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The Savage Hawkman
The Savage Hawkman, Volume 1: Darkness Rising
As a part of the acclaimed DC Comics - The New 52, Carter Hall is back as the savage Hawkman!
Carter's skill at deciphering lost languages has led him to a job with an archaeologist who specializes in alien ruins. But one of his latest discoveries is Morphicus, whose deadly power helps to spread an alien plague through New York City. With innocent lives in the balance, Carter Hall must use the power of the Nth metal bonded to his body to don his wings and become Hawkman!
Witness the start of a new action series from writer Tony S. Daniel (Detective Comics, Batman) and artist Philip Tan (Green Lantern, Batman & Robin) that will take Hawkman where no hero has flown before!
Collecting: The Savage Hawkman 1-8
Carter's skill at deciphering lost languages has led him to a job with an archaeologist who specializes in alien ruins. But one of his latest discoveries is Morphicus, whose deadly power helps to spread an alien plague through New York City. With innocent lives in the balance, Carter Hall must use the power of the Nth metal bonded to his body to don his wings and become Hawkman!
Witness the start of a new action series from writer Tony S. Daniel (Detective Comics, Batman) and artist Philip Tan (Green Lantern, Batman & Robin) that will take Hawkman where no hero has flown before!
Collecting: The Savage Hawkman 1-8
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
8 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
About the author
Tony S. Daniel
687 books91 followersTony Salvador Daniel is a comic book author and illustrator. He is sometimes credited with is full name as Antonio Salvador Daniel.
For the science fiction writer, see Tony Daniel.
Tony S. Daniel decided to become a comic book artist in the 4th grade and has never looked back. He made his professional comics debut in 1993 on Comico's The Elementals and went on to illustrate X-Force for Marvel Comics and Spawn: Bloodfeud for Image Comics as well as writing and illustrating several creator-owned titles of his own: Silke, The Tenth, Adrenalynn and F5 — the last two of which led him, for a time, into the alternate reality known as Hollywood.
After being lured back into comics in 2005 to work with writer Geoff Johns on TEEN TITANS for DC Comics, Daniel landed his dream job in 2007 penciling the adventures of DC's Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN where he first collaborated with writer Grant Morrison and then went on to write and draw the book himself. In 2011 he re-launched DETECTIVE COMICS for DC’s New 52, writing and drawing most of the first year of the historic series. In 2012 Daniel moved from one icon to another when he began illustrating the adventures of Superman in ACTION COMICS.
For the science fiction writer, see Tony Daniel.
Tony S. Daniel decided to become a comic book artist in the 4th grade and has never looked back. He made his professional comics debut in 1993 on Comico's The Elementals and went on to illustrate X-Force for Marvel Comics and Spawn: Bloodfeud for Image Comics as well as writing and illustrating several creator-owned titles of his own: Silke, The Tenth, Adrenalynn and F5 — the last two of which led him, for a time, into the alternate reality known as Hollywood.
After being lured back into comics in 2005 to work with writer Geoff Johns on TEEN TITANS for DC Comics, Daniel landed his dream job in 2007 penciling the adventures of DC's Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN where he first collaborated with writer Grant Morrison and then went on to write and draw the book himself. In 2011 he re-launched DETECTIVE COMICS for DC’s New 52, writing and drawing most of the first year of the historic series. In 2012 Daniel moved from one icon to another when he began illustrating the adventures of Superman in ACTION COMICS.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
June 24, 2013
Awful!
This is one of the worst titles I've read in the New 52 line-up, and I'm not even that picky!
How do I even describe it?
Well, the word boring comes to mind. So does the word idiotic. The dialogue was so amateur and stupid that I would love to put them in this review as evidence, but that would require me thumbing through the pages again.
I Won't Do It! I wasted the entire day trying to force myself to just finish the thing. I finally got through with it, too. And I'm not going back, baby! Ever!
Now, I'm not an expert on Hawkman, so maybe he's always been a total douche. Has he always been a massive tool? Anyone? Anyone?
'Cause he sure wasn't what I would call likable. He wandered around in (and out) of his goofy winged armor acting like a total ass to anyone who got within ten feet of him. In between bouts of being a dick hole, the reader gets the pleasure of listening to his retarded inner monologue. Let me give an example...now remember, this is not a quote from the book, 'cause I'm not opening that soul-sucker up again.
I fear it is my fault. Me. Carter Hall. I, Carter Hall, am sad.
Again, that is not a direct quote, but if you had the misfortune to read this title you'll probably agree that I'm not far off.
Oh, and does anyone know why he doesn't want to be Hawkman anymore? 'Cause it sure wasn't explained. At all.
Page one: I don't want to be Hawkman.
Page two: I'm setting the armor on fire.
Page three: Oh shit! It just leapt out of the flames and fused to my body!
WTF?!
Lame villains, juvenile dialogue, unlikable main character, and no explanation of how or why he got there.
Perfection! Where can I read more stuff like this?!
Recommended to anyone who wants the joy sucked out of their life.
This is one of the worst titles I've read in the New 52 line-up, and I'm not even that picky!
How do I even describe it?
Well, the word boring comes to mind. So does the word idiotic. The dialogue was so amateur and stupid that I would love to put them in this review as evidence, but that would require me thumbing through the pages again.
I Won't Do It! I wasted the entire day trying to force myself to just finish the thing. I finally got through with it, too. And I'm not going back, baby! Ever!
Now, I'm not an expert on Hawkman, so maybe he's always been a total douche. Has he always been a massive tool? Anyone? Anyone?
'Cause he sure wasn't what I would call likable. He wandered around in (and out) of his goofy winged armor acting like a total ass to anyone who got within ten feet of him. In between bouts of being a dick hole, the reader gets the pleasure of listening to his retarded inner monologue. Let me give an example...now remember, this is not a quote from the book, 'cause I'm not opening that soul-sucker up again.
I fear it is my fault. Me. Carter Hall. I, Carter Hall, am sad.
Again, that is not a direct quote, but if you had the misfortune to read this title you'll probably agree that I'm not far off.
Oh, and does anyone know why he doesn't want to be Hawkman anymore? 'Cause it sure wasn't explained. At all.
Page one: I don't want to be Hawkman.
Page two: I'm setting the armor on fire.
Page three: Oh shit! It just leapt out of the flames and fused to my body!
WTF?!
Lame villains, juvenile dialogue, unlikable main character, and no explanation of how or why he got there.
Perfection! Where can I read more stuff like this?!
Recommended to anyone who wants the joy sucked out of their life.
November 23, 2012
I was watching paint dry with an intensity the activity doesn’t usually warrant when a thought struck me that someone seeing this might think me odd - that is unless you informed them it was this or read “Savage Hawkman, Vol 1: Darkness Rising”. “So put it aside, pick up something else!” would be the reasonable response to this situation. That I would normally do but a few weeks ago I made the bad decision of purchasing a shed-load of New 52 titles and, because money has changed hands, I feel obligated to read them all - which turned out to be an even worse decision than purchasing so many unknown titles in one fell swoop.
To be fair, I’ve found quite a few new titles enjoyable and brilliant (Deathstroke, Resurrection Man, Red Lanterns) but it does bring me into contact with some frankly reprehensible titles and “Hawkman” is one of the worst, even by Tony Daniel’s mediocre standards.
