The Origins of Hawkman and Hawkgirl (YouTube Video)

 I've seen numerous articles and videos explaining the origin of Hawkman and Hawkgirl over the years, so I decided to create my own and share my take on their origin story. I've drawn on my experience of following Hawkman for almost 50 years, with a focus on the origins that Gardner Fox and Robert Venditti provided us. Subscribe to the Hawkworld YouTube channel if you can! Many thanks!

Hawkman was Set Up Beautifully, and DC Comics Put It Away

Art by Stjepan Sejic, Bryan Hitch, Mikel Janin

  The day was March 15, 2018. That was an exciting day in the history of Hawkman. Washington Post announced the return of our favorite winged wonder. It was going to be written by Robert Venditti and drawn by Bryan Hitch. It was the beginning of a wonderful adventure that lasted almost three years. Hawkman Twitter blew up that day, with many Hawkman fans talking about the new series that was announced. Even Venditti and Hitch were surprised by the reception the news received. 

Hawkman's Super Spaceship: The Soarship

   Every superhero has a lair of some sort. Superman has his Fortress of Solitude. Batman has his Batcave. Hawkman has his lair as well. It's never really been acknowledged, but it's been there since the beginning of the Silver Age. In the most recent Hawkman series, Hawkman Vol. V (2018-2021), Rovert Venditti brought back Hawkman's spaceship and made it into such a lair that even Batman would envy. 

   Ever since Hawkman entered the Silver Age as a Thanagarian, he has had a spaceship in many of his stories. These spaceships have played an important role in many of his stories. Some lasted for years, while others only showed up briefly. Before we get into the main topic, here's a quick rundown of the spaceships that Hawkman has used in the past. 

10 Best Hawkman Moments of All Time (ScreenRant) Plus a Few from Tim Board!

 

Hawkman Vol. V by Robert Venditti, 2018-2021, 29 Issues, 4 Trades

   Hawkman Vol. V by Robert Venditti kicked off on June 13, 2018, six years ago! For two and a half years, Venditti gave us one of the best Hawkan series, some fans say best ever, and it has only grown in popularity since it wrapped up in November 2020. About a month ago, ScreenRant's Ashley Land put out a list of the ten best moments from the series so I'll share it here. There were so many great moments, it's pretty hard to limit the list to only ten, so I'll add a few more that didn't make the list. This is full of spoilers so if you haven't read the series, do yourself a favor and stop reading. Come back and share your thoughts. 
Here is the list on ScreenRant first. You can check out the article here for more details. 

5th Year Anniversary of Hawkman Vol. V

House Ad for Hawkman Vol. V (June 2018)

   Time flies as fast as Hawkman! The first issue of Hawkman Vol. V by Robert Venditti was released on June 13, 2018, 5 years ago today! The most recent Hawkman series continued for 29 issues, ending on November 10, 2020. In the series, it gave us a new origin for Hawkman, introduced us to numerous former lives of Hawkman, such as Catar-Ol of Krypton and Katarthul of Rann, and brought Hawkman and Hawkwoman truly back together for the first time since the Brightest Days series in 2010. The art by Bryan Hitch, Pat Olliffe, Fernando Pasarin and others made it one of the best Hawkman series ever. Since it's conclusion, it has often popped up on comic book reviewers' lists of the best series in recent DC Comics history. 

Robert Venditti Article on Thinking Critical

 Wes of Thinking Critical interviews Robert Venditti, the writer of X-O Manowar, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Freedom Fighters, Superman '78, and many other great books. Rob even mentions my reaction when they announced that he was writing Hawkman. (I was thrilled!) Check out the interview for lots of background stories about how he approached the character of Hawkman and others! 

Win a Copy of Hawkman Awakening Signed by Robert Venditti!

 Hawkman Day 2021 is coming soon! November 20 is the 82nd anniversary of Hawkman's first appearance in Flash Comics No. 1! The cover date is January 1940, but according to Grand Comics Database, the actual release date was November 20, 1939. So Hawkworld has always celebrated Hawkman's anniversary on this day. 

This year, we have a special giveaway contest to celebrate! Here's your chance to get a copy of Hawkman Awakening (issues #1-6) of Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch's Hawkman! And it will be signed by Venditti himself! One winner will be randomly chosen on November 20! To enter, just come over to Twitter and retweet the contest tweet and leave a comment! Hawkfans will be posting a bunch of things to celebrate Hawkman's birthday so come over and join! See you there! 

