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Oct 10, 2019

Hawkman 80th Anniversary Collage: "Across Time and Space"

During the past year or so, artist Nicola Scott has put out some beautiful covers of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Nightwing. The pictures show the history of the heroes from their first appearance to the most recent. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of Hawkman's first appearance in Flash Comics No. 1 on November 10, 1939, I decided to put together a collage of Hawkman art. I started on this picture a few months ago and it took a lot more time and effort than I expected. Since I'm not an artist, I decided to put together pictures from art by the many artists who have drawn Hawkman over the years. It was not easy. Not only did I have to look for a clean front shot of the characters, but I also had to find pictures that included the wings. I often found a great picture, only to have the wings cut off by the panels or word bubbles overlapping the art. I added the title "Across Time and Space" from the current Hawkman series by Robert Venditti. I'll list the name of the artists and add some comments below. Click the picture for a better look.
Hawkman created by Gardner Fox


Top row, left to right
1. Sheldon Moldoff. This is a drawing Moldoff did as a commission in the later years. 
2. Joe Kubert. This is from the cover of Flash Comics No. 104 (February 1949), the final issue of the series. 
3. Joe Kubert. This is from the cover of Alter Ego No. 1 (1998).
4. Murphy Anderson. This is a commission Anderson did in the later years.
5. Dick Dillin (penciller), Frank McLaughlin (inker). During the 1970s, Hawkman did not have his own comic but he was a regular member of the Justice League of America. Many Hawkfans met Hawkman in Dillin's JLA issues. 

2nd row from the top, left to right
6. Alex Garcia. From 1978 to 1982, Hawkman had a metallic helmet, which I affectionately call "The Chrysler Helmet." This version of Hawkman was particularly hard to find and I finally settled on this piece by Garcia.
7. Richard Howell (penciller), Carlos Garzon (inker), Michele Wolfman (colorist). This is from Hawkman Vol. 2 series. Howell went with a flamboyant style for the Hawkman, with huge wings on the helmet. It's a beautiful, iconic look.
8. Timothy Truman. This is from the famous cover of Hawkworld Vol. 1 No. 1. I often wonder how many fans were shocked/surprised/dismayed/excited when they saw this cover for the first time. A turning point and piece of art in Hawkman's history.
9. Nolan Graham (penciller, inker), Sam Parsons (colorist). This is from Hawkworld Vol. 2 No. 1 (1990). This picture of Hawkman was always striking for me because of the strange grimace-sneer like look on Hawkman's face.

3rd row from the top, left to right
10. Nolan Graham (penciller), Rick Bryant (inker), Sam Parsons (colorist). We saw several different styles of Hawkman during the Hawkworld series, and this one in 1992 was definitely different. It lasted less than a year but remains in my memory. Whether it's in a good or bad way, I shan't say.
11. Phil Jimenez. After Carter Hall returned from Ragnarok during the Armageddon: Inferno series (1992), he got a yellow tank top. This one lasted until he was merged with Katar Hol in 1994.
12. Steve Lieber (penciller), Rick Magyar (inker), Matt Webb (colorist). Hawkman got another radical change when Hawkman Vol. 3 kicked off in 1993. The initial artist was Jan Duursema, and Lieber took over from issue no. 5. This version lasted until the merger in 1994.
13. Dan Jurgens (penciller), Norm Rapmund (inker). After the merger of Katar Hol, Carter Hall, and a Hawk entity during the Zero Crisis event (1994), Hawkman had a new look, with a blue-gray look and tassels on his gloves. Steve Lieber was the artist during this phase, but I could not find an appropriate picture to use. I decided to go with Dan Jurgens' version of the look in the Booster Gold series (2007).
14. Rags Morales (penciller), Michael Bair (inker), John Kalisz (colorist). After Hawkman was deemed radioactive after the Vol. 3 series, he pretty much disappeared from comics for about five years. He finally made his return in the JSA series in 2001. Stephen Sadowski was the first to draw the new style of Hawkman that still continues today. The red shorts were gone, maybe for good. Morales' version is iconic from the work he did in the JSA, Hawkman Vol. 4 and Identity Crisis series.

Front row, left to right
15. Joe Bennett (penciller), Ruy Jose (inker). Few people realize how big an artist Joe Bennett is in Hawkman's history. As of this writing, only Sheldon Moldoff, Joe Kubert, and Murphy Anderson have drawn more Hawkman comics than Bennett. That deserves a spot in this collage. This is from one of the last issues of the Hawkman Vol. 4 series (2006).
16. Philip Tan (penciller and inker), Sunny Gho (colorist). Tan was the artist for the Savage Hawkman series (2011-2013). He did seven of the first eight issues of the series. This version continued until the Death of Hawkman series (2016-2017).
17. Bryan Hitch (penciller and inker), Alex Sinclair (colorist). Hitch did the Hawkman Found issue for the Metal Tie-in, and then the first twelve issues of the current Hawkman series. The amount of detail he created page after page is stunning and possibly the most beautiful Hawkman comic ever created.
18. Patrick Olliffe (penciller), Tom Palmer (inker), Jeremiah Skipper (colorist). The current Hawkman artist continues the style started by Bryan Hitch in Hawkman Vol. V. (2018~). This version has more detail in the wings and harness than we've seen before, a light-saber mace that obeys Hawkman's mental commands, wings that go in an out instantaneously, a helmet that's light on the wings, and boots that look like spats. An aerodynamic look for an aerial warrior.

This took a few months to finish up but glad to share it today. More planned in the month ahead! Hawkman Day is coming next month on November 10th, 2019!

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