Reviews Across Time and Space: Hawkworld Vol. 1 No. 1

COMIC

Hawkworld Vol. 1 No. 1
Cover Date: August 1989
Release Date: June 15, 1989
Script: Timothy Truman
Pencils: Timothy Truman
Inks: Enrique Alcatena
Colors: Sam Parsons
Letters: Tim Harkins
Editing: Mike Gold, Brian Augustyn, Katie Main
Cover: Timothy Truman

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW

   Katar Hol is an ensign for the Thanagarian wingman and the son of Paran Katar, the famous scientist who created the Nth metal wings and floating cities of Thanagar. He idolizes the great Thanagarian hero Kalmoran and hopes to bring back Thanagar's original glory and culture. His commanding officer is Byth, a cruel man whom Katar despises. The Thanagarian society has descended into dystopian chaos; the Thanagarians live a life of luxury and decadence in the floating cities above the planet's surface, while the outcasts of Thanagarian society live in the slums called the Downside with the aliens who have been brought to Thanagar as slaves and laborers. Katar slowly begins to lose his love and hope for Thanagar. 
   As Katar struggles with the cruelty and imbalance of the dystopian culture, he also fails to control his addiction to the drugs that are available to the members of high society. His father has high hopes for him and wants him to be more ambitious, but Katar weakly resists his father's desire for him to take advantage of his high standing. One night, Katar is introduced to Shayera Thal, the beautiful daughter of Administrator Thal Porvis. 

PINIONS

    There is currently a Hawkman in the Absolute Superman series, but truth be told, DC Comics had an Absolute Hawkman series 35 years before the Absolute Universe ever got going. This series completely blew away anything that resembled the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age versions of Hawkman and gave us something much darker, desolate, and deep. There are no completely good characters in this story. Katar Hol is a privileged ensign who struggles against the dystopian Thanagarian society but is unable to resist the pleasures that his position offers him. Shayera Thal is a cruel, selfish, and vengeful woman who cares for nothing but herself. The leaders of Thanagar have no concern for the poor and unprotected people on the surface, and the Thanagarian society is obviously rotting from within. 

   I still remember the first time I read this many years ago. I was stunned. It felt like I had stopped breathing until I finished it. I had to go back and read it a second time. And then a third. This was nothing like any Hawkman we had ever seen before. Katar appeared to be struggling against the position he was in, and you wanted to root for him, but there were no likeable characters in this story. It was obvious that this would be a redemption story; a story of how Katar would break away from this decadent situation and become the hero we hoped to see. We had no idea how far he was going to fall before he could rise up. While there were clues here and there about Shayera, there was no way of knowing how she would become one of the most tragic characters in the history of DC Comics. 
   The tragedy of Thanagar stayed with me. They had built something beautiful and glorious, but it was built on poverty, slavery, cruelty, and apathy. There was no place for justice or dreams here, only day-by-day survival in any way possible until it came to a sudden but expected end. Truman had a message for society in these pages, and the message rings truer than ever 37 years later. Can a society come back from something like this? Can a society like this ever be rebuilt from the top down? Does it have to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up? 
   The first issue left me with those same questions for Katar Hol. Can he find his way in the position he is in, or will he have to crash and burn before he can begin to soar? Most of us have read this series, and we know what awaits. It's like watching a train heading for a spectacular crash. We've seen what happens, but we can't look away. We still hope for something not as tragic. The story that Truman gave us still resonates decades later. 

AVIAN ARTISTRY

   The art is dark and foreboding. The colors are bright and dim at the same time. Truman and Enrique Alcatena's use of shadows makes this whole story extremely heavy. There is no hope or signs of relief. It never lets up. Even in the day scenes on the island, the air is heavy and hopeless. The art doesn't let you see too far into the distance, because there is nothing good to see. I mentioned above that I forgot to breathe while I was reading this, and the art had a big part in that. It just sucks you in, and you don't realize it. You only realize you need to come up for air after you've read the last page. You may want to go take a long, hot shower and then grab an issue of the Silver Age Hawkman to escape the place this comic sends you. If there was ever an issue where the story and art style fit perfectly together, this was it. 

MEMORABLE WHEET

"You come from a perfect world, Katar Hol - The world of the High Towers. The Winged World. It is a place of no crime, no hunger, no suffering - - only the aristocracy, living in peace and prosperity, beauty and contentment. Holy Thanagar. Imperial Thanagar. Father of planets. Master of worlds. For you and your aristocratic friends, life has always been a feast. But tell me, when you've felt the need to excuse yourself from the table, haven't you wondered...where it all goes...when you flush the toilet?" 

AVIARY

PECKING ORDER

Verdict: The absolute best of the best 

Next review: Hawkgirl Vol. 1 No. 50 (Continued from Hawkman Vol. 4 No. 49)  

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