A Guide through the History of Hawkman

DC Comics’ Hawkman is a character who has been around for over 80 years. During those 80 years, he has been rewritten, rebooted, and rebirthed. He has been given several different origins and names. He has been the victim of Crisis events, crossovers and tie-in stories. For the casual reader, it’s understandable that his continuity seems confusing, crazy and convoluted. After the Metal series in 2018, Robert Venditti was given the task of writing a new version of Hawkman. Venditti set out to give us a version with a new origin, but he figured out a way to include all the other past versions as well. Every Hawkman you have ever read can be included in his new origin. As a Hawkman fan and self-appointed guide, it’s my hope that comic book fans will pick up Venditti's series and discover what a fascinating hero Hawkman is. To help other fans understand the character as easily and as possible. I have made a chart to show where all of his past stories interact. To make it as simple as possible, I have divided all of the Hawkman versions into five categories:

Mind-blowing Gift from Robert Venditti!

 

A few months ago, when we were coming out of the shutdown from the Coronavirus and comics were starting up again, I had some trouble getting my comics in Japan. Hawkman No. 25 was especially hard to get and I was still having trouble finding a copy six months after its release. I put out a word on Twitter to see if anyone could help me find a copy. But then I received a couple of tweets from Robert Venditti, the writer of the Hawkman Vol. V series. 

Board Review of Hawkman No. 29: Final Justice Conclusion: In the End

“There is only one truth that I know to be certain…I was made to soar.”

The journey with Hawkman that began in June 2018 came to an end today. It’s a bittersweet feeling, because I feel disappointed that it has ended, but elated that it was better than it had any right to be. When the article in the Washington Post in March 2018 announced the upcoming new series by Robert Venditti, I had no idea what to expect. A couple months before the series started, I had the honor of “meeting” Robert in a podcast on The Comic Source. He talked about Hawkman being a story of exploration and discovery. And that is exactly what we got.

Hawkman Vol. V Tribute Collage 2020

Hawkman Vol. V kicked off in June 2018, and for two and a half years, Hawkfans were treated to one of the best series in the 81-year history of Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Sadly, the series has been canceled and will end with issue No. 29. The final issue will be released on November 10th, which just happens to be the 81st anniversary of Hawkman's first appearance in Flash Comics No. 1, released back in 1939. To celebrate a great series and the anniversary of two great characters, I've created a tribute collage to remember most of the great moments in the series. I started work on this back in April 2020, but after hearing about the cancellation, I sped it up and finally finished it. Under the collage is the list of all the artists who contributed to this great series. It's my way of saying thank you for giving us such a great book that the fans can enjoy for many years to come. 
Note: If you want a pdf file of the collage, post your email in a comment or send me a private message on Twitter or Facebook. 

Writer: Robert Venditti 
Pencillers: Bryan Hitch, Will Conrad, Pat Olliffe, Fernando Pasarin, Marcio Takara, Marco Castiello 
Inkers: Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Daniel Henriques, Paul Neary, Andy Owens, Norm Rapmund, Scott Hanna, Will Conrad, Tom Palmer, Oclair Albert, Danny Miki, Wade Von Grawbadger, Marcio Takara, Cam Smith
Colorists: Alex Sinclair, Jeremiah Skipper, Jeromy Cox 
Cover: Bryan Hitch, Alex Sinclair, Will Conrad, Pete Pantazis, Roger Robinson, Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper, Tyler Kirkham, Raymund Bermudez, Mikel Janin 
Variant Covers: Stepan Sejic, Dale Keown, Matteo Scalera, Julian Totino Todesco, Bill Sienkiewicz, Shane Davis, Cully Hamner, Inhyuk Lee, James Harren, Richard Pace, Dan Panosian, Paolo Pantalena, Trevor Hairsine, Rain Beredo, Gerardo Zaffino, Sebastian Fiumara

To every single person who had a hand in creating this series; Thank you. 

Board Review of Hawkman No. 28: Final Justice Part Two: The Nth Degree

What do you do when you're not immortal anymore? Do you cherish each and every moment more? Do you suddenly become aware of the clock as your life heads to the inevitable finish? Or does the thought of your life ending paralyze you; not because you are afraid for yourself, but because you are afraid for the ones you love? 

Board Review of Hawkman No. 27: Final Justice Part One: Seems Like Old Times

The long-awaited issue of Hawkman No. 27 has finally been released. Ever since the jaw-dropping cover by Mikel Janin was released back in June, Justice Society fans have been waiting for this one. With the announcement of the ending of the series coming in November, this issue took on a whole different look and meaning. 

