Board Review of Hawkman No. 9: "Descent"

The Hawkman series by Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch has finally entered the final climax. After going through time and space and discovering who he really is/was, meeting three of his former selves, recovering his space ship, and failing to find the weapon to defeat the Deathbringers, Carter Hall is back on Earth to face the enemy. It appears that the final four issues will bring us the battle between Hawkman and the enemy that he has dreaded for so long.

We find Carter Hall back in London, wanting Madame Xanadu to help him call on his former selves to help him in his fight. It appears that he has the right idea, but Xanadu is unable to help him. Carter is in panic mode almost, desperately searching for a way to defeat the Deathbringers, but we do not see him find an answer in this issue. Xanadu mentions the Justice League and the Green Lantern Corps, but they apparently are too busy on Thanagar or the Source Wall to lend a hand here. When the Deathbringers appear over the city, he bravely flies up to face them alone but is completely overwhelmed. It was interesting to see his old foe Idamm, who appears to have been patched up after their last encounter, with one organic and one metal wing, along with a metal arm.  As the title suggests, it appears that Hawkman has hit rock bottom and the only way from here is up. How he manages to do that is for the last three issues.
The story really didn't progress too much in this issue. The only thing we see is that Carter wants to call all of his former selves to the battle, but he does not know how to do that just yet. Venditti seems to have used this issue to set the table, and we will now have to wait and see Hawkman do what heroes do best; soar above the obstacles and find a way to win.

The highlight of the issue is Hitch's art. The sight of the three Deathbringers hovering over London was very imposing and beautiful at the same time. The most stunning and beautiful page was of Hawkman flying up into the sky, wings spread and mace in hand. This is a picture of Hawkman in all his glory and possibly my favorite page from the entire series so far. Hawkman fans can look at a past Hawkman drawing and pretty much tell who drew it, and I believe that after ten issues (including Hawkman Found), Hitch's Hawkman has become just as iconic.
So the final battle has begun. During the next three issues, I'm sure Venditti has a few surprises up his sleeve, and I cannot wait to see how Hawkman overcomes the Deathbringers.
This issue didn't really move the story ahead too far, and we will have to wait to see what solution Hawkman comes up with. But with Venditti's writing and Hitch and company's art, it's going to be a wild, shocking and soaring ride.

Rating: 9/10

Hawkman No. 9 Writer: Robert Venditti Penciller: Bryan Hitch Inkers: Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie
Letterer: Comicraft
Colorist: Jeremiah Skipper Editors: Marie Javins and Andrew Marino Cover Artists: Bryan Hitch, Alex Sinclair
Variant Cover Artist: Shane Davis