Welcome back to the Society Pages, a column that looks back at the ‘modern’ history of the Justice Society of America. The main thrust of this column is to look at “JSA” and “Justice Society of America,” two ongoing series, written for most of their runs by Geoff Johns.
After another unplanned week off, we take up the journey of the “Hawkman” ongoing series by Geoff Johns and our old pal from “Hourman,” Rags Morales. Let’s go!
Hawkman #1-12Cover by Andrew Robinson
Plotted by James Robinson and Geoff Johns
Scripted by Geoff Johns, James Robinson
Penciled by Rags Morales, Ethan Van Sciver, and Doug Kramer
Inked by Michael Blair, Tim Truman, Prentis Rollins, and Mick Gray
Color Separation by Heroic Age
Colored by John Kalisz
Lettered by Bill Oakley, Kurt Hathaway, and Ken LopezIn Ancient Egypt, he was known as Prince Khufu. Today he is called Carter Hall. Archaeologist. Winged Warrior. Hawkman.He’s lived thousands of lives — his soul reincarnated again and again, destined forever to be reunited with his true love. That is, until now…This volume collects the first six issues of the hit HAWKMAN ongoing series, plus the lead story and select profile entries from HAWKMAN SECRET FILES #1. Written by Geoff Johns & James Robinson, with art by Rags Morales, Michael Bair, Patrick Gleason and Christian Alamy, as well as a painted cover by Andrew Robinson, ENDLESS FLIGHT follows the new adventures of one of the DCU’s premier super-heroes, Hawkman — spinning out of his return in the pages of JSA. Prince Khufu’s “soul mate” has been reincarnated into the body of Kendra Saunders — also known as Hawkgirl. But with no memories of her past lives, Kendra has made it quite clear she wants nothing to do with Hawkman. Now the two heroes must figure out a way to work together as they unravel the mysteries within the enigmatic southern epicenter called St. Roch, travel to exotic lands, and battle creatures and villains of ancient and new myth!
For Centuries the heroes known as Hawkman and Hawkgirl have been reincarnated and reunited in their love. Since ancient Egypt, this cycle has occurred without incident until the present day. Unaware of her past lives or romantic feelings for Hawkman, Hawkgirl has distanced herself from the winged warrior. But when she begins to investigate the murder of her parents, she reluctantly enlists Hawkman’s help. Now as Hawkman and Hawkgirl are on the verge of discovering the killer’s true identity, the two heroes find themselves locked in a deadly battle with the evil presence that has repeatedly stalked and murdered them since their original incarnations millennia ago.
Although the book is titled “Hawkman,” this is really a Hawkman and Hawkgirl series, and it is all the better for it. In “JSA,” we got a little bit of the tension between the recently resurrected Carter and Kendra, who is just coming to grips with what her destiny means, but here, we are able to dig a little deeper. There is an undercurrent of the push and pull from Kendra’s desire to live a new life and Carter’s desperate attempts to recreate his old one that runs throughout the entire series. Certain issues are more focused on that than others, but it is always there.
The crux of the series, like so many series of the late 90s/early 00s, is the setting. St. Roch is basically DC’s version of New Orleans, and it is where the Hawks live, with Carter shacking up at a the Stonechat Museum. The Museum gives the book an Indiana Jones vibe, as Carter and Kendra are often bailing out people who have been on the search for antiquities. It’s all very Last Crusade, and it is a lot of fun.
The first arc is a pretty standard ‘first arc of a new series’ sort, with getting new characters introduced and re-establishing the old ones we know and love. It’s fine, but it felt a little forced. That goes right out the window with ‘Slings and Arrows,’ the Hamlet referencing second act, where Green Arrow shows up. Hawkman and Green Arrow, even more than Hal Jordan and Ollie, are the polar opposites of the DCU. Hawkman is basically a fascist cop, and Oliver Queen is a bleeding heart liberal. They are forced to team up to stop a crime by an archer, posing as Green Arrow. The crime itself isn’t so memorable, but their team-up is, due to their conflicting ideologies.
