Blackest Night, which prompted me to drop the series as it had become far too convoluted for my taste. Even with that wealth of knowledge, the new #1 is a mystery to me. Sinestro, the evilest and most dangerous Green Lantern to turn rogue and don a yellow ring of destruction, has been brought back into the Green Lantern Corps by the Guardians of the Universe. It is unclear how Sinestro earned the opportunity to redeem himself in their eyes or if he is even interested but he does have a green ring again. Traveling back to his home world of Korugar (which he had attempted to rule using his Green Lantern abilities), he finds it over-run by members of his own former Corpsmen. He begins to kill them off then thinks better of it and decides to call on an old friend.

Meanwhile on Earth, Hal Jordan finds himself penniless, friendless and without a job. The only person to take pity on him, his ex Carol Ferris, leaves him in disgust when he asks her to co-sign a lease on a car so he can get his act together. I’m not sure how Hal found himself in this situation or how it jives with his appearance in the recent Justice League where he meets Batman for the first time. Nor do I know if this is a direct continuation of the previous Green Lantern run that I stopped buying.

It’s very frustrating to not know what is going on while the issue is a number one and it has been promoted as a good issue to purchase for new readers.

I will say that the writing and art are very strong. I’m not sure how long Doug Mahnke is planning to stay on board, but he is a superb artist and draws some incredible scenes. It is also interesting that the relationship between Sinestro and Hal Jordan is (so far) the prime draw for the series especially since Mark Strong’s red-skinned villain stole the feature film from Ryan Reynolds in this Summer’s un-stellar Green Lantern.

Sinestro not only dominates the regular and superb black and white variant covers, he’s also on the cover to the second issue fighting his Sinestro Corpsmen in space! Maybe DC is gambling on Sinestro being a far more interesting character than Hal Jordan. It may even work in the long run.

Preview cover of Green Lantern #2

At this stage I’m not sure what to make of Green Lantern in the new 52-verse which is proving to be even more confusing that the previous DC-verse that was deemed so impenetrable that it needed a fresh start. This may be a book for the already converted… who can take the rest of us out to lunch and explain it to us. Alternately, a digital bonus would have been a great idea that would have promoted the service while also filling in any knowledge gaps.

Green Lantern #1, much like all of DC’s 52 #1′s, is sold out at most retailers but can be downloaded at Comixology. Despite wavering reviews online, it remains the most downloaded comic over at Comixology, beating out Batman, Fear Itself, Spider-Man and the new Justice League of America.