Hawkgirl #3 Review by Tim Board

 

   (Spoilers! You have been warned.)

   Just some random thoughts after reading the third issue of Hawkgirl. 

   Ever since Kendra Saunders appeared in 1999, she has been a bit of a tortured soul. She is that way for good reason, but after 24 years, you start to wish she could start to get a handle on things, especially the things in her head. That is not the case in this series. She is carrying all kinds of self-doubt and hard feelings. We keep getting shots of her curled up in a fetal position on the floor by a couch. The only things she seems to have going for her are her Nth metal and her anger. 

The Timeline of Hawkman and Hawkgirl Comics

Here is the timeline for Hawkman and Hawkgirl fans that I made today for my fellow Hawkfans. The print is a bit small, but I wanted to fit everything on it. If you click the pic, you can see it a bit better. If you want the original PDF file, e-mail me at houseofhawkman@gmail.com, and I'll send it to you the first chance I get. 

Hawkgirl #2 Review by Tim Board

 

   This review is full of spoilers, so if you haven't read it yet, then please come back after you do. Also, if you're a fan of the writer of this book, you might want to skip this as well. Sorry, gotta be honest. Anyway, let's take a look.

CBR Article: Writer Gardner Fox May Have Been DC's Version of Stan Lee.

   CBR put out an article about who would be DC's Stan Lee, and it basically concludes that Gardner Fox contributed just as much or even more to the world of superhero comics as Stan Lee did. The multiverse, the first superhero teams, and many superheroes are just a few of Gardner Fox's contributions to comics. He may not have created a character as big as Spider-man, Superman, or Batman, but his many creations continue to appear in the comics and movies today. Hawkman, Flash, Doctor Fate, Sandman, and Zatanna are just a few of his creations. There is no doubt that the world of comics would look very, very different without Gardner Fox. I think it's high time he gets the recognition that he deserves. This article is a small step, but very needed. Here's the link to the article.

    If you want to read about Gardner Fox, Jennifer DeRoss wrote a fantastic biography on his life and work in 2019. "The Forgotten All-Star: A Biography of Gardner Fox" is a great account of not only Fox's life, but also a great record of the history of comics itself. Every comic book fan should own a copy. She even managed to mention yours truly in the book as well! An honor I'll never be able to wrap my head around! Here's a link to order the book! 

CBR Article: DC's Couples Ranked (Guess Who's No. 1?)

Mikel Janin

    DC Comics has many iconic couples, most going back decades. Their love and commitment to each other is a constant theme through their stories. There may be times when they fall away from each other, but they always find their way back to each other. Hawkman and Hawkwoman are one of those couples. Geoff Johns (JSA, Hawkman Vol. 4), Bruce Tim (Justice League Unlimited) and other writers have tried to destroy their love story and put them with other heroes, but it hasn't worked. Carter Hall/Katar Hol and Shiera Sanders/Shayera Hol have always ended up back together. 
    As with Superman and Lois Lane, or with Oliver Queen and Black Canary, you cannot tell the story of Hawkman and Hawkwoman without the other. Their story started together back in 1939 (Flash Comics No. 1) and it continues 84 years later. DC Comics may be ignoring one of their great love stories and promoting Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders, who may or may not be bisexual with no real partner in her new mini-series, but when a writer who respects their history and the fans of the characters writes Hawkman and Hawkwoman, you can be sure that they will be together again. 
    In a recent CBR article, Cailyn Szelenski attempts to rank the couples of DC Comics. This is a bold attempt, and it may ruffle some feathers of fans of other heroes, but it's nice to see the Hawks be spotlighted in this way. Let's hope that DC Comics will wake up and give them a home for fans to go visit them once again. 

ARTICLE LINK

DC Comics 2023 October Solicitations

   After searching through an insane amount of Batman comics, I found two comics that Hawkfans can look forward to in October 2023! Here's the list and links to the League of Comics page! 

Hawkgirl #4 (October 17): The fourth issue of the Hawkgirl series. We're already in the last half of the series. There appear to be one cover and two variants. LINK

Amancay Nahuelpan

Sweeny Boo

Derrick Chew

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1 (October 17): Hawkgirl is on the main cover and Hawkman is doing his Where's Wally imitation on a variant cover. LINK

Christian Duce

Alan Quah

Here is the full list of Batman Comics October solicitations! LINK

CBR Article: DC Comics with the Best Fan Service

 

   We got an interesting article by Ashley Land of CBR. Here she has put together a list of comics that gave fans what they wanted, and it's a great list. Of course, Hawkman is in there! It's the usual light reading and doesn't go real deep, but it's good to see the Hawkman series recognized. And it truly did satisfy a lot of Hawkfans! Check out the article here. 

Reviews of Hawkgirl #1 (ComicBook Round Up)

    

   Hawkgirl #1 by Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan has been released and the reviews are coming in! ComicBook Round Up is a site that collects reviews from critics and site users. Currently, the critics have given the book a rating of 7.9, but the users' rating is at 2.9. Personally, I gave it a 7/10. You can check out all the reviews here! 

And here is mine as well. LINK

Hawkgirl #1 Review by Tim Board

   The new Hawkgirl series has finally begun and it's a whole new Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders. Kendra has gone through many changes over the years like any other character; the reluctant hero trying to find her own destiny, the confident former Lady Blackhawk who became an important and powerful member of the Justice League, and now a mature hero is trying to find her own place again after the end of the Justice League. 