Daniel is a good artist but his writing on Batman has never been spectacular. His Batman books “Battle for the Cowl” and “Life After Death” are average books that anyone but Batman fans can easily pass up for better fare. But Daniel’s efforts on the New 52 have been especially dire. “Detective Comics” was a low point, easily the worst book of his I’d read yet, and one of titles in the reboot that almost immediately needed to be rebooted, but “Hawkman”, the first (and last) non-Batman book of his I’ve read, manages to be downright unreadable.
Carter Hall is Hawkman who we see in the opening pages setting fire to the golden armour that makes him Hawkman. Then he blacks out. Then he comes to. Then he finds out the armour has somehow becomes part of him, materialising onto him whenever he needs it. Convenient but unexplained and therefore entirely contrived. Also, the reader has no idea why he wanted to burn the armour in the first place - why does he hate being Hawkman? No clue. Great, off to a blazing start.
But this bad attitude turns out to be Hall’s meagre character. He’s a massive dick to everyone and anyone, both as Carter Hall and as Hawkman. In one scene he beats up an elderly man with a heart condition who’s been forced to co-operate with a villain, mocking and insulting him as he does so, finally dragging him many miles from the man’s home to watch as Hawkman fights the villain, then leaving the old man stranded with a final insult, flying away smirking. He’s an utterly unlikeable person.
Then as Carter Hall, one of his co-workers tries to help him out. Hall has gone through some troubles, losing his home, so she stops by in his new run-down apartment and offers to cook him dinner and flirts with him. So he’s going to have a good evening despite having done nothing to earn this. But instead he turns her out, mumbling something about not caring, and stumbling off to turn into Hawkman again.
Special mention goes to the dialogue which is stunning. Static Shock (the lamest superhero of them all) makes a cameo, his first words to Hawkman being “Whoa. What are you? Some kind of... Hawk-man?”. Daniel’s clunky script includes the most clumsy exposition: the villain Morphicius says “The Nth Metal properties I absorbed from you prevent you from harming me.” Hawkman: “But you didn’t take it all from me!” Morphicius: “I will - and soon! Look around you! It’s too late!”. It’s like listening to a pair of pre-schoolers pretend at being superheroes as they stand on a jungle gym wearing their mum’s home-made superhero outfits.
The one plus I will give this book is the decent character design Philip Tan gives Hawkman. He does look cool in his golden armour and Hawk helmet. It’s just such a shame that everything else about the character makes you hate him.
This review could go on for pages. The rubbish villains, abysmal dialogue, total lack of explanation for any aspect of the story and characters, the poor setups. It’s not even “so bad it’s good”, it’s just so bad, so boring, so bland, it’s bad. If it was quirky or silly in an off-kilter way or if Hawkman was even remotely likeable, I would’ve enjoyed this experience so much more. Instead, I imagine my expression while reading this would have resembled Jack Torrance’s at the end of Kubrick’s “The Shining”, my face a frozen rictus grin of pure insanity.
Get some paint, dab it on the wall, stare at it. It is a more rewarding experience than reading “Savage Hawkman”. Or better yet, don’t buy this like I foolishly did, check this out of the library, throw it against the wall, and return it. Tony Daniel has joined Jeph Loeb, J. Michael Straczynski, and Dan Jurgens in the group of unreadable comics writers everyone should avoid.
To be fair, I’ve found quite a few new titles enjoyable and brilliant (Deathstroke, Resurrection Man, Red Lanterns) but it does bring me into contact with some frankly reprehensible titles and “Hawkman” is one of the worst, even by Tony Daniel’s mediocre standards.
Daniel is a good artist but his writing on Batman has never been spectacular. His Batman books “Battle for the Cowl” and “Life After Death” are average books that anyone but Batman fans can easily pass up for better fare. But Daniel’s efforts on the New 52 have been especially dire. “Detective Comics” was a low point, easily the worst book of his I’d read yet, and one of titles in the reboot that almost immediately needed to be rebooted, but “Hawkman”, the first (and last) non-Batman book of his I’ve read, manages to be downright unreadable.
Carter Hall is Hawkman who we see in the opening pages setting fire to the golden armour that makes him Hawkman. Then he blacks out. Then he comes to. Then he finds out the armour has somehow becomes part of him, materialising onto him whenever he needs it. Convenient but unexplained and therefore entirely contrived. Also, the reader has no idea why he wanted to burn the armour in the first place - why does he hate being Hawkman? No clue. Great, off to a blazing start.
But this bad attitude turns out to be Hall’s meagre character. He’s a massive dick to everyone and anyone, both as Carter Hall and as Hawkman. In one scene he beats up an elderly man with a heart condition who’s been forced to co-operate with a villain, mocking and insulting him as he does so, finally dragging him many miles from the man’s home to watch as Hawkman fights the villain, then leaving the old man stranded with a final insult, flying away smirking. He’s an utterly unlikeable person.
Then as Carter Hall, one of his co-workers tries to help him out. Hall has gone through some troubles, losing his home, so she stops by in his new run-down apartment and offers to cook him dinner and flirts with him. So he’s going to have a good evening despite having done nothing to earn this. But instead he turns her out, mumbling something about not caring, and stumbling off to turn into Hawkman again.
Special mention goes to the dialogue which is stunning. Static Shock (the lamest superhero of them all) makes a cameo, his first words to Hawkman being “Whoa. What are you? Some kind of... Hawk-man?”. Daniel’s clunky script includes the most clumsy exposition: the villain Morphicius says “The Nth Metal properties I absorbed from you prevent you from harming me.” Hawkman: “But you didn’t take it all from me!” Morphicius: “I will - and soon! Look around you! It’s too late!”. It’s like listening to a pair of pre-schoolers pretend at being superheroes as they stand on a jungle gym wearing their mum’s home-made superhero outfits.
The one plus I will give this book is the decent character design Philip Tan gives Hawkman. He does look cool in his golden armour and Hawk helmet. It’s just such a shame that everything else about the character makes you hate him.
This review could go on for pages. The rubbish villains, abysmal dialogue, total lack of explanation for any aspect of the story and characters, the poor setups. It’s not even “so bad it’s good”, it’s just so bad, so boring, so bland, it’s bad. If it was quirky or silly in an off-kilter way or if Hawkman was even remotely likeable, I would’ve enjoyed this experience so much more. Instead, I imagine my expression while reading this would have resembled Jack Torrance’s at the end of Kubrick’s “The Shining”, my face a frozen rictus grin of pure insanity.
Get some paint, dab it on the wall, stare at it. It is a more rewarding experience than reading “Savage Hawkman”. Or better yet, don’t buy this like I foolishly did, check this out of the library, throw it against the wall, and return it. Tony Daniel has joined Jeph Loeb, J. Michael Straczynski, and Dan Jurgens in the group of unreadable comics writers everyone should avoid.
