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Post by driver1980 on Oct 1, 2023 7:47:26 GMT -5
Hawkman is one of my favourite DC superheroes. But has he soared as high as he could have done?
(Soared. Pun? Yes? Good pun? No? Okay, I’ll leave…)
For starters, are we talking about Carter Hall or Katar Hol? And what of the inconsistent mythology? This isn’t the topic for that, but it may be part of your mindset if you post a reply.
To me, it feels like he’s had mixed success. Yes, he’s been a part of super groups, he’s had numerous appearances, and even a solo title or two. I just feel that more could have been done with him. I wish there’d been more consistency. I wish there’d been more commitment, Crisis or no Crisis, in making him an A-list hero. B-list hero would seem to insulting, but I am not sure he soared as high as he could and should have done.
I like him. I like his look, his backstory(!), his powers, etc. So I am frustrated with him not achieving the success others have.
What do you think?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2023 8:02:39 GMT -5
Very timely topic for me personally as I was on a Hawkman kick very recently! It actually started more because I feel like Hawkgirl is even more underrated, and so I was on a mission to really explore all her classic appearances.
But along that journey, it covered a lot of ground on Hawkman himself. And I think what I came away with, in more classic eras (Golden and Silver), he seemed MUCH more A-tier to me. He was THE heart of the JSA in the All-Star classic run. And then I went back and read my two B&W Showcase Hawkman volumes covering the SA Brave and Bold and then through the solo series and a little beyond. Amazing art, and both characters just seemed really cool.
But as a Bronze Age kid, he always just seemed like a "supporting character" to the JLA/Super Friends. And even then, I wanted more because honestly, he just LOOKED amazing (and Hawkgirl of course!). It was one of my favorite Super Powers figures because it was likewise so striking. Then when he started to get more breakout material in the mid-80's and beyond, the times had changed a little too much for me and I don't know, it was like the window was missed for the period of Hawkman/Hawkgirl storytelling I would have liked to have seen more of.
But to the spirit of your question, I share that same like of the character as well as bit of frustration!
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Post by majestic on Oct 1, 2023 9:00:16 GMT -5
Yes! In the 40s he was supposed to get his own solo series. He more than other hero was the backbone of the JSA for years. And even though I prefer the GA Hawkman Carter over the SA Katar... His 60s stories were great. I don't know what happened but by the 70s he lost his appeal. His character has a great visual effect and several writers have made him a great character but the appeal never holds. I feel the Falcon over at Marvel suffers for the same unknown reasons.
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Post by Icctrombone on Oct 1, 2023 9:37:01 GMT -5
I never saw Hawkman as special. I missed his Kubert stuff from the GA. I did collect the entire 66 issue Geoff Johns run from 2002 and found it to be the only run I enjoyed. He doesn't have any real powers except the Ninth metal. He might have been an expert in ancient weapons but they didn't play it up enough. They gave him a ferocity that I did enjoy.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 1, 2023 9:43:53 GMT -5
I think a lot of his appeal was wrapped up in the artists who drew him. In the 40s it was Sheldon Moldoff, doing his best Alex Raymond swipes (starting with the concept and look); in the 50s and 60s it was either Murphy Anderson or Joe Kubert. In the 80s it was tim Truman and then, later, Steve Lieber (channeling his teacher, Kubert). His popularity usually waned when the popular artists left.
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Post by Cei-U! on Oct 1, 2023 11:14:13 GMT -5
Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been two of my fave DC characters since the day in fourth grade when Jimmy Hoff (or was it the similarly named David Goff?) gave me a tattered coverless copy of Hawkman #4. I admit that 99% of their appeal for me is visual but the whole "fighting with ancient weapons" and "talking to birds" shtick is pretty cool, too. I prefer the Golden Age versions to the alien police officers of the Silver Age and later incarnations have failed to hold my interest, particularly the joyless, grim 'n' gritty Hawkworld stuff, so I would love to see a well-done Hawkman and Hawkgirl series that eschewed the sci-fi trappings and returned them to their pulpish 1940s roots.
Cei-U!
Wheet! Wheet!
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 1, 2023 11:16:41 GMT -5
Hawkworld was indeed joyless. Totally.
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Post by Prince Hal on Oct 1, 2023 12:21:29 GMT -5
Kubert was born to draw Hawkman, both the Golden and Silver Age versions. And he was the best at getting the headpiece aligned with Hawkman's eyes.  Much preferred Kubert's rougher interpretation in the 60s revival to the "neater" version drawn by Murphy Anderson (and I love Anderson's work). And Hawkgirl was unique and so, so wonderful as a character! But both Joe and Murph managed to make him look sleek and graceful, which Dick Dillin just couldn't. His Hawkman always looked like a linebacker with enormous wings who could never have got off the ground. I enjoyed the Silver Age series, but it needed the mysterious, pulpy feel that Cei-U! wrote about earlier. Not enough shrouded darkness, a little too heavy on the Flash/GL S-F style of villains. As for that Hawkworld mess, the les- |
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Post by berkley on Oct 1, 2023 16:41:41 GMT -5
I haven't read enough Hawkman comics to say but I think it's a good character design - although the green tights don't go with the upper-body part. They shouls change the superhero-style tights to something more in line with the ancient warrior style of the upper part, or whatever it's supposed to be.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Oct 1, 2023 16:45:31 GMT -5
I'll be the voice of dissent. Hawkworld was the only time I liked the character. Great design with occasional great art (Kubert) and incredibly pedestrian writing throughout his history.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2023 17:04:08 GMT -5
I don't know how I forgot this before, but All-Star Squadron had some good Hawkman content. Obviously in a team context versus a dedicated title, but great seeing Earth-2 Hawkman in one of the really better Bronze Age titles. He made a lot of appearances, and Hawkgirl got a fair number as well.  |
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Post by commond on Oct 1, 2023 18:44:53 GMT -5
My first exposure to Hawkman was during Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League where he was always complaining that the League's standards had slipped. So, that's the first thing I think of when I think of Hawkman.
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Post by Calidore on Oct 1, 2023 19:40:46 GMT -5
I enjoyed Hawkworld quite a lot, but I've enjoyed nearly everything with Ostrander and/or Truman's name on it, so there's some bias. What little older Hawkman I came across as a kid I also liked, and I remember liking the later Shadow War saga also (and was disappointed that Tony Isabella didn't finish it himself after years of buildup).
He does have a great look, but in a medium full of superpowers, magic, and sci-fi, I especially appreciated his devotion to the analog method of swinging a big metal club.
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Post by MWGallaher on Oct 6, 2023 17:33:55 GMT -5
I was introduced to the character in the early 70's JLA, and I was one who cheered his exit from that series. It wasn't until Tony Isabella's SHADOW WAR OF THE HAWKMAN that he clicked with me, and since then he's been a big favorite. I love the classic Silver Age costume design, and I think later revisions, particularly Truman's wingless, bubbles-around-the-eyes helmet, or the various "extreme!" metal helmet designs, detracted from the appeal.
It was probably decades before I recognized that the yellow cross lines near the toes of his boots were meant to suggest talons.
Oh, and count me on Team Murphy Anderson. Kubert's great, of course, but I loved the immaculate 60's world that Murph depicted.
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