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. 

Hawkman Keeps Showing Up in the Rankings and Lists

Hawkman Vol. V Cover by Bryan Hitch

    For a hero who hasn't had his own comic in three years, Hawkman shows up quite a bit in comic sites' rankings of this, that, and the other. Just in the past month, several sites have listed several articles. And Hawkman is still in there. Nice to know that he hasn't been forgotten and that the fans realize that he's more than cover-dressing or panel filler. Now if DC Comics would just come up for air from their Batman-fever every once in a while, they might discover some things.  

   Here are a few articles in which Hawkman has been listed recently. 

10 Best DC Heroes Powered By The Gods (CBR.com) 
   Hawkman's power of reincarnation gets on this list at No. 7.

The Most Underrated Superpowers Of All Time, Ranked  (CBR.com)

   Reincarnation puts Hawkman in the No. 9 spot on this list.

Smallville’s 10 Best Superhero Guest Appearances (Fandom Wire)
   The Justice Society of America (with Hawkman come in at No. 9. Michael Shanks appeared in only 4 episodes as Carter Hal/Hawkman back in 2010, but he did such a good job that he remains many Hawkfans' favorite live-action Hawkman to this day. There are only four to choose from, but hey, it's an overcrowded Batman world so...

10 DC Villains Who Should Be Heroes (CBR.com) 
   Two villains who have a connection to Hawkman show up on the list. First up is the Gentleman Ghost. I found it pretty incredible that the writer didn't mention Hawkman once since GG is one of Hawkman's most famous and popular villains ever. It's like talking about the Joker without mentioning Batman, which he did in almost every other entry. The other was the Shade, who Venditti introduced as a friend of Hawkman's in his series in 2019 (#15-17). It was brilliant to make Shade's cane a gift from Hawkman in a flashback scene. 

10 Fantastic DC Heroes Who Deserve More Attention In Modern Comics (CBR.com)
   Hawkman listed at No. 9. 

The Dwayne Johnson Action Failure Finding Life On Streaming (Giant Freakin Robot) 

   I remember reading an article about The Wizard of Oz being a financial disaster when it first came out back in 1939, and it didn't make a profit for the studios until much later. In no way am I suggesting that Black Adam is the new Oz, but reading this article reminded me of that. For fans who can overcome the "expert" critics and see a movie for themselves, Black Adam can be a fun two or three hours. Just seeing the Justice League in action makes it worth the time, even if they didn't even try to get it comic-book accurate.

A lot of these articles are fluff pieces that didn't require much research, but it's nice to know that Hawkman hasn't been forgotten, even if DC Comics seems to have. Hawkman lives on in the fans. 

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!