July 30, 2014
This really is bad. Worse than just being poorly written, it's boring, too. You just can't start a book with the main character torching his famous costume without explaining why he's torching his famous costume. So he hates being Hawkman, but why? I never was able to figure it out. I'd bet good money that Daniel never bothered to figure it out. He just needed a way to give his main character an upgrade. Now the Nth Metal is fused with Hawkman's body! Yay? I don't care, and I don't see why I should care. This might have been helped by snappy dialog, but I've never seen such a collection of one liners completely and utterly flop. This isn't even entertaining bad, it's just dull bad.
January 12, 2023
The Adventures of Not-Batman. Not-Batman thinks quipping is the same as having a personality. Nope!
His adventures are completely tensionless, it's just stuff happening sequentially. File under: who cares.
His adventures are completely tensionless, it's just stuff happening sequentially. File under: who cares.
September 18, 2021
Absolutely NOT reader friendly.
You’re obviously supposed to have full knowledge of Hawkman’s lore to start with or get lost; Daniel obviously doesn’t care.
The plot, if I may call that a plot is as uninteresting as it is obscure and botched in its translation into words and images to boot. What’s happening? Dunno. Do I care? Nope.
Art started well but dropped down due to change of artist.
Reserved to enraged Hakman fans
You’re obviously supposed to have full knowledge of Hawkman’s lore to start with or get lost; Daniel obviously doesn’t care.
The plot, if I may call that a plot is as uninteresting as it is obscure and botched in its translation into words and images to boot. What’s happening? Dunno. Do I care? Nope.
Art started well but dropped down due to change of artist.
Reserved to enraged Hakman fans
March 22, 2021
Phillip Tan's wonderful artwork in the first half of the book isn't enough to redeem this series. Tony Daniel doesn't explain anything about main protagonist, Carter Hall, and the things we infer about him from the story aren't great. He's as dense as a brick, a jerk to anyone who inconveniences him (and even those that don't), and monologues CONSTANTLY. Now place that character in a boring plot about aliens and you have a very bland superhero comic that encompasses everything wrong about edgy comics from the 90s. Except this is from the 2000s and should know better! Do yourself a favor and buy literally anything else.
July 31, 2020
This wasn't terrible, but wasn't much to my taste. There's no set-up or backstory or introduction about the heritage of the character; you're just supposed to intuit that it's yet another continuity retcon reboot and that all bets are off. It begins with Carter Hall being tired of being Hawkman and deciding to destroy the costume. (I'm a little tired of superheroes who become tired of themselves and deciding to quit, but okay.) So the costume decides to infuse his body and become a literal part of him. (I didn't even like the concept much in 1984 with Eddie Brock becoming Venom, but okay.) Then Carter turns into a total jerk (don't know if it's due to frustration or the Nth metal influence or if he was just embracing the inner nastiness that's he's kept hidden for the last 80 years) and looks for a mystical orb and fights some zombies and aliens and it ends. The art isn't bad, but it's not Joe Kubert. The writing isn't awful, but it's not Gardner Fox. The panels are wide and spaced and large, so the story stretches over pages that it doesn't have substance to fill. I understand that lots of folks like this "savage" version, but it's Katar-Hol and Shayera for me.
March 16, 2021
So this is a weird one, because for a "fresh start/reboot/new status quo" they do a terrible job of letting new readers know “whats up” and just throw you into the deep end, and I feel bad for any new readers who pick this up expecting to get any sort of knowledge on the character. — you won't. And you'll be lost right off the bat.
I didn't much care for the first half of this, with the throw away Venom-symbiote-like stuff, and I don't think Tan's art reels you in much either, as it's so dark and ink heavy, there's barely any colour on the page, and it's just boring to look at, and read.
I really really enjoyed the later Gentleman Ghost story however and it definitely saved the book for me, otherwise it would've been a 2/5 easily.
It's also quite a hefty collection, and collects issues 1-8 rather than the usual DC 1-6 (or 1-5 for Marvel)
I didn't much care for the first half of this, with the throw away Venom-symbiote-like stuff, and I don't think Tan's art reels you in much either, as it's so dark and ink heavy, there's barely any colour on the page, and it's just boring to look at, and read.
I really really enjoyed the later Gentleman Ghost story however and it definitely saved the book for me, otherwise it would've been a 2/5 easily.
It's also quite a hefty collection, and collects issues 1-8 rather than the usual DC 1-6 (or 1-5 for Marvel)
February 17, 2018
The Savage Hawkman left me savagely mumbling "meh". Carter Hall wants to be free of the Nth Metal. But that's not going to happen. Instead the armor bonds to Carter and can now appear when needed. That's cool, since there are several bad guys/alien things that want to get a hold of the Nth metal. So they try to do so throughout this volume. They fail. So there will be a volume 2 and I don't know if that's a positive thing or not. Nothing about this story (art or plot) is terrible. Nothing about this story is good. Thus the poster child for 2 star ratings. Some may enjoy this, some may not. Count me in amongst the ranks of the latter. I am curious about the Hawkman myhtos and may go find some good versions of this character. This is not it.
September 22, 2014
Not bad. The first half wasn't very exciting. Hawkman gets his nth metal power and a bad guy is after him because he wants to suck up his energy. We are back to the original Hawkman here too, the human cryptologist, not the alien police enforcer who I've been most familiar with in my reading as a youngster. Anyway, once the first story was over, we suddenly had zombies appear and my interest piqued. Finding the second half of the book much more interesting story wise plus we got to know Carter much better as a person, along with some of the people in his life such as Emma Ziegler. Morphicus was a pretty lame bad guy in the first section but the ambiguous reptile looking shapeshifter Askana, present for the whole book, is a great villainess. Loved her! And my reading of the awful "Static Shock" volume paid off as Static shows up here (and at least I knew who he was and got his jokes) for a few pages to help Hawkman fight off the zombies! Hawkman is around a lot as a member of the Justice League and while this isn't fantastic, I enjoyed reading him on his own. He has one more volume left and I'll definitely be reading that.
April 1, 2013
Another example of a New 52 book that had potential that was wasted. The initial set-up and plot were intriguing but then the book never explores those elements. We never learn the background of the character, his powers, his personality - nothing. Time after time characters would know something needed for the story with no explanations given for how they know it. The art wasn't good either, with indistinct faces and muddy coloring. The new costume design was good but poorly explained and utilized. I just kept waiting for this book to get better and it never did.
October 3, 2012
This book series is not starting off very well, but it shows the potential of picking up in later installments.
June 26, 2024
#1-4 This is awful. Story is uninspired and the art is shit.
Finished. Very poor. The art and storytelling improved a little in #6 - 8. But not a lot. Certainly not enough to elevate it to 3 stars.
Finished. Very poor. The art and storytelling improved a little in #6 - 8. But not a lot. Certainly not enough to elevate it to 3 stars.
June 8, 2017
3.5 stars
May 19, 2018
2.5/5
June 11, 2022
4.5 stars
September 1, 2016
2.5 stars. Previously I've been a fan of Hawkman but this New 52 reboot is a disappointment.
Some of the artwork is decent. I like Hawkman's look -- his armor and wings -- and overall I thought he looked really menacing. But as for the artwork for the other characters (and even for Carter Hall when he's not in Hawkman form), the facial features weren't sharp and defined enough for my tastes.
