The Blackhawk Archives Vol. 1

DC Archive Editions

by Will Eisner, Dick French, William Woolfork

Well before Pearl Harbor, the population of the United States was divided over its involvement in the European conflict that would be called World War II. In the pages of many comic books, however, there was no such debate, as patriotic heroes popped up in droves to take on Europe's oppressors. And chief among the non-super-powered set of heroes was Blackhawk, a young aviator seeking vengeance on his family's killers. In the daring adventures presented in this hardcover, watch as Blackhawk brings together a multinational squad of freedom fighters, Andre, Olaf, Chuck, Stanislaus, Hendrickson, and Chop-Chop, to bring down the Nazi menace Also included in this volume is a map of Blackhawk Island, an introduction by comics historian and writer Mark Evanier, and the music and lyrics to the unforgettable "The Song of the Blackhawks "

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, War

228 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

William Erwin Eisner was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series The Spirit (1940–1952) was noted for its experiments in content and form. In 1978, he popularized the term "graphic novel" with the publication of his book A Contract with God. He was an early contributor to formal comics studies with his book Comics and Sequential Art (1985). The Eisner Award was named in his honor and is given to recognize achievements each year in the comics medium; he was one of the three inaugural inductees to the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of these Golden Age stories. Fun Read. Recommended

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collects the Blackhawk stories from Military Comics #1-17. It's okay. The stories aren't great, although the three parter was interesting. Chuck Cuidera's art was pretty good. Reed Crandall's was great, no surprise. It was interesting to see his art pre-EC. It's funny how DC won't reprint Monster Society of Evil because of racial stereotypes but they're fine reprinting this stuff with Chop-Chop.

[Olivia Plasencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited to find this book for only six bucks at a resale bookstore. Like most DC characters that are not still front and center I learned about the Blackhawks from Bruce Timm. The DVD commentary of Justice League Unlimited had Timm explain the Blackhawks and a bit of their history. Since then when shopping I try and find anything with them, but they seem to have limit runs. Finding this was like finding gold. A wonderful piece of comic book and American history. This book is a reprint of the original stories, and it was released in 2001. The stories are clearly written for a specific time in history, and as a history major that focused on WWII, I am still happy I scored this book. This is the beginning of the group of the Blackhawks. A group of men from different countries that made up the Allies in WWII. A group that operates privately from their own secret island base. As always, they are fighting the Axis powers and of course getting the girls. Since this was written in the 40's the style is different from today's average comic and laced with historical reference to the war.

Such a cool find, and inside the book is the music sheet for the theme to the Blackhawks, which I found really cool. I highly suggest reading this if you are history lover of American history of comics.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drastically marred by period racism, but the art ranges from very good to absolutely great.

[Michael P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few 3 star quality stories early and late in this collection, but these are not enough to compensate for the bad ideas, turgid plots, or racist stereotypes in much of this book. I realize we are supposed to make accommodation for the time these stories were created, but too much here is obnoxious to do that.

[Thurston · Rating 3 out of 5]

a fine historical timepiece of early 40's america

[Steven Heywood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid stories, beautifully-drawn though you have to wonder how often Blackhawk and his men can die and be mourned then turn out to have miraculously survived in order to provide a last minute rescue.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

great golden age stories. lots of action and suspense. too bad Blackhawk never gets the girl.