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The Golden Age Archives
The Golden Age Hawkman Archives, Vol. 1
A new archive featuring select stories from FLASH COMICS #1-22, introducing Hawkman! Gardner Fox's stories took the reincarnated Egyptian prince and pitted him against common criminals and uncommon masked felons. Plus, an introduction by Sheldon Moldoff.
223 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2006
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74 people want to read
About the author
Gardner Francis Fox
1,192 books90 followersGardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"
Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"
Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 20, 2018
Die Stories aus dem Jahr 1940, erschienen in Flash Comics, sind auch mit viel Wohlwollen betrachtet wenig überzeugend, haben manchmal aber auch ihre Momente, wenn sie einen schönen Pulp-Charme entwickeln. Es sind Abenteuergeschichten, die einfach nur unterhalten wollen; Glaubwürdigkeit spielt weder in den Dialogen noch in der Handlung eine Rolle. Am besten, man genießt sie in kleinen Mengen.
Überdurchschnittlich ist hingegen die Artwork von Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff, der seinen Zeichenstil ein Alex Raymond geschult hat.
Überdurchschnittlich ist hingegen die Artwork von Sheldon "Shelly" Moldoff, der seinen Zeichenstil ein Alex Raymond geschult hat.
January 1, 2020
Hawkman is a sort of second tier DC Comics character, taking a back seat to Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. But the Hawkman character is one of the earlier DC characters introduced. Hawkman and Flash appeared together for the first time in Jan, 1940, with only Superman and Batman senior to them. (Wonder Woman didn't show up until Jan, 1942).
As with any comic book character that didn't become mainstream, Hawkman seems a bit peculiar now. Hawkman (Carter Hall) has a mask, large wings, and can fly due to the effects of the mysterious "Nth Metal". But these early Hawkman stories feel fairly similar to the Batman stories in Detective Comics. Hawkman fights mostly real-world bad guys--gangsters, thieves and the occasional evil mastermind. The stories are still fairly entertaining and worth a visit.
As with any comic book character that didn't become mainstream, Hawkman seems a bit peculiar now. Hawkman (Carter Hall) has a mask, large wings, and can fly due to the effects of the mysterious "Nth Metal". But these early Hawkman stories feel fairly similar to the Batman stories in Detective Comics. Hawkman fights mostly real-world bad guys--gangsters, thieves and the occasional evil mastermind. The stories are still fairly entertaining and worth a visit.
July 5, 2015
The Golden Age Hawkman stories are some of the more out-there 1940s superhero stories I've read. Hawkman fights a lot of mad Russian scientists, necromancers, alien invaders, and lost civilizations. And his love interest, Shiera Saunders (who later becomes Hawkgirl) is one of the stronger, more proactive women sidekicks in Golden Age comics. (She's actually more interesting than Carter "Hawkman" Hall, who always seems a bit stiff. I wish she'd been the main protagonist all along.)
December 3, 2020
This is the one superhero I dropped from my Golden Age Read-a-thon, because of the material being bad on so many levels. This is not something that should be consumed by modern audiences. I don't get how Gardner Fox went so wrong here, while I enjoy most of his other works from the time.
July 17, 2023
I have always had a particular fondness for the Golden Age of DC stories and have only read a small sampling of the original Hawkman stories from reprints. While these stories have flaws, they are fun to experience. This set is from 1940-1941.
June 17, 2024
Golden Age Hawkman totally rocks. I love how Carter Hall is supposed to be some sort of Egyptian reincarnation, but when they show him in ancient Egypt as Prince Khufu, he has blond hair and blue eyes. I can imagine that would be quite a rare trait in ancient Egypt! I also love how he fashions his wings out of the ninth metal, which defies gravity. I love the faulty science in old comic books. There is such an emphasis on fun, and these stories have tons of energy, so I can overlook all of these shortcomings with a smile. Old comic books are charming in their innocence and naivete.
I dislike it when heroes kill villains in comics, but I now have to rethink this double standard of mine. I love Golden Age comic books, and Hawkman kills villains in literally every single issue. I love it here, so how can I dislike it in modern comic books, unless the character has originally started out that way? I am thinking about the old X-Men “X-Men don't kill” line here, for the most part. I am going to have to get over my upbringing in the era of comics approved by the Comics Code Authority. Hawkman (or Hawk-Man as he is called in the first few stories) kills villains and doesn't think twice about it, and I love it.
Sheldon Moldoff's artwork is fantastic, very detailed for the era. I was unfamiliar with him prior to reading this book, and I have heard that he only recently passed away. There are times when I kick myself for being unaware of great comic books, and creators, like this. None of us can be everywhere or have read everything at once. It's exciting that there is no shortage of great comic books from all eras for me to discover still.