At the very start Carter Hall has the Hawkman armor and is trying to destroy it. While I don't always mind starting in mid-story -- it can be an effective plot hook -- the backstory was never revisited; we never learn how he got the armor or why he's trying to destroy it. There's no real origin story here, even though it's supposed to be a reboot.
This series is titled "Savage Hawkman" rather than just "Hawkman", probably because they were going for a pulp-style take on the character. This shows in a few places, as Carter Hall / Hawkman has a hardboiled approach to problem solving and a clipped, tough-guy way of narrating it -- though it wasn't nearly enough to make it feel like a pulp detective story. Also it wasn't made clear what Carter Hall's personality really is; is the tough-guy schtick just an act or is he actually a mean-spirited guy? And if the latter, why? I never knew his motivations, frustrations, thoughts, or desires. I would've enjoyed seeing "Savage" Hawkman more fully developed into a hardboiled character, or skip that altogether, rather than giving us someone with a hardboiled veneer but no personality.
Two villains appear in this book: first a new one named Morphicius who, hamstrung by a cheesy name and very little real character development, at least looked cool; and second being a reboot of Gentlemen Ghost. Neither villain was developed much. For a reboot I'm really disappointed with the fact that there was essentially zero origin story or character development in this book.
I don't think this series was doomed already after these first few issues, but it certainly wasn't off to a good start. There are hints of something good to come, and now that I'm reading trade paperback vol 2 I think it's starting to get better under an author other than Tony Daniel. However, it did still get canceled after the second collection, so it's a sad demise of a 70-year-old character's franchise. This iconic character was not handled with care, and that's really a shame. I'll have to hope that DC does a "re-reboot" on this someday with better writing and artwork.
Some of the artwork is decent. I like Hawkman's look -- his armor and wings -- and overall I thought he looked really menacing. But as for the artwork for the other characters (and even for Carter Hall when he's not in Hawkman form), the facial features weren't sharp and defined enough for my tastes.
At the very start Carter Hall has the Hawkman armor and is trying to destroy it. While I don't always mind starting in mid-story -- it can be an effective plot hook -- the backstory was never revisited; we never learn how he got the armor or why he's trying to destroy it. There's no real origin story here, even though it's supposed to be a reboot.
This series is titled "Savage Hawkman" rather than just "Hawkman", probably because they were going for a pulp-style take on the character. This shows in a few places, as Carter Hall / Hawkman has a hardboiled approach to problem solving and a clipped, tough-guy way of narrating it -- though it wasn't nearly enough to make it feel like a pulp detective story. Also it wasn't made clear what Carter Hall's personality really is; is the tough-guy schtick just an act or is he actually a mean-spirited guy? And if the latter, why? I never knew his motivations, frustrations, thoughts, or desires. I would've enjoyed seeing "Savage" Hawkman more fully developed into a hardboiled character, or skip that altogether, rather than giving us someone with a hardboiled veneer but no personality.
Two villains appear in this book: first a new one named Morphicius who, hamstrung by a cheesy name and very little real character development, at least looked cool; and second being a reboot of Gentlemen Ghost. Neither villain was developed much. For a reboot I'm really disappointed with the fact that there was essentially zero origin story or character development in this book.
I don't think this series was doomed already after these first few issues, but it certainly wasn't off to a good start. There are hints of something good to come, and now that I'm reading trade paperback vol 2 I think it's starting to get better under an author other than Tony Daniel. However, it did still get canceled after the second collection, so it's a sad demise of a 70-year-old character's franchise. This iconic character was not handled with care, and that's really a shame. I'll have to hope that DC does a "re-reboot" on this someday with better writing and artwork.
November 14, 2012
This book is a good example of the problem I have with the New 52 event. In Brightest Day, DC took several characters (including Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Deadman, Hawk and Dove, and Green Arrow) and really gave them a new direction. The events surrounding Brightest Day caused these characters to reevaluate their lives and they came away with a new re-dedication to their various causes; it looked like we were in for some really good stories in the titles that dealt with these characters. Then along comes New 52, and almost all these characters are starting over from scratch (some even have new origin stories); it's as if all this Brightest Day trial-by-fire never happened. Heck, In some cases it's as if all the character's past history never happened. What's that? You say that Martian Manhunter wasn't there at the creation of the Justice League? But Cyborg was?
Anyhow, for what it is, this book was pretty decent. I don't know what happened before the events of this book to cause Carter to try to destroy his Hawkman costume, because the book doesn't bother to explain it. There's some pretty decent art, especially with the new villain Morphicius, and there's a very brief cameo by Static. Someone needs some lessons on decent dialog, though.
June 24, 2013
I've always liked the character of Hawkman. He had a cool costume, cool powers, cool weapons, and despite a backstory that's the second most complicated in the DCU (after Donna Troy), he's a pretty interesting character. This first trade of the New 52 relaunch doesn't use any of that. It is, in a word, awful. The re-drawn costume is terrible - why does every character in the New 52 need armor? Why make the Nth metal part of Hawkman himself, and use that instead of the cool weaponry he used to use? This book is incredibly poorly written -- the dialogue is awful, and Hawkman especially doesn't sound anything like the character used to or should. Characters pop up and disappear in the course of the story without any explanation as to who they are or what their purpose is. Tony Daniel suffers from being a good artist who can't write. (At least here; I haven't seen any of his other attempts.) The art here by Philip Tan is as bad as the story -- it looks like it belongs in a 1960s Gold Key comic. This book is so bad it almost makes me think that Rob Leifeld, who took over sometime after this, might have been an improvement.
March 19, 2015
You know, I really like old Carter Hall. I just find it kind of funny that in the DC Multiverse, a cryptologist such as Carter is the staunch conservative (although his personal politics were not explored in this trade) and the billionaire industrialists like Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen are the altruistic souls trying to make a difference. Who do we get in our own reality? The nefarious Koch brothers. Yikes. No wonder I read comics! So anyway, this trade...hmmm...had some potential, had some good moments, but it just sort of sputtered along like the old gremlin my mom used to drive. Tony S. Daniel, whose work I usually admire, just seemed to rely on lazy cliche's. As a founding member of the JSA, I'll always have a place in my heart for Hawkman (one of the most ret-conned characters in the canon) but this new 52 reintroduction fell a little flat.
August 16, 2012
Maybe it is because I know less about Hawkman, but I found these stories not too bad. I wish Morphicius had been a little more badass and I wish that the gentlemen ghost saga had been fleshed out a bit more, but overall it was decent. I also enjoyed the art, which brought out the Savage part of the title much more than the writing. I might consider reading more if it had not been taken over for the next arc by Rob Liefeld. Ah well.
December 28, 2012
What sets Hawkman apart as a hero isn't his powers (which are run-of-the-mill) nor his personality (macho, politically conservative) or even his weaponry (a flair for the medieval.) It's his ardor and taste for battle. Daniel admirably keeps our hero in a warlike mindset even when not wearing the mask and wings.
August 1, 2012
The first part is pretty slow and not that memorable. When the Hawkman has to go up against ghosts and the dead it does get really good. This title has a lot of potential if it carries on having great stories like that one. A good read.
December 27, 2015
Absolutely worst comic I've read in ages . . . and I like Hawkman. The only thing cool about the book at all was the updated look of our savage main character; everything else was annoying and immediately forgettable.
