Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics No. 1. The cover date is January 1940, but the release was in November 1939. There is some debate about the exact day when the comic was released. The house ad from 1939 says "About Nov. 10th," but the Grand Comics Database says the following; "The on-sale date of November 20, 1939 is the publication date reported in filings with the U. S. Copyright Office. However, a house ad in Action Comics #19 states the issue was to be on sale on November 10." So either date works. At Hawkworld, we've settled on November 20th.
Why do we celebrate our favorite heroes? Many people may say that we should have grown out of it by a certain age. We should move on to other, more "grown-up" things. Some may even call us childish or immature. If you've read this far, I'm sure you disagree. Like many of you, I'm a dad, a father, a teacher, a coach, and many other identities that come with responsibilities. I often have to push aside what I want to do, because there are things I have committed to do.
But that doesn't mean that I must cast aside everything that I loved when I was young. Even now, a Bugs Bunny cartoon, a familiar amusement park ride, or a Baby Ruth chocolate bar brings a smile to my face. It creates a spark inside me. It keeps me young at heart. Comic books, and Hawkman for me personally, have the same magic.
When a young person picks up a comic book, something amazing often happens. It might be a Batman comic, or maybe a Spider-man. When they enter the world of superhero comics for the first time, they see an amazing world of a man or woman with a striking appearance and amazing powers. They discover a hero fighting against all odds to do what's right, to find justice, and to bring order back to the lives of ordinary people. The imaginary tales of a hero's struggle in dire situations or their battles against the evil villains grabs hold of the young readers (or the young at heart) and refuses to let go. They are hooked. They want to know more about and they follow their hero, even after they are deep into their adulthood. However, things happen in life, and they may fall away or even forget about the hero, but there comes a time when they see a comic, a figure or a TV show and the spark returns. They come back to find their hero still at it, wearing that amazing costume and using those incredible abilities to fight evil and doing what is right. And when they see that hero, they are young at heart again.
 |
| Art by Joe Kubert |
There was a time when I fell away from comics and the world of superheroes. College, class assignments, part-time jobs, dating, and all those other rituals of growing up even made me forget all about it for a while. I even moved to the other side of the world where there were no comics anywhere. I was working hard and desperately trying to learn the Japanese language when one day I received a box from my dad. I opened the box and found a stack of my old comics in it, including the Showcase No. 101 (posted above) and it all came rushing back. It was the mid-90s and I was still learning about the Internet, but I found a way to rediscover Hawkman, even in the Far East.
Many of us have experienced that "rediscovering" of a childhood friend. The time and circumstances are all unique, but when it happens, the experience is undoubtedly the same. The spark is reignited. The hero that you cherished and followed faithfully in the past is still there, wearing garish outfits, equipped with amazing weapons and fighting those same old villains. You're suddenly back in the Batcave cracking a case, saving Lois Lane from a reporting gig gone wrong, or in my case, flying through the sky with a mace in hand and the beautiful Hawkgirl by my side.
Hawkman first grabbed my attention back in 1977 when I saw him on the back of an outdated 1976 DC Calendar. There were several heroes charging forward from the JLA logo. I saw Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and several others, but even among those brightly-costumed heroes, Hawkman stood out to me. That was the moment I was hooked. I didn't realize it then, but from then on, I always looked for him in the comics I bought. And when I saw him, I was super excited and eagerly read the comic, several times over. I didn't care whether he was a central or top-tier character or not. Hawkman was my superhero.
 |
| From Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert to Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch |
Sometimes I marvel at the ability of writers like Gardner Fox. He had the ability to write not just Hawkman, but many other characters that have had the same affect on millions of hearts, and those characters are still around today. It takes a special kind of magical ability to be able to create a character that captures the life-long fascination of a reader, and Gardner Fox had it in spades. The writers who came after him, like Jenny Blake (Tony Isabella), Timothy Truman, Geoff Johns, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Robert Venditti picked up the mantle and made Hawkman and Hawkgirl fly even higher. The artists like Joe Kubert, Dick Dillin, Richard Howell, Rags Morales, Bryan Hitch, and so many others had the talent to make my hero come alive and shoot my heart and mind with a jolt of youth again.
 |
| My Hawkman Commission from Stephen Sadowski (2016) |
Why Hawkman? Like many other superhero fans, there is no simple answer. Like I mentioned above, sometimes a hero sinks his talons into your imagination and won't let go. For me, three things stood out in the beginning; his appearance, his power of flight, and his love and partnership with Hawkgirl/Hawkwoman. Then as time went on, my hero evolved, and so did I. His reincarnation. The mix of Earth's ancient history and the science fiction of Thanagar. His enemies such as the Gentleman Ghost, Shadow Thief, Lion Mane, Byth, Onimar Synn, and many others. His archaelogical adventures and his Thanagarian spaceships. The Mace, the flail, the Morning Star, the Katar, the Claw of Horus, and many other weapons. His friendships with the Atom, Adam Strange, the Shade, and other heroes. His love for Hawkwoman and their commitment to each other. These are all things that I have loved about the character.
 |
| My Timeline of Hawkman and Hawkgirl's History |
Many fans and writers quickly and constantly complain that he is too complicated, convoluted, and way too confusing to understand. For me, I took it as a challenging puzzle that would come together eventually. There are many versions of Hawkman, but for me, Hawkman is Hawkman. It doesn't matter if his name is Carter or Katar, if he is wearing a hawk mask or a yellow cowl, or digging in an archaeological site in Egypt or flying in a Hawkcruiser towards Thanagar. He is Hawkman, a hero who has flown through the comics for 86 years now, and I believe his story is strong enough to continue for another 86 years.
 |
| Art by Rags Morales |
Admittedly, Hawkman is currently a B or maybe even C-lister in the world of comic book heroes. It has been exactly five years since the last Hawkman series ended, and there currently are no signs of him getting a new series any time soon. Three years ago, Hawkman finally appeared in the DCEU, only for the future of that franchise getting canceled while the movie was still in the theaters. But he refuses to go away. But there is something about Hawkman that appeals to the comic book writers and artists. With such a long history and so many variations, the character is a huge treasure box of adventures that a writer could tackle some day. It could be about searching for archaeological artifacts that resurrect a memory of a past life, or it could be on faraway Thanagar, with Nth metal and aliens. It could be a love story across time and space, or it could be centered on one of the many villains in Hawkman's history. Many artists have told me that they love to draw the character, and I think many writers have an idea of a story that they would like to tell about Hawkman. Despite what the character has been through, he is still an extremely attractive character with tons of potential.
He is currently in the JSA series by Jeff Lemire, the DC K.O event by Scott Snyder, and recently became an all-out villain in a recent Absolute Universe issue. Although he hasn't had his own series since 2020, the mace-swinging, reincarnating, flying hero refuses to go away, and we could see another series for him in the next year or so.
So happy anniversary to Hawkman! He's still around after all these years, and I'm still folowing him, getting that jolt of youth every time I see him. There have been some great series, some times when we didn't have any series at all, some disappointments and long periods of waiting, but Hawkman is still celebrated and I'm glad there are many fellow Hawkfans to welcome Hawkman Day together.
.webp)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to comment!