Hawkman #9
DC Comics
Writer: Robert Venditti
Artist: Bryan Hitch
New issue of the character with the muddiest background in comics: Hawkman!
In the very likely case you know nothing about this character, this series is perfect for that. Everything you need to know is this: Hawkman is an archeologist-space-cop-scientist-many-other-professions-superhero who is reborn everytime he dies. Every chance he gets he ends up being both a recollector of information and a winged vigilante or helper.
He started a universal trip of personalities and different lives eons ago as a general in the Deathbringers army, which sounds more like a cheesy 70’s metal album than an army to fear but I can get it. And the Deathbringers were the meanest, most destructive guys around, they would send their armies to destroy planets and kill the entirety of their population seeking tribute, armies that good ol’ Carter Hall (Then named Ktar) would command into battle. After thousands of years of destroying and killing and maiming, he got tired of it, decided he didn’t wanna do that anymore and speared his second in command through the wing. He had to then be reborn time and time again until he could save as many people as he had previously killed, Ktar then banished the Deathbringers into another dimension where they would be stuck forever.
Or so he thought.
In this issue we see the return of the Deathbringers in full force.
Madame Xanadu also makes a comeback, she’s been helping Carter with the mystic side of his “multiple lives” problem.
Xanadu wants to try and help him by reading his palm but she gets interrupted by the giant Transformer rejects floating above London.
Carter goes into the battle leaving Madame Xanadu on the ground.
In the air he finds his old “friend” who was supposedly dead. He proceeds to get beaten up very easily by Idamm and the issue ends in a battle to the death.
If you can’t tell, I’m really loving this series so far. It’s witty but most importantly you can tell the writer really loves this character. Even bigger, this is exactly the type of story he is used to writing, man overcoming himself based on his past is a Venditti staple by now, having a long and successful run in Green Lanterns to prove that. Bryan Hitch crafts epic setpieces and outdoes himself every chance he gets and this is coming from someone who couldn’t stand his art on JL.
This is one of the most action packed issues in the series so far and i honestly love it, there’s not a dull moment at sight.
If you haven’t been reading Hawkman, get to it.
