Board Review of Hawkman No. 29: Final Justice Conclusion: In the End

“There is only one truth that I know to be certain…I was made to soar.”

The journey with Hawkman that began in June 2018 came to an end today. It’s a bittersweet feeling, because I feel disappointed that it has ended, but elated that it was better than it had any right to be. When the article in the Washington Post in March 2018 announced the upcoming new series by Robert Venditti, I had no idea what to expect. A couple months before the series started, I had the honor of “meeting” Robert in a podcast on The Comic Source. He talked about Hawkman being a story of exploration and discovery. And that is exactly what we got.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 26: Hawks Eternal Conclusion: Death of a Thousand Hawks

The soaring journey of exploration and discovery across time and space with Hawkman and Hawkwoman has come to an end, and another has begun. What an amazing journey it has been so far. Starting from the islands of Greece, we saw ancient Egypt, the Feitheran's Dinosaur Island, the floating cities of Thanagar, Atom's Microverse, the Hawktastic Soarship, the destruction of Krypton, a battle for Earth over London, an endless war on Nebulen, the dark Shadowlands, the familiar Midway City, the gargantuan tomb of Titan Hawk, and finally the temple of the Lord of the Void on Qgga.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 24: Hawks Eternal Part One: Side by Side

Hawkman No. 24
Writer: Robert Venditti
Pencils: Fernando Pasarin
Inks: Oclair Albert, Cam Smith, Wade von Grawbadger
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letter: Rob Leigh
Editors: Andrea Shea, Alex R. Carr
Cover: Bryan Hitch, Alex Sinclair
Variant Cover: Gerardo Zaffino, Rain Beredo
DC Comics
Released June 16, 2020

Since Hawkman took off in June 2018, Robert Venditti has been rebuilding the character of Hawkman one step at a time. The steps have been in the form of Carter Hall's journal, the places he visits, the conversations he has had with the people he meets, and his past lives. At times he has taken very small steps, and at times he has taken giant strides.  Each step has revealed something about the man behind the Hawk helmet.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 23: Miasma of Fear

It was a long wait, 55 days to be exact, but Hawkman No. 23 was finally released. We were left in suspense about the story about a "Plague Doctor" in the 17th century Europe coming out while the world is fighting a pandemic in real-time. It was uncanny, to say the least, but writer Robert Venditti had the idea for the story back in October. And it leads right into a moment we've been wanting for a long time.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 22: Death's Doorway: From End to Beginning

Hawkman 22 Cover by Mikel Janin

Intense! There have been many Hawkman comics over the years that made me hold my breath as I read them. The Hawkworld series by Tim Truman and the Return of Hawkman in the JSA series by Geoff Johns come to mind. This issue was at that level. It was an intense story with the Sky Tyrant story seemingly approaching the climax.

Board Review of Hawkman No. 21: Death's Doorway Part Two: The Key

Great Polaris! That was fun! Hawkman No. 21 continues the Sky Tyrant saga and this issue was a blast. At the end of the last issue, we were on an unnamed planet where a key is locked away and guarded by a huge, we’re talking gargantuan, guardian of the grave of one of Hawkman’s former lives called the Titan Hawk. Sky Tyrant wants this key to unlock a weapon that will cause widespread death across the universe and ensure that his reincarnating will continue forever.

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.