The top talent of the '40s worked in newspaper comic strips, but beyond that they mostly worked for DC. There were a few great talents elsewhere, but DC ruled the '40s. I am sad that there are no more Golden Age Hawkman Archives for me to buy.
Not every issue's cover is included, which is a DC trait that I loathe. They only feature the covers which have Hawkman on them, but my OCD dictates that all covers must be included.
Like all DC Archives, this has high quality, dull matte paper with sewn binding, and lays relatively flat. This is my poison of choice for hardcovers, as I like to read them while laying in bed. The restoration is generally excellent, with the exception of the first few covers. There is visible pixelation on the cover art for those first few covers, likely the result of “primitive” restoration techniques.
It is worth noting that DC's restoration was better than Marvel collections of the same vintage. My complaints are by 2012 standards, but it must be noted for the sake of argument that Marvel was not always producing better quality product than DC. A 2005 DC Archive has better paper, binding, and restoration than a 2005 Marvel Masterwork.
I must reiterate that I am on the extreme end of the anal retentive scale with my OCD for having the best possible reproduction and presentation, exceeding most sane folks' standards. It is my opinion that these are historically significant artifacts, emphasis on the art, and need to be preserved at all costs for future generations to study and enjoy. Pixelation and the occasionally crappy gradient shading mar the reading experience for me. DC keeps the original color palette intact, but sometimes the color blend has obvious gradient shading, which has a cheap, airbrushed look to it and it annoys me. Most folks, again, would scratch their head and say “Dude, what in the Hell are you talking about??” Consider me an audiophile of high end hardcover collected editions.
I dislike it when heroes kill villains in comics, but I now have to rethink this double standard of mine. I love Golden Age comic books, and Hawkman kills villains in literally every single issue. I love it here, so how can I dislike it in modern comic books, unless the character has originally started out that way? I am thinking about the old X-Men “X-Men don't kill” line here, for the most part. I am going to have to get over my upbringing in the era of comics approved by the Comics Code Authority. Hawkman (or Hawk-Man as he is called in the first few stories) kills villains and doesn't think twice about it, and I love it.
Sheldon Moldoff's artwork is fantastic, very detailed for the era. I was unfamiliar with him prior to reading this book, and I have heard that he only recently passed away. There are times when I kick myself for being unaware of great comic books, and creators, like this. None of us can be everywhere or have read everything at once. It's exciting that there is no shortage of great comic books from all eras for me to discover still.
The top talent of the '40s worked in newspaper comic strips, but beyond that they mostly worked for DC. There were a few great talents elsewhere, but DC ruled the '40s. I am sad that there are no more Golden Age Hawkman Archives for me to buy.
Not every issue's cover is included, which is a DC trait that I loathe. They only feature the covers which have Hawkman on them, but my OCD dictates that all covers must be included.
Like all DC Archives, this has high quality, dull matte paper with sewn binding, and lays relatively flat. This is my poison of choice for hardcovers, as I like to read them while laying in bed. The restoration is generally excellent, with the exception of the first few covers. There is visible pixelation on the cover art for those first few covers, likely the result of “primitive” restoration techniques.
It is worth noting that DC's restoration was better than Marvel collections of the same vintage. My complaints are by 2012 standards, but it must be noted for the sake of argument that Marvel was not always producing better quality product than DC. A 2005 DC Archive has better paper, binding, and restoration than a 2005 Marvel Masterwork.
I must reiterate that I am on the extreme end of the anal retentive scale with my OCD for having the best possible reproduction and presentation, exceeding most sane folks' standards. It is my opinion that these are historically significant artifacts, emphasis on the art, and need to be preserved at all costs for future generations to study and enjoy. Pixelation and the occasionally crappy gradient shading mar the reading experience for me. DC keeps the original color palette intact, but sometimes the color blend has obvious gradient shading, which has a cheap, airbrushed look to it and it annoys me. Most folks, again, would scratch their head and say “Dude, what in the Hell are you talking about??” Consider me an audiophile of high end hardcover collected editions.
January 19, 2012
It is no secret that most of my favorite comics characters are those from the Golden Age of Comics, the 1940s. And so it's always a pleasure to get these Archive Editions and read stories that haven't been reprinted anywhere since their original publication. The Hawkman volume gives us the first 18 Hawkman adventures, from Flash Comics #1-18. The storytelling isn't always grand, and the art by Sheldon Moldoff, while good, never quite reaches the heights that Joe Kubert did later. (Get it? "heights?" Because he's a flying superhero? Oh, never mind.) I was pleased to discover Hawkgirl had a relative both Dave and I had forgotten about (probably because he appeared in only one story), and to note how the character grew even over these 18 stories.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews