Board Review of Hawkman No. 20: Death's Doorway Part One: Passengers

Cover by Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper

The Sky Tyrant saga has become a battle between a Deathbringer and a Lifebringer. Ever since he accepted the “gift” of reincarnation, Hawkman’s mission has been to save lives, to save as many people as he took as the general of Lord of the Void’s Deathbringers. Once he completes that task, his next death will be his last. You could say that he has become a Lifebringer. Meanwhile, the Sky Tyrant is from Earth-3, where everything is backward, so when Hawkman was reincarnated on Earth-3, he was born evil. He was a Deathbringer again. As we saw in Hawkman No. 18, he was killed by a group of heroes led by Shadow Sheriff. But ever since then, he has been in the consciousness of the other Hawkmen who came after him, watching them save lives and bring their lives to an end, including Sky Tyrant. When the Batman Who Laughs infected Hawkman, Sky Tyrant took the opportunity to take over again, vowing to take as many lives as he can and live forever.

Art by Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Danny Miki, Jeromy Cox

The story continues in Hawkman No. 20 with Sky Tyrant on the move to locate a weapon of some sort that can wipe out millions, billions, trillions of lives. Hawkwoman is in pursuit, and Hawkman’s best friend is there also as they try to figure out what has happened to Carter Hall and how they can reverse the infection and get it back. In this issue, we see the first real appearance of Katarthul, the life of Hawkman when he lived on the planet Rann. We also see as writer Robert Venditti let us know on Twitter, a HUGE reveal of a Hawkman character on another distant planet. Things are not going to be as easy as Sky Tyrant thought, and we see another of Hawkman’s good friends show up at the end to help out.
Reading this comic, I couldn’t help but think that Venditti is having way too much fun writing this book, and we get to go along on the ride. The way he has tied in the Batman Who Laughs story into Hawk lore has been absolutely brilliant. I doubt even the big wigs over at DC thought it would work this well. Even the Batman Who Laughs didn’t expect it to be this good. 

Art by Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Danny Miki, Jeromy Cox

In this issue, we see three familiar faces in Hawk history getting ready to team up to rescue Carter. As mentioned earlier, we saw the Rannian Hawkman, Katarthul. We also got the official name of Hawkman’s spaceship. It is also revealed how the Batman Who Laughs infected Carter and got this whole thing going. Just a fun issue to read but way too short. That’s a good sign. 

Art by Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Danny Miki, Jeromy Cox

In this issue, we get a new art team of Fernando Pasarin (pencils), Oclair Albert and Danny Miki (ink), and Jeromy Cox (colors). All I can say is WOW. Sky Tyrant is a truly frightening-looking character, and I found myself wanting to see him on the big screen. The lines are much more clear and precise than we had since Bryan Hitch left the series, and Cox didn’t hold back on the colors. Everything is just much brighter and vibrant than in the past few issues. It’s a different take on the character, and very fun to look at. 

Art by Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Danny Miki, Jeromy Cox

While I can’t wait to get Carter Hall back, I’m also enjoying the story Venditti is building. All the major characters are coming together, and they are going to do everything they can to stop one of the most horrifying characters in Hawkman’s history. If you haven’t jumped on this ride yet, you’re missing out!

Variant Cover by Paolo Pantalena

Hawkman No. 20 (March 2020)
Release date: January 8, 2020
Death's Doorway Part One: Passengers
Writer: Robert Venditti
Penciller: Fernando Pasarin
Inkers: Oclair Albert, Danny Miki
Colorist: Jeromy Cox
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Comicraft
Editors, Harvey Richards, Andrea Shea, Jamie R. Rich, Alex R. Carr
Cover: Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper
Variant cover: Paolo Pantalena

Rating 10/10