Continued belowFor the first 12 issues, Rags Morales handles all of the art duties and, like he was doing on “Hourman,” he is great at changing styles mid-stream and adapting to what the writers give him. For a James Robinson-penned issue set in the Old West, Morales is inked by Tim Truman, and the two of them totally change the visual style of the title. The issue is an incredibly fun story that introduces a bunch of elements that Geoff Johns will get to return to later in the run, and it sort of acts as Robinson’s swan song on the title. (Robinson co-plotted the book for its first ten or so issues with Johns) We see Nighthawk, a former incarnation of Hawkman’s, along with Kate, aka Cinnamon, a former Hawkgirl reincarnation, as well as the pre-deceased Gentleman Jim Craddock, the future Gentleman Ghost. The issue functions in a similar way to the ‘Times Past’ issues of “Starman,” and feels very much like a Matt O’Dare/Scalphunter story.
One of the best things that Johns does is re-establishes the friendship between Ray Palmer (Atom) and Carter. Palmer turns down a glass of wine at dinner, because “If I’ve got to shrink, I can’t drink,” saying how the blood alcohol level would go through the roof. It’s a fun bit, and added a little touch of real life to their friendship. Inspired by Oliver Queen to ‘take off his helmet,’ the next few issues see Carter try to live his life outside of the Hawkman gear, and the series takes a nice turn towards something a little more human.
All of these “JSA” spinoffs really place a lot of import on supporting characters, and building up a home for these heroes to return to, and “Hawkman” is no different. Chief Nedal, Officer Isabella, Speed Saunders, the Evans family, and Jayita are all given time to be more than just set dressing, and when one of them is impacted by the story, we feel it. Speed leads the Hawks to encounter a modern incarnation of their arch nemesis, Hath-Set, and when Kendra defeats her, the Hawks believe that, perhaps, their curse of being killed by Hath-Set in each lifetime is finally over. This isn’t the case, but it allows the book to pivot slightly from the ‘we are reliving a story that will happen again and again’ tone and go into new places. But let me tell you, those places are bleak.
Chief Nedal is, initially, a big help to the Hawks, but a more sinister motivation is revealed. Nedal was one of the two police officers to attempt to rape Kendra and her mother when Kendra was just 13, and has been trying to get to her to avenge the death of his partner. This is revealed slowly, and it breaks your heart as you’re reading it.
It gets real dark, and the plot involves the Gentleman Ghost, whose death at the hands of Nighthawk was unjust, and it takes the book into some really disturbing territory. It eventually ends with Gentleman Ghost causing Nedal to shoot and kill Jayita and, eventually, end Nedal’s life by having him hang himself. Kendra’s story gets more and more tragic as we learn more about her, whereas Carter’s gets deeper and more reflective.
The arc with Nedal is guest illustrated by Ethan Van Sciver and Doug Kramer, and neither give the book the same depth of tone that Morales does, though both do a decent enough job. Morales and Johns are a natural pairing here, and the book in relatively short time has established a very unique tone, a supporting cast that matters, and an open ended story that has enough structure to it to allow the book to feel both organized and improvisational.
Hawkman: Secret Files and Origins #1Cover by Rags Morales
Written by Geoff Johns and Dan Curtis Johnson
Chase Segment Plotted by Dan Curtis Johnson and JH Williams III
Penciled by Patrick Gleason and Greg Scott
Inked by Christian Alamy and Mick Gray
Color Separation by Digital Chameleon
Colored by John Kalisz and Tom McGraw
Lettered by Kurt Hathaway and ComicraftOne of the Winged Warrior’s deadliest foes returns in a one-shot devoted to the newest incarnation of Hawkman! A foe nearly as ancient as Hawkman makes his presence known. Plus, the DEO investigates the mysterious Nth metal. Rounding out the issue are profile pages focusing on the Hawks, their villains and the supporting cast of the hit new series!
These ‘Secret Files and Origins’ titles are fun, though usually relatively inconsequential. This one does something interesting, though, which is have a “Chase” story involving Nth metal by Dan Curtis Johnson and Greg Scott. It is a wonderful story for a few reasons, as it gives real heart to some new characters, and gives the DC Universe some additional depth, in showing some of the behind the scenes characters and events that take place. The Hawkman story, beautifully illustrated by Patrick Gleason, is mainly an Egyptian flashback story which, while fun, is less than essential.
Next week: back to “JSA!”