On the one hand, we had Hawkman and Hawkwoman joining up with the Justice Society in the 1940s. Flash (Jay Garrick), Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Sandman (Wesley Dodds), and Wildcat (Ted Grant) appeared as they battled the Injustice Society. It was pure comic book fun that many of us grew up on. This issue is a perfect example of why so many fans are hoping for Robert Venditti to take on a JSA book someday. 

Hawkman Vol. 3 Darkness Within Released in September 15!

The next volume of Robert Venditti's Hawkman series is out on September 15th! Hawkman Vol. 3 Darkness Within will include issues No. 13-19. Issue No. 19 has Hawkwoman's long-awaited return so don't miss this one!

Hawkman Canceled With No. 29 in November

Hawkman Vol. V by Robert Venditti has been canceled. The series ends at No. 29 which comes on November 10, which just happens to be Hawkman Day.
DC November Solicitations 

Board Review of Hawkman No. 26: Hawks Eternal Conclusion: Death of a Thousand Hawks

The soaring journey of exploration and discovery across time and space with Hawkman and Hawkwoman has come to an end, and another has begun. What an amazing journey it has been so far. Starting from the islands of Greece, we saw ancient Egypt, the Feitheran's Dinosaur Island, the floating cities of Thanagar, Atom's Microverse, the Hawktastic Soarship, the destruction of Krypton, a battle for Earth over London, an endless war on Nebulen, the dark Shadowlands, the familiar Midway City, the gargantuan tomb of Titan Hawk, and finally the temple of the Lord of the Void on Qgga.

Hawkman Unleased Part Three: Soaring to New Heights

By Tim Board

Hawkman Unleashed Part One: The Reason and The Components of a Hero 

Hawkman Unleashed Part Two: Breaking Down Hawkman's History 

On March 14, 2018, the new Hawkman series by Robert Venditti was announced. About a month after the announcement, I had the huge privilege of joining Rob and Jace Milam on The Comic Source podcast to talk about the upcoming series.
During the podcast, Jace said, "...ten, fifteen years from now when someone asks Tim which Hawkman run he should read and Tim says, "Read Venditti's run. That's where it's at."
We're two years into the run and I'm there. Rob's run on Hawkman has become the definitive run for comic book fans to find out about Hawkman. There have been many great series in the history of Hawkman and this does not take anything away from those fantastic stories. But Venditti's run has brought it all together, connected everything, and explained the great characters of Hawkman and Hawkwoman. This is the fifth series titled Hawkman and usually, it would be Vol. 5, but since the very beginning, I've been calling it Vol. V in honor of Venditti. For the third and final article, let's take a look at what Venditti has brought to the origin/purpose, secret identity, love, powers, weapons, locations, villains, supporting cast, and death/reincarnation of Hawkman.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 25: Hawks Eternal Part Two: Taking Lives

At the end of the last issue, we were left with the phrase "The Power of a Thousand Lifetimes." My guess was that both Hawkman and Hawkwoman would call their former lives to the present in the way Hawkman did when he took down the Deathbringers to fight the Lord of the Void (LOTV). That's not what happened. We got a long-awaited reveal, a puzzling comment about a weapon, and the true meaning of the aforementioned phrase. Slight spoilers ahead!

Board Review of Hawkman No. 24: Hawks Eternal Part One: Side by Side

Hawkman No. 24
Writer: Robert Venditti
Pencils: Fernando Pasarin
Inks: Oclair Albert, Cam Smith, Wade von Grawbadger
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letter: Rob Leigh
Editors: Andrea Shea, Alex R. Carr
Cover: Bryan Hitch, Alex Sinclair
Variant Cover: Gerardo Zaffino, Rain Beredo
DC Comics
Released June 16, 2020

Since Hawkman took off in June 2018, Robert Venditti has been rebuilding the character of Hawkman one step at a time. The steps have been in the form of Carter Hall's journal, the places he visits, the conversations he has had with the people he meets, and his past lives. At times he has taken very small steps, and at times he has taken giant strides.  Each step has revealed something about the man behind the Hawk helmet.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 23: Miasma of Fear

It was a long wait, 55 days to be exact, but Hawkman No. 23 was finally released. We were left in suspense about the story about a "Plague Doctor" in the 17th century Europe coming out while the world is fighting a pandemic in real-time. It was uncanny, to say the least, but writer Robert Venditti had the idea for the story back in October. And it leads right into a moment we've been wanting for a long time.