April 15, 2012
The Morphicus stuff at the beginning is pretty "meh", but it gets much more interesting once the Gentleman Ghost shows up in the 3rd or 4th issue.
January 17, 2017
Really - Zombies??? Ridiculous. They didn't even really go into his background. No character development.
March 3, 2021
Do lektury Hawkman'a podchodziłem jak pies do jeża. Widziałem „średnią” ocen, znałem opinie znajomych na ten temat i moje oczekiwania zleciały na poziom depresji, stosując takie ładne porównanie do ukształtowania terenu. Zostałem mile zaskoczony. Bo Hawkman okazuje się przypadkiem bardzo podobnym do Deathstroke (co mnie nie dziwi, w końcu ten sam autor przy tym rzeźbił). Mamy zabójczego wojownika, wdającego się w dziesiątki walk, ale dobrej fabuły tu ze świecą szukać. To tytuł bez ogródek nastawiony na walkę, naprężone muskuły i dialogi niskich lotów. Zatem jeżeli oczekujesz od komiksu czegoś głębszego, poziom fabuły takiego typu jak Watchman, to nawet nie sięgaj. Nie znajdziesz nic dla siebie. Ale jeżeli lubisz szybką i bezpretensjonalną bitkę, to znalazłeś się we właściwym miejscu...
Głównego bohatera tego dramatu, Cartera Halla poznajemy, gdy na uboczu jakiejś drogi podpala swój strój bohatera, chcąc najpewniej w jakiś sposób zerwać ze swoją przyszłością. O co chodzi dokładnie? Autor nie raczy nas odpowiedzią, bo szybko się przekonujemy, że strój Hawkmana w jakiś sposób wniknął w ciało mężczyzny i materializuje się w chwili, gdy wojownik tego potrzebuje. Bardzo wygodne. Czy Hall coś robi w kierunku, aby dalej się pozbyć tego wdzianka? Oczywiście, że nie. Teraz woli już z niego korzystać. Zwrot o 180 stopni, bowiem na horyzoncie pojawia się zagrożenie.
Wyłowiono z dna Oceanu obcy statek kosmiczny, tyle że taki miniaturowy, a że Hall pracuje jako kryptolog, to bierze udział w otwarciu wspomnianej rzeczy. Na miejscu oczywiście coś wydostaje się ze środka i infekuje dwójkę naukowców, a jeden z nich przemienia się w nabuzowanego kosmitę Morphiciusa, który chce przemienić całą ziemską rasę w kosmiczne nie wiadomo co. Dodatkowo zasysa troszeczkę Nth-metalu od Halla i się usprawnia, stając się jednocześnie jeszcze groźniejszym. Na drugim planie tajemniczy dr. Kane i jego zmiennokształtna asystentka obcego pochodzenia. Dużo walk i takie sobie nagłe zakończenie wątku w ładnej oprawie.
W skład zbioru wchodzą jeszcze dwie inne historie, z których najbardziej spodobała mi się ta druga w kolejności, a w której to Hawkman zawalczył z niejakim „Duchem Dżentelmenem” Craddock’iem. Nadspodziewanie mroczna opowieść, z pewną szklaną kulą (Mortis Orb) i zombie w tle. Dodatkowo troszkę aspektów osobistych, w tym ewentualny związek z niejaką panną Emmą, która nie jest obojętna wobec bohatera. I zaliczamy tu mały gościnny występ postaci, która New 52 nie zwojowała, a nieco szkoda. Ostatnia, jedno-zeszytowa historia dotyczy wspomnianej wcześniej zmiennokształtnej kosmitki, a która zgłasza się do Halla po pomoc, bo mu "dobrze oczu patrzy". Nic wybitnego. Mogłoby spokojnie tego nie być.
Tony S. Daniel to autor, którego już znam z kilku tytułów (wspomniany Deathstroke, Detective Comics) i wiem już mniej więcej czego mogę się spodziewać. Zazwyczaj naprawdę dobrej kreski (zasługa artysty Tana - główna postać i jej prezentacja super, reszta już troszeczkę gorzej, ale całość jak najbardziej nadal jest ładna) i masy akcji powiązanej pretekstową fabułą. I tak tutaj jest, nie ma się co czarować. Hall wygląda mi na inteligentnego buca, który zwyczajnie lubi rozwiązywać problemy siłowo. Ma tam jakieś życie, ale nie jest ono zbytnio interesujące, tym bardziej, że tutaj raczej dostajemy skrawki na temat tej części jego istnienia, w której nie jest Hawkmanem.
I niestety miejscami, mimo większego nastawienia na akcję, nadal wieje nudą. Opowieść w dodatku jest też przewidywalna, zatem nie sposób zostać tu czymś zaskoczonym. Czyta się to szybciutko, bez nadmiernego zaciskania zębów, ale i szybko zapomina. Hawkman to druga, albo i trzecia liga bohaterska, a ten tytuł niestety tego stanu rzeczy nie zmieni. Troszeczkę zmarnowany potencjał.
Głównego bohatera tego dramatu, Cartera Halla poznajemy, gdy na uboczu jakiejś drogi podpala swój strój bohatera, chcąc najpewniej w jakiś sposób zerwać ze swoją przyszłością. O co chodzi dokładnie? Autor nie raczy nas odpowiedzią, bo szybko się przekonujemy, że strój Hawkmana w jakiś sposób wniknął w ciało mężczyzny i materializuje się w chwili, gdy wojownik tego potrzebuje. Bardzo wygodne. Czy Hall coś robi w kierunku, aby dalej się pozbyć tego wdzianka? Oczywiście, że nie. Teraz woli już z niego korzystać. Zwrot o 180 stopni, bowiem na horyzoncie pojawia się zagrożenie.
Wyłowiono z dna Oceanu obcy statek kosmiczny, tyle że taki miniaturowy, a że Hall pracuje jako kryptolog, to bierze udział w otwarciu wspomnianej rzeczy. Na miejscu oczywiście coś wydostaje się ze środka i infekuje dwójkę naukowców, a jeden z nich przemienia się w nabuzowanego kosmitę Morphiciusa, który chce przemienić całą ziemską rasę w kosmiczne nie wiadomo co. Dodatkowo zasysa troszeczkę Nth-metalu od Halla i się usprawnia, stając się jednocześnie jeszcze groźniejszym. Na drugim planie tajemniczy dr. Kane i jego zmiennokształtna asystentka obcego pochodzenia. Dużo walk i takie sobie nagłe zakończenie wątku w ładnej oprawie.
W skład zbioru wchodzą jeszcze dwie inne historie, z których najbardziej spodobała mi się ta druga w kolejności, a w której to Hawkman zawalczył z niejakim „Duchem Dżentelmenem” Craddock’iem. Nadspodziewanie mroczna opowieść, z pewną szklaną kulą (Mortis Orb) i zombie w tle. Dodatkowo troszkę aspektów osobistych, w tym ewentualny związek z niejaką panną Emmą, która nie jest obojętna wobec bohatera. I zaliczamy tu mały gościnny występ postaci, która New 52 nie zwojowała, a nieco szkoda. Ostatnia, jedno-zeszytowa historia dotyczy wspomnianej wcześniej zmiennokształtnej kosmitki, a która zgłasza się do Halla po pomoc, bo mu "dobrze oczu patrzy". Nic wybitnego. Mogłoby spokojnie tego nie być.
