DC's Grifter Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Home for the Holidays
Script: Cavan Scott
Art: Fico Ossio
Colors: Sebastian Cheng
Letters: Josh Reed
Spoiler Review:
When the Hawkman series by Robert Venditti ended in November 2020, Hawkman and Hawkwoman had been released from their cycle of reincarnation, and the final issue seemed to indicate that they would continue on through many more adventures together. Would their story continue, or would DC start all over again? Thankfully, the answer appears to be "yes."
In DC's Love is a Battlefield (April 2021), Cavan Scott picked up where Venditti left off. The Hawks were on their Soarship, traveling through space and having adventures together. Twenty-one months later, we finally get another story about the winged warriors, written once again by Scott. The story starts out a bit confusing, with Shayera Hol on Thanagar Prime and Carter Hall in St. Roch.
During Scott Snyder's Justice League run, it was established that after Thanagar had been destroyed by Despero (see Death of Hawkman #1-6), Shayera had taken her people to Thanagar Prime and rebuilt her world. She was eventually reunited with Hawkman, and they were together at the end of the series. I had always wondered what had happened to Thanagar Prime or Shayera's position as Empress.
When Venditti ended his run, he said that he hoped that he had left the toy box full for future writers to come and continue to use and build what he had started. That is exactly what Scott appears to be doing. In the 10-page story, we see Thanagar Prime and the Soarship, and personally, I was thrilled to see that both were still in the current stories.
As in Love is a Battlefield, Scott continues to make the relationship of the Hawks the main thread of their story. At first, they are both a bit confused by where they are and even who they are. They realize that they are being manipulated by an alien child who they were rescuing. Scott even manages to give us a Thanagarian tradition of a story about a beast called the Rok Rakata that comes to feast on fledglings on the eve of a Thanagarian festival called Winter's Wing.
The Hawks soon figure it out and are reunited, remembering that where they are together, no matter where it is, is home.
Scott really seems to have his finger on the pulse of the Hawks, and he understands what makes them special. With the two short stories and another called The Changeling possibly being released next year, I'm hoping that Cavan Scott is the DC Comics' writer for Hawkman going forward. I would love to see him be given a full issue, a mini-series, or even a full series and find out where he will take the Hawks.
Fico Ossio's art and Sebastian Cheng's colors are a lot of fun to look at and definitely catch the eye. I believe Ossio is also the artist for The Changeling story, so hopefully we get to see this team work together on the Hawks in the near future.
Overall, the story was too brief, but it reaffirmed many things from Hawkman and Hawkwoman's current continuity, and that gift is sufficient for now. I just hope we don't have to wait another two years before the next story!
Rating: 8/10
the artist did this great hawkfamily picture where carter and sheyera have a impulse age son with a really cool hawkcostume of his own. i thought it was fan art. glad he got the gig
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