   Who is this Hawkgirl? Let's start from there. When Shiera Saunders-Hall died, her soul was reincarnated into two beings; Shayera Hol, also known as Hawkwoman, and Kendra Saunders, the current Hawkgirl. Let's take a quick look at Kendra to understand where she is coming from.

The Story of Shayera Hol/Hawkwoman and Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl

By Tim Board

   Since the release of the Dark Nights Metal series in 2017-18, Hawkfans have been wondering when Hawkman and Hawkgirl were going to get back together. The current Hawkman series kicked off in June 2018, but Hawkgirl was not a part of the series. We saw her in some of her past lives; Chay-ara, Shayera Thal, and Sherra, but we never saw her as Hawkgirl in the first 18 issues. That all changed in the final 11 issues. We also saw Hawkwoman and Hawkgirl face off in the Justice League series (#14-16). This article is to explain who Hawkgirl and Hawkwoman are and their connection to Hawkman. 

DC House Ad for Hawkgirl #1

     Hawkgirl #1 finally arrives next week! This week's DC Comics has a house ad for the issue. 

Hawkgirl #1 is out on July 18! 

ScreenRant Article Link: Hawkgirl will be “The Best Comic Run Ever"

 

   According to Jadzia Axelrod, the writer for the New Hawkgirl series,  the 6-issue series will be the greatest comic run of all time. That's a bold statement, but we'll find out soon enough. I'm still blocked from her Twitter account (No idea why. I've never talked to her or about her) but this tweet was posted on the Screen Rant article. 

CBR: 10 DC Comics That Still Need A Sequel

    CBR lists 10 comics that deserve a sequel, and the Hawkman series by Robert Venditti is right in there. The series started out really great, but got derailed a bit by the ridiculous Year-of-the-Villain event in 2019-20. Venditti still was able to keep it going by bringing in Hawkwoman, Atom, and Adam Strange. The last six issues are just as good as the first 13. Vendiiti provided Hawkman and Hawkwoman with a huge setup that could have gone on for years, but DC prematurely ended it in November 2020. It's been almost three years since Hawkman has had his own title now. Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders) will be getting her own title this month, so let's hope a Hawkman and Hawkwoman series is not far behind. As Venditti said in an interview, he left the toy box full, so let's hope a writer will take advantage of what Veditti left behind. Check out the article to see the other titles that need a sequel! LINK

MovieWeb: "6 Ways Warner Bros Can Make DC Fans Trust the Brand Again"

Interesting article from MovieWeb today about how DC can regain the DC Fandom's trust. Check it out.

LINK

Personally, I think it may be a long time and take a new generation to bring back DC. It feels like DC has blown up the bridge with the current generations.

Hawkgirl Exclusive Preview on ComicBook.com

Art by Amancay NaHuelpan

   ComicBook.com put out an exclusive preview of the new Hawkgirl series by Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan. A lot more details are shared in the preview so check it out! 

Hawkgirl #1 is out on July 18! 

LINK

CBR: Best DC Superhero Friends (including Hawkman and the Atom and the Justice Society!)

Art by Bryan Hitch 

   CBR put out a list of "Best DC Superhero Friends" and a friendship that always makes these lists is Hawkman and Atom. These two have been close pals since 1963, when they first met in Atom #7. I wrote an article about the history of their friendship and why the two of them are so close. I hope this friendship will get some spotlight someday. CW's Legend of Tomorrow completely whiffed on that one. 

CBR: The Year-of-the-Villain Tie-In Almost Ruined Venditti's Hawkman

Hawkman Vol. V No. 17 (December 2019)

 

   CBR put out an article today about the ridiculous amount of tie-ins that come with events in recent comic events. Instead of helping the event, the tie-ins are mostly unnecessary and ruin other series. The article brings up as an example, Robert Venditti's Hawkman run in 2019. During 2019, DC Comics had a year-long event going on called the Year of the Villain. It started with a group of six heroes who turn evil. Hawkman was one of them. There was a 4-issue miniseries called Hell Arisen that was supposed to feature the six heroes, but it completely flopped and DC lost so much interest that Hawkman (Sky Tyrant) didn't even show up in the last two issues. 

Hawkman and Hawkgirl: A Hawkfan's Collection

 

   Finally finished getting my Hawkman collection back up. Still have some stuff to get up, but I'll figure out where to put it some day. It's a joy to see this when I get up in the morning and when I come back home after a long day at work. A collection 46 year in the making and I'm not done yet!

Positive Fan Reviews of Black Adam

    Most of the "critics" and some spoiled produce site has bashed the movie since it came out in October 2022. But for many DC Comics fans, the movie did have some positive things that promised a lot that hopefully Warner Bros will deliver one day.  The movie did have its problems, of course. It wasn't the perfect superhero movie, not by a long shot. But some fans remain upbeat about it. I gathered some comments together from the members and followers of Hawkworld on Facebook and Twitter. If you haven't seen the movie yet, maybe some positive views about the movie will encourage you to go see it. Personally, Black Adam gave us our first live active movie version of Hawkman, so it will always have a special place. 

Fan Comments are below! Post your positive comment and I'll add it! 

Hawkgirl #3 Covers Released

Amancay Nahuelpan

The solicitations for Hawkgirl #3 are out. The issue will have a main cover and 3 variants.