Two of television’s best genre actors are soon going to be donning superhero garb for the two major comic book movie franchises. First, earlier this month Disney+ announced Emmy-winning Orphan Black lead actress Tatiana Maslany will be expanding the realm of the Marvel Universe as She-Hulk in her own series. Then today Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson announced Leverage co-star Aldis Hodge will be joining him to fill bring into the fold one of the last members of the classic Justice League of America to have a major series or movie role. Hodge will play Hawkman in the Black Adam movie. Both will be live-action shows.
Then through browsing the racks at the store, I added the following, based on something I saw in the title or a page-turn, or in the case of Animal Man, a good review:
I reviewed Action Comics #1 here. Just not the Superman I was interested in reading about, I guess. (All other DC Comics titles I have reviewed here include links in comic title names in this article).
Green Lantern #1 was spent exclusively on Sinestro, not Hal Jordan, and because I wasn’t interested in an ongoing Sinestro book, I gave up on buying Issue #2, which he also appears to be featured in.
Voodoo #1 was so thin in plot and long on shock factor that it made the bottom of the list of all that I read over the past three months. Not my cup of tea.
Supergirl #1 wasn’t bad. But I couldn’t help comparing it to Michael Turner’s and Jeph Loeb’s Supergirl from the Superman/Batman series and this just didn’t compare.
Birds of Prey was a series I read in about 5-10 issue arcs over several years. This isn’t the same team, and it’s not worse because there is no Oracle, it is just not the same sensibility. I prefer the more mature, aka women heroine vs. girl heroine Birds of Prey group of the past, and I don’t like at all where the current Black Canary is, they should get her back in the Green Arrow title. I think the characters are drawn almost like teenagers, as if this should be a companion to the Teen Titans. That would make more sense. So I left this title behind after Issue #1, too.
I decided to go forward and read Issue #2 of the following titles, however, just to give them another shot (I plan to review each Issue #2 at a later date):
I will also keep buying Green Arrow in hopes that it will improve, and Jim Lee’s Justice League since it seems to glue a lot of the other stories together.
Frankly, eight is about the right number I wanted to end up with, especially at current comic book prices. I also will keep reading til the end of the short series, Huntress. And as I get into more Marvel Comics I will be adding at least one book from that publisher to the ongoing read pile, in addition to independent publisher books Bionic Man and Rachel Rising.
So was the first round of the New 52 successful? Ultimately most of what I read was worth reading, so I’d answer a definite “yes“. I read 21 of the 52 titles, more than I planned to read. The biggest surprise? How much I liked All-Star Western #1 and its mix of old Gotham City and Jonah Hex. Captain Atom and Justice League Dark were the two books I was most curious about, and they both delivered in a big way stellar stories and art about more minor DC Comics characters that I now can’t wait to read more about.
Writer Tony S. Daniel may have created a nearly perfect origin story, although it actually starts at the end for Hawkman, and we don’t really know the origin of his powers. But if this is the first issue of Hawkman you ever read, you will be instantly hooked, just as this reader was.
Hawkman was that stoic hero that stood in the background of full-scale Justice League adventures. He and Hawkgirl always looked cool, quick to sweep into the scene with full wings spread, ready for any brawl. One of my favorite exchanges in recent Green Arrow stories is a presumed argument between resurrected Green Arrow and Hawkman in Green Arrow 12 that turns into a full-on laugh fest/yuk it up at the expense of Dinah Lance/Black Canary. Here is Matt Wagner’s original artwork for that issue:
And let’s face it, Hawkman has always had one of the best costumes around. How many people have doodled this guy in the margin of papers in school?
But a series all his own? And why is he “savage” Hawkman?
Even a comic book of 24 pages sometimes takes a few sittings. You want to give every page its due. And for $2.99 you’ve got to get as much bang for your buck as possible. Savage Hawkman #1 is a one-sitting read, not because it is a “quick read” but because you just can’t put it down.
The story starts at The End. Actually the end for whatever came before, as Hawkman has evidently experienced all he can take and is ready to throw in the towel. But something called the Nth metal will not let him leave. It keeps pulling him back in.
Hawkman is really Carter Hall, a linguistics expert/Eqyptologist whose name instantly conjures the ghost of Howard Carter (the Eqyptologist who discovered King Tut). In trying to burn his very awesome Hawkman super suit, the suit has different ideas. Carter wants to kill Hawkman. But he can’t. It won’t let him. Flash forward. A team. An archaeological dig. Aliens? We need to call in the expert. No one knows where he is? Find him. Mummified aliens. Wait a second, they’re not dead? And in nice Incredible Hulk-like fashion we find out what happened to the super suit. Don’t make him angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry. (We do). And the result is even cooler than we thought. Where can we get some of that Nth metal anyway?
Tony Daniel described Hawkman as “Indiana Jones fighting alien threats.” That’s pretty good. You’ve gotta love when the creators know their character and want to bring out the best in that character. Philip Tan’s painterly art has great style. I don’t know whether it is because Hawkman looks so much like Warlord, but Tan’s style reminds me of Mike Grell. Hard to beat a comparison like that. For anyone with no background on Hawkman, this would be a good first comic book to pick up and plunge right in.
