People often ask me what I consider as the best Hawkman and Hawkgirl series in their 80+ years of history. Over the years, Hawkman has had six solo series, a few mini-series and several series in other books. Hawkgirl has also had two of her own series in the past. Some stand out more than the others. I always name Gardner Fox's two 3-issue series in the Brave and the Bold, Tony Isabella's Shadow War of Hawkman, Benjamin Raab's Legend of the Hawkman, and Robert Venditti's Hawkman Vol. V.
Hawkman Vol. 1 by Fox and Hawkworld by Timothy Truman could easily be on that list as well. John Ostrander's Hawkworld Vol. 2 started out well and peaked with the Escape from Thanagar storyline, while Hawkman Vol. 3 also had a good start with the battle with Count Viper, but both series struggled in the end. Geoff Johns' series has gradually paled over the years and while the art by Rags Morales is second to none, Johns' Hawkman did a lot of damage to the character. It suffers when compared to Venditti's series that came later.
A CBR article by Timothy Blake Donohoo put out a list of series that should be regarded as instand classics, and Truman's Hawkworld (#4) and Venditti's Hawkman (#1) both made the list. DC really screwed up when they decided to place the Hawkworld in the current time instead of making it a reboot, and they have been trying to fix that mistake for over 30 years now. Venditti's series had the misfortune of having to deal with the meaningless Year of the Villain/Secret Six story and then the Coronavirus, and DC did next to nothing to promote the series, so it ended before we could make it out of 2020.
We are quickly approaching 4 years without a Hawkman title, and nothing is on the horizon at this time. Hawkgirl had a series last year, but I personally would never recommend that to anyone. However, some fans appeared to have liked it so check it out at your own risk. Hawkman does have some gems in his history and I hope fans will check out the series I mentioned above.
Here is a list of the series and comics that Hawkman has appeared in over the years. LINK
Here is a complete list of Hawkman and Hawkgirl trades and collections that are out as of this date. The contents are listed as well. LINK
Happy hunting! And here's to hoping DC will give Hawkman and Hawkgirl another series soon!
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