Tony S. Daniel to autor, którego już znam z kilku tytułów (wspomniany Deathstroke, Detective Comics) i wiem już mniej więcej czego mogę się spodziewać. Zazwyczaj naprawdę dobrej kreski (zasługa artysty Tana - główna postać i jej prezentacja super, reszta już troszeczkę gorzej, ale całość jak najbardziej nadal jest ładna) i masy akcji powiązanej pretekstową fabułą. I tak tutaj jest, nie ma się co czarować. Hall wygląda mi na inteligentnego buca, który zwyczajnie lubi rozwiązywać problemy siłowo. Ma tam jakieś życie, ale nie jest ono zbytnio interesujące, tym bardziej, że tutaj raczej dostajemy skrawki na temat tej części jego istnienia, w której nie jest Hawkmanem.
I niestety miejscami, mimo większego nastawienia na akcję, nadal wieje nudą. Opowieść w dodatku jest też przewidywalna, zatem nie sposób zostać tu czymś zaskoczonym. Czyta się to szybciutko, bez nadmiernego zaciskania zębów, ale i szybko zapomina. Hawkman to druga, albo i trzecia liga bohaterska, a ten tytuł niestety tego stanu rzeczy nie zmieni. Troszeczkę zmarnowany potencjał.
September 8, 2017
This is the 50th New 52 wave 1 series that I've started on. All-star Western & Justice League International are the only ones left from that original company wide reboot lineup that I've yet to start on. I know many people were down on the New 52 as a whole, but I've enjoyed over half of what I've read. There have been a handful of great reads, a few really good ones, some decent ones, and several that were downright horrendous. This book is closer to the latter. Tony S. Daniel is an amazing artist. I don't know who got the bright idea to let him write this series and not be the artist for it, but that was mistake #1. The 2nd big mistake was getting Philip Tan to be the artist.
This book collects 8 issues that contain 3 separate stories. The first story takes up 4 issues. That story is written by Tony S. Daniel. It's an introduction to the main character and his supporting cast as he deals with some ancient alien that was released from his prison after being unearthed by some archeologists. The 2nd story sees writer James Bonney come in to handle the script after he and Daniel plot the story out together. This arc is 3 issues long and has Hawkman face off against a man who wants this magical orb that can reanimate the dead. The final issue is a standalone story that brings back a character from the first arc looking for help from Hawkman. The events of this issue looks to set the stage for what will happen in volume 2 of the series.
The first story arc was terrible. Tony S. Daniel may be a fantastic artist, but he should never have been allowed to write this book. Whoever gave him such a position should have their head examined. The addition of James Bonney to the series helped, but not much. While the 2nd and 3rd stories were at least readable, they weren't very good. The writing for the book gets 2 stars.
The book could have gotten a 5 star art rating had Daniel been the artist, but no, we get stuck with Philip Tan. His artwork isn't even 1/2 as good as the art Daniel normally produces. Daniel is one of the top 10 artists DC has used in the last decade. Why squander his talents by have him write a book? Art gets 2 stars.
This series was doomed from the start. Hawkman isn't a very popular character. In order for this book to succeed, it needed both a top tier artist and a superb writer, and even then was going to need a great deal of luck. It got none of that. I can't recommend this to anyone. Long term Hawkman readers will pick this up and be like, "what is this shite?" This definitely won't entice new readers to want to read more Hawkman either. This series could be used as a prime example of what did not work in the New 52. Overall rating is 2 stars.
This book collects 8 issues that contain 3 separate stories. The first story takes up 4 issues. That story is written by Tony S. Daniel. It's an introduction to the main character and his supporting cast as he deals with some ancient alien that was released from his prison after being unearthed by some archeologists. The 2nd story sees writer James Bonney come in to handle the script after he and Daniel plot the story out together. This arc is 3 issues long and has Hawkman face off against a man who wants this magical orb that can reanimate the dead. The final issue is a standalone story that brings back a character from the first arc looking for help from Hawkman. The events of this issue looks to set the stage for what will happen in volume 2 of the series.
The first story arc was terrible. Tony S. Daniel may be a fantastic artist, but he should never have been allowed to write this book. Whoever gave him such a position should have their head examined. The addition of James Bonney to the series helped, but not much. While the 2nd and 3rd stories were at least readable, they weren't very good. The writing for the book gets 2 stars.
The book could have gotten a 5 star art rating had Daniel been the artist, but no, we get stuck with Philip Tan. His artwork isn't even 1/2 as good as the art Daniel normally produces. Daniel is one of the top 10 artists DC has used in the last decade. Why squander his talents by have him write a book? Art gets 2 stars.
This series was doomed from the start. Hawkman isn't a very popular character. In order for this book to succeed, it needed both a top tier artist and a superb writer, and even then was going to need a great deal of luck. It got none of that. I can't recommend this to anyone. Long term Hawkman readers will pick this up and be like, "what is this shite?" This definitely won't entice new readers to want to read more Hawkman either. This series could be used as a prime example of what did not work in the New 52. Overall rating is 2 stars.
July 8, 2013
Of all the DC super heroes who could have benefited from the New 52 reboot in 2011, Hawkman was at the top of the list of those most in need. The character has been through so many incarnations, so many different origins and powers and designs and histories and monthly titles, it’s really sort of embarrassing at this point. So I was curious to see what incarnation of the famed hero would make his debut in The New 52 title, THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN.
Unfortunately, I was less than impressed.
The first story arc, “Darkness Rising”, ran through 8 issues of the series and did absolutely nothing to establish this character I’ve always rooted for as the legendary hero he deserves to be. We don’t even get a decent origin. In the beginning of “Darkness Rising”, Carter Hall (Hawkman) is driving his truck into the woods where he means to dispose of his Hawkman costume. He shoots the helmet and wings, which then flare up in a plume of flame. Carter passes out and wakes up later at his home, a rundown apartment he hasn’t paid rent on in 3 months. He WILL, just as soon as he gets to the bank. He just hasn’t yet. But he will.
He gets a message from his employer, Professor Ziegler, that there’s important information for Carter to look at. Carter Hall is a cryptologist and Professor Ziegler has discovered what he believe is an ancient alien ship. He wants Carter to try to decipher the writing on it. Also, there’s what looks like a mummified human with the remains of the ship. Only something goes awry and the mummified human turns into a black bird-like beast named Morphicus. The beast attacks and kills a couple of laboratory employees, and the Nth metal in Carter Hall reacts and turns him into Hawkman.
Wait, ok, what? He just threw the costume away and vowed Hawkman is dead. Now he’s got the costume inside him and can change at will? Actually, that’s not too original and not very surprising. What IS surprising is starting your monthly title of one of the most recognizable DC characters with the hero trying to stop being the hero. The New 52 books pick up 5 years into the introduction of superheroes to this new world. So there is potentially 5 years of Hawkman history we don’t know. How he did he become Hawkman? How is it he can fly about town--Hawkman lives in New York City--and no one knows he’s Hawkman? I mean, if he’s been Hawkman long enough when the story first starts that he’s ready to give it up, don’t you think he’d have made an impression somewhere along the way? I know it’s New York City, but come on. Yet later on, people--even the news--react to him as if he’s just now making his public debut. What the hell was he doing for those 5 years?
