Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Rags Morales (p), Michael Bair (i)
Publisher: D.C. Comics
Plot:
The book opens with Shayera Thal (aka. Hawkwoman) making her way to St. Roch, and on her journey we see her take the time to look back on the rather mixed up events that saw her partner Katar Hol merged with Hawkman, before this newly merged creation disappeared into another dimension. Needless to say with Hawkman's recent return to the DCU, Hawkwoman is curious what happened to her partner, and the only man who can answer this question is Hawkman. The book then looks in on Hawkman as we see he's lamenting the loss of yet another person her cared for, and we see thanks to his continual resurrections, Hawkman has become rather accustom to the idea that he'll outlived almost everyone her cares about. We then look in on Hawkgirl as she's out enjoying a late night flight, when she finds herself attacked by Hawkwoman. As the two winged women go at it, we see it's a fairly even handed fight, but before it can become too serious, Hawkman arrives to bring the fight to an end. We then see Hawkwoman briefly mistakes Hawkman for her partner, and when she realizes her mistake, we see Hawkman tells her that Katar Hol gave his life so Hawkman could return. We then get a rather unexpected surprise, as the group is confronted by a winged man who claims he is Katar Hol.
Comments:
There's two types of people in the world. There's those who can be told something is hot, and they'll take your word for it, and then there's those who have to touch it for themselves to prove that yes it is hot. It would appear that Geoff Johns is a proud, card carrying member of this latter group, as while most writers would avoid diving into the convoluted mess that is Hawkman's history, Geoff Johns apparently feels the need to wade right in. Now this issue isn't too difficult to follow, as the primary motive of Shayera Thal (aka. Hawkwoman) is nicely defined by the time she gets around to confronting the Hawks. I'll also say that there is some rather perverse delight in seeing anyone attempt to deliver a general overview of the horrific mess that was made of Hawkman's back-story, as it's almost like the Keystone Cops of comic writing, in that we had a story that was running around all over the place, attempting to achieve a seemingly simple task (deliver a Hawkman that could support a title), and all it succeeded in doing was delivering a jumbled mess. I'm not sure if it was a case of a steady supply of writers being brought in to redefine the character, or if it was all done by a single writer who couldn't commit to a single direction, but I'm not sure it's in Geoff Johns' best interest to be messing about with this hornets nest of a back-story.
You know there's some a bit worrisome when a writer explains away a fight between two characters as a simple greeting, as while I'll buy Thanagarians having an aggressive method of greeting each other, the simple fact of the matter is that this fight was included in the issue simply to justify the attention grabbing cover, and to give the readers a reward for having endured the voyage through the swamp that is Hawkman's back-story. I mean sending someone smashing through a brick smoke stack, is a little extreme given this was suppose to be the equivalent of a Thanagarian saying hello. The book also makes a halfhearted attempt at justification by saying Hawkwoman was unsure who was under the mask, and as such she needed a good right cross to the jaw for her to confirm Hawkgirl was really who she claimed to be. Now I'm never one to turn down a good old-fashioned slugfest between two heroes, and Hawkgirl versus Hawkwoman is certain an attention grabber. However in the pages of this book, Geoff Johns is offering up these random fights, that have little to no justification, far too often for my liking, and given his strong work on his other titles, I'm disappointed with the lack of effort he's displaying on this series. Still, I guess whatever gets the fans in the door is the approach that Geoff Johns has taken on this book.
Rags Morales is an artist who deserves far more attention that he receives, as his work is highly detailed, and he has a great eye when it come to his action sequences. The brief tussle between Hawkgirl & Hawkwoman is a wonderful display of two characters in flight, and frankly it left me hoping Geoff Johns starts bringing in villains who can take to the air, as I rather like the battlefield high up off the ground. Now this issue isn't exactly packed with action, as about a third of this issue is devoted to explaining who Hawkwoman is, and where exactly she fits into Hawkman's history. However, Rags Morales manages to hold his own on the art front, as the slide show of images from Hawkman's past do a pretty solid job of detailing a very confusing mix of ideas, and there's some lovely shots thrown in to keep it interesting, such as the two panels that have the Hawks fighting alongside the Justice Society & the JLA. The art also does the best it can with Hawkwoman's rather dated costume design, as the double page spread of the character in the opening pages of this issue is quite impressive. The scene where Hawkwoman greets Hawkman with a passionate kiss was also nicely delivered by the art, as was the reaction shot when Shayera realizes that this isn't Katar Hol. I loved the cover to this issue as well.
Final Word:
The simple fact is that I know Geoff Johns is capable of better, so while this book is enjoyable enough, I can't ignore the fact that it's the weakest link in the chain. Now part of my problem with this book is Geoff Johns' continual attempts to repair the damage that was done to Hawkman's back-story, and while it's an admirable effort, the simple fact of the matter is that going over the past stories to smooth over the rough edges does not make for interesting reading. Now I enjoyed the idea of Hawkman has come to realize that he's going to outlive almost everyone he knows, as this adds a nice tragic element to the character. I'll also confess the last page does deliver a fairly impressive surprise that I can't wait to see explained. However, the issue does deliver a fight between Hawkgirl & Hawkwoman that has a manufactured to it, and the explanation Geoff Johns offers up to explain Hawkwoman's overly aggressive behavior felt like he simply couldn't be bothered to come up with a more convincing reason.
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