And this is, in my opinion, the greatest flaw in THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN: “Darkness Rising.” I have no idea who this character is. And I assume part of the idea behind The New 52 was to get new readers. What person who has never read a Hawkman book is going to pick up this story, see that beginning, and not feel immediately lost? I have nearly 2 decades of knowledge about Hawkman and I’m lost!
Now, if we’d been given the benefit of some prior knowledge of our character, “Darkness Rising” wouldn’t have been too terrible a book. The story is exciting with lots of danger and aliens and the whole world is at risk as Morphicus carries a plague that can wipe out humanity, plus he managed to absorb some of Hawkman’s Nth metal earlier, which now makes him impervious to it, meaning Hawkman’s weapons have no effect on his. What to do?
And after Morphicus is defeated--but I’m not telling how--in what is one of the coolest cliffhanger panels ever, Hawkman comes outside one day a few weeks later to discover he sees dead people. Not REALLY dead people, but everyone on the street around him looks like a walking corpse. It’s a great visual, and sets up the next story perfectly (“Darkness Rising” is split into 3 stories--the first takes 4 issued, the next 3, and the final 1), wherein the Gentleman Ghost is after a talisman, the Mortis Orb, a legendary artifact which will help make the Gentleman Ghost a part of the physical world again. The problem there is that, when he activates the Orb it will kill everything without a several mile radius. And he’s chosen Central Park as ground zero. As if that weren’t bad enough, the dead all over New York are rising from their graves, seeking the orb and it’s up to Hawkman and a really confusing special guest to put a stop to the madness.
In the last section, Askana, alien shape-shifting henchwoman to Dr. Kane, a dangerous man who was trying to kill and dissect Morphicus in the first part of the story. She’s seeking Hawkman’s help because a group of bounty hunters from her own world are here and they’re coming after her. Hawkman couldn’t care less what happens to Askana, but, as he admits himself, he’s a sucker. Only, Askana wasn’t entirely truthful in who the men were or what they wanted.
See, “Darkness Rising” had a lot of great moments with tons of action and even some pretty cool horror moments for the horror fan in me. It just wasn’t as well done as it should have been. For one, the script was, in places, terrible!
Hawkman: “Where’s Morphicus?
Askana: “The same place you’ll soon be!”
Dr. Kane: “Rid my lab of this bird man!”
Askana: “Gladly.”
“The same place you’ll soon be”? “Rid my lab of this bird man”? Seriously? What is this, 1975? Even in the cheesiest of comics, people just don’t talk like this anymore. At least, they shouldn’t, if they want to be taken seriously. But, jeez, this book is lousy with terrible dialogue like that.
Then there’s the art. Philip Tan covers visuals for “Darkness Rising”, and it’s a constant struggle between really good, kinda confusing, and just mediocre. The battle with Morphicus seems really confusing at times with too many shadows and not enough clarity of action. Also, some transitional scenes would have smooth things out in a few places.
Carter Hall’s Hawkman looks like he’s covered in plastic armor that’s been gone over in a gold leaf foil-type of application, that is when it’s not looking like he’s wearing the tattered remains of an aluminum foil costume. Tan doesn’t manage the appearance of the costume around Carter very well, that process of it coming from inside him doesn’t come across well at all.
The panel layout was confusing too many times, as well. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if I was reading one page then the next, or if this was a 2-page spread and I was supposed to read straight across as I made my way down the page.
“Darkness Rising” is a good story, I just don’t think it’s FIRST volume material. It’s not as if this is Batman or Green Lantern where we’ve got so much established history already in place; nor is this like FIRESTORM where we’re starting totally from “character gets power” on. Instead, we come in when Carter Hall is sick of being Hawkman and wants to stop. What kind of opening is that for a character we’re completely unfamiliar with. I could see trying something like that with The Flash, because whether Barry Allen or Wally West, we know The Flash’s background. This version of Hawkman has about half a dozen other versions standing on the sidelines just waiting to re-appear. While I enjoyed this story as much as I could, I couldn’t give myself over to it completely without some kind of background upfront, and we just didn’t get it, making this a hard book to come into cold. That’s too bad. Back to hoping to see Hawkman to get his fair treatment. One of these days.
Unfortunately, I was less than impressed.
The first story arc, “Darkness Rising”, ran through 8 issues of the series and did absolutely nothing to establish this character I’ve always rooted for as the legendary hero he deserves to be. We don’t even get a decent origin. In the beginning of “Darkness Rising”, Carter Hall (Hawkman) is driving his truck into the woods where he means to dispose of his Hawkman costume. He shoots the helmet and wings, which then flare up in a plume of flame. Carter passes out and wakes up later at his home, a rundown apartment he hasn’t paid rent on in 3 months. He WILL, just as soon as he gets to the bank. He just hasn’t yet. But he will.
He gets a message from his employer, Professor Ziegler, that there’s important information for Carter to look at. Carter Hall is a cryptologist and Professor Ziegler has discovered what he believe is an ancient alien ship. He wants Carter to try to decipher the writing on it. Also, there’s what looks like a mummified human with the remains of the ship. Only something goes awry and the mummified human turns into a black bird-like beast named Morphicus. The beast attacks and kills a couple of laboratory employees, and the Nth metal in Carter Hall reacts and turns him into Hawkman.
Wait, ok, what? He just threw the costume away and vowed Hawkman is dead. Now he’s got the costume inside him and can change at will? Actually, that’s not too original and not very surprising. What IS surprising is starting your monthly title of one of the most recognizable DC characters with the hero trying to stop being the hero. The New 52 books pick up 5 years into the introduction of superheroes to this new world. So there is potentially 5 years of Hawkman history we don’t know. How he did he become Hawkman? How is it he can fly about town--Hawkman lives in New York City--and no one knows he’s Hawkman? I mean, if he’s been Hawkman long enough when the story first starts that he’s ready to give it up, don’t you think he’d have made an impression somewhere along the way? I know it’s New York City, but come on. Yet later on, people--even the news--react to him as if he’s just now making his public debut. What the hell was he doing for those 5 years?
And this is, in my opinion, the greatest flaw in THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN: “Darkness Rising.” I have no idea who this character is. And I assume part of the idea behind The New 52 was to get new readers. What person who has never read a Hawkman book is going to pick up this story, see that beginning, and not feel immediately lost? I have nearly 2 decades of knowledge about Hawkman and I’m lost!
Now, if we’d been given the benefit of some prior knowledge of our character, “Darkness Rising” wouldn’t have been too terrible a book. The story is exciting with lots of danger and aliens and the whole world is at risk as Morphicus carries a plague that can wipe out humanity, plus he managed to absorb some of Hawkman’s Nth metal earlier, which now makes him impervious to it, meaning Hawkman’s weapons have no effect on his. What to do?
And after Morphicus is defeated--but I’m not telling how--in what is one of the coolest cliffhanger panels ever, Hawkman comes outside one day a few weeks later to discover he sees dead people. Not REALLY dead people, but everyone on the street around him looks like a walking corpse. It’s a great visual, and sets up the next story perfectly (“Darkness Rising” is split into 3 stories--the first takes 4 issued, the next 3, and the final 1), wherein the Gentleman Ghost is after a talisman, the Mortis Orb, a legendary artifact which will help make the Gentleman Ghost a part of the physical world again. The problem there is that, when he activates the Orb it will kill everything without a several mile radius. And he’s chosen Central Park as ground zero. As if that weren’t bad enough, the dead all over New York are rising from their graves, seeking the orb and it’s up to Hawkman and a really confusing special guest to put a stop to the madness.
In the last section, Askana, alien shape-shifting henchwoman to Dr. Kane, a dangerous man who was trying to kill and dissect Morphicus in the first part of the story. She’s seeking Hawkman’s help because a group of bounty hunters from her own world are here and they’re coming after her. Hawkman couldn’t care less what happens to Askana, but, as he admits himself, he’s a sucker. Only, Askana wasn’t entirely truthful in who the men were or what they wanted.
See, “Darkness Rising” had a lot of great moments with tons of action and even some pretty cool horror moments for the horror fan in me. It just wasn’t as well done as it should have been. For one, the script was, in places, terrible!
Hawkman: “Where’s Morphicus?
Askana: “The same place you’ll soon be!”
Dr. Kane: “Rid my lab of this bird man!”
Askana: “Gladly.”
“The same place you’ll soon be”? “Rid my lab of this bird man”? Seriously? What is this, 1975? Even in the cheesiest of comics, people just don’t talk like this anymore. At least, they shouldn’t, if they want to be taken seriously. But, jeez, this book is lousy with terrible dialogue like that.
Then there’s the art. Philip Tan covers visuals for “Darkness Rising”, and it’s a constant struggle between really good, kinda confusing, and just mediocre. The battle with Morphicus seems really confusing at times with too many shadows and not enough clarity of action. Also, some transitional scenes would have smooth things out in a few places.
Carter Hall’s Hawkman looks like he’s covered in plastic armor that’s been gone over in a gold leaf foil-type of application, that is when it’s not looking like he’s wearing the tattered remains of an aluminum foil costume. Tan doesn’t manage the appearance of the costume around Carter very well, that process of it coming from inside him doesn’t come across well at all.
The panel layout was confusing too many times, as well. Sometimes I couldn’t tell if I was reading one page then the next, or if this was a 2-page spread and I was supposed to read straight across as I made my way down the page.
“Darkness Rising” is a good story, I just don’t think it’s FIRST volume material. It’s not as if this is Batman or Green Lantern where we’ve got so much established history already in place; nor is this like FIRESTORM where we’re starting totally from “character gets power” on. Instead, we come in when Carter Hall is sick of being Hawkman and wants to stop. What kind of opening is that for a character we’re completely unfamiliar with. I could see trying something like that with The Flash, because whether Barry Allen or Wally West, we know The Flash’s background. This version of Hawkman has about half a dozen other versions standing on the sidelines just waiting to re-appear. While I enjoyed this story as much as I could, I couldn’t give myself over to it completely without some kind of background upfront, and we just didn’t get it, making this a hard book to come into cold. That’s too bad. Back to hoping to see Hawkman to get his fair treatment. One of these days.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2019
Reprints The Savage Hawkman #1-8 (November 2011-June 2012). Carter Hall doesn’t intend to carry on his life as the superhero Hawkman…but the Nth Metal that makes up his suit has other ideas. Finding himself permanently bonded to the Nth Metal, Carter finds an archeological discovery of an alien named Morphicius could mean that Hawkman is up for the battle of his lifetime…and the fate of the Earth could depend on the outcome!
Written by Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny, The Savage Hawkman Volume 1: Darkness Rising is part of the DC Comics New 52 relaunch of the DCU. Following the events of Flashpoint, the series features art by Philip Tan and Cliff Richards.
I have always kind of liked Hawkman as a character, but at the same time, Hawkman has always been rather boring. He’s a blowhard and generally just throws muscles at problems in his past incarnations…I had hoped the New 52 would reignite my interest in the character, but The Savage Hawkman wasn’t the answer.
The series was immediately met with criticism and was one of the lower points of the New 52’s big reveal. The comic is rather clunky and it feels like a throwback to the art-over-substance comics of the 1990s. Carter continues to be a rather enigmatic person who comes off as more unlikable than mysterious.
It doesn’t help that Hawkman’s villain gallery isn’t very deep. The introduction of the Morphicius isn’t a smart move. He doesn’t seem very distinguishable nor is he very memorable. With a fringe character like Hawkman, I sometimes wonder if a more established villain would help start out a new book. Hawkman battling someone like Joker or the Flash’s rogues might bring in some crossover action from other series…but here, if you don’t like Hawkman, you aren’t going to start liking him. The Gentleman Ghost appearance just does not cut it.
I also can’t say I’m a big fan of the art from this collection. It varies a bit too much. Sometimes it is quite good and visual, but then it gets over-inked or it becomes very minimalistic. The consistency factor also plays into a comic when reading it.
The Savage Hawkman was a pretty skip-able entry in the New 52. Surprisingly, it did have a slightly longer shelf-life than some of the other New 52 series. The comic was granted a second volume, and it even ran a bit longer than the standard collections of comics. The Savage Hawkman 1: Darkness Rising was followed by The Savage Hawkman 2: Wanted.
Written by Tony S. Daniel and James Bonny, The Savage Hawkman Volume 1: Darkness Rising is part of the DC Comics New 52 relaunch of the DCU. Following the events of Flashpoint, the series features art by Philip Tan and Cliff Richards.
I have always kind of liked Hawkman as a character, but at the same time, Hawkman has always been rather boring. He’s a blowhard and generally just throws muscles at problems in his past incarnations…I had hoped the New 52 would reignite my interest in the character, but The Savage Hawkman wasn’t the answer.
The series was immediately met with criticism and was one of the lower points of the New 52’s big reveal. The comic is rather clunky and it feels like a throwback to the art-over-substance comics of the 1990s. Carter continues to be a rather enigmatic person who comes off as more unlikable than mysterious.
It doesn’t help that Hawkman’s villain gallery isn’t very deep. The introduction of the Morphicius isn’t a smart move. He doesn’t seem very distinguishable nor is he very memorable. With a fringe character like Hawkman, I sometimes wonder if a more established villain would help start out a new book. Hawkman battling someone like Joker or the Flash’s rogues might bring in some crossover action from other series…but here, if you don’t like Hawkman, you aren’t going to start liking him. The Gentleman Ghost appearance just does not cut it.
I also can’t say I’m a big fan of the art from this collection. It varies a bit too much. Sometimes it is quite good and visual, but then it gets over-inked or it becomes very minimalistic. The consistency factor also plays into a comic when reading it.
The Savage Hawkman was a pretty skip-able entry in the New 52. Surprisingly, it did have a slightly longer shelf-life than some of the other New 52 series. The comic was granted a second volume, and it even ran a bit longer than the standard collections of comics. The Savage Hawkman 1: Darkness Rising was followed by The Savage Hawkman 2: Wanted.
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