What do you think?
Rate this book
Showcase Presents #59
Showcase Presents: Blackhawk, Vol. 1
The 1950s adventures of The Blackhawks are collected for the first time in this new volume featuring stories from BLACKHAWK #108-127!
512 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2008
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 8, 2025
Great collection of this Golden & Silver Age character's stories. Nice read. Recommended
October 26, 2017
In September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. The valiant Polish people battled bravely against the two-pronged attack, but it was to no avail. One aviator was shot down, as it happens, near his family’s farm, only to watch as it was blown to bits by a Nazi bomb. He discovered his siblings inside the ruined farmhouse, dead or dying. The aviator vowed vengeance against the Nazis, and particularly the pilot of the plane that had murdered his family, Captain von Tepp of the Butcher Squadron.
Months later in England, the aviator stewed in frustration. The RAF did not trust the Polish airmen who’d fled to their shores, thinking that because they’d lost, the Poles were inferior pilots. Unable to get in the air through the regular channels, the aviator found a small group of other pilots who were refugees (plus one American volunteer) and likewise unable to get into the fight. They pooled their resources and secretly purchased several Grumman XF5F Skyrockets, as well as supplies for them and a secret island base.
The aviator had discarded his civilian name and now went only by Blackhawk. His men were the Blackhawk Squadron, or just the Blackhawks. They operated on behalf of the Allies, but independently of any military command, striking wherever the need was greatest. After a few missions never detailed, Blackhawk and his men were able to track down von Tepp and Blackhawk took his revenge. His personal business complete, the Blackhawks were free to fly anywhere at any time to fight the Axis.
The Blackhawks first appeared in Military Comics #1 in 1941, under the Quality Comics label, and got their own title, Blackhawk, in 1944. They were very popular, at one point selling just below Superman. In 1952, they even got a film serial, starring Kirk Alyn, who’d previously played Superman in the movies.
But by 1957, sales were waning, and Quality first leased, then sold, its trademarked characters and titles to DC. Blackhawk was one of only a handful of titles to continue (the other notable one was G.I. Combat.) It kept its art team, but had an assortment of now-anonymous writers.
This volume reprints the DC run, starting with #108. At this point, the team had long been stabilized at seven members. Blackhawk (Polish/American/Polish-American) was the leader. Hendrickson (Dutch/German) was the team sharpshooter and the oldest member. Stanislaus (Polish) was generally the second-in-command–at this point he was said to have been a aerialist before the war and was quite acrobatic. Andre (French) was a mechanical engineer and a bit of a ladies’ man. Olaf (Swedish) was large and exceptionally strong. Chuck (American) was a radio specialist. And Chop-Chop (Chinese) was the team cook. We’ll get back to him.
Since the Korean War was over and Vietnam was not yet hot, the Blackhawks (now flying Lockheed XF-90 C jets) primarily fought spies, saboteurs and mechanized gangs. In the first couple of issues, their primary opponents are International Communism, the agents of whom are mostly pure evil (except the one woman who is won over by Blackhawk’s chivalrous behavior and moral rectitude.)
At a guess, these stories were left over from previous writers, as after that contemporary politics vanishes altogether, and much more time is spent on borderline to full science fiction plots. Lost civilizations, time travel, aliens, and lots and lots of robots and awesome vehicles. The team also acquired a pet between issues, a black hawk named Blackie who was of human intelligence (even able to tap out complex messages in Morse Code!)
The Blackhawks also ran into supervillains, most often a high-tech pirate calling himself Killer Shark or his marine-life themed minions. They even fought the first Mr. Freeze DC had.
The plots tended to be simple, as the stories were quite short and mostly meant for kids. There’s relatively little characterization, with each of the Blackhawks having just a few well-worn quirks.
And then there’s Chop-Chop (who did not even get a proper name until the 1980s!) It’s worth pointing out that even when he first appeared in the 1940s, Chop-Chop was exceptionally competent and good in a fight. But he was also clearly a comic relief character, short, round, and with facial features that look pretty darn racist towards Chinese people.
By 1957, this had been toned down considerably. His face was still stereotypical, but not really more so than say Olaf’s. He’d ditched the queue and lost weight, but still only came up to chest height on the other men and dressed in a “coolie” outfit that had been outdated even back in 1941.
The other Blackhawks treated Chop-Chop as an equal, and he remained good in a fight. But he also didn’t have his own plane (usually acting as navigator for Blackhawk) and sometimes gets left out of Blackhawks group activities. He’s also the sole Blackhawk to admit feeling fear, having the catchphrase “Wobbly woes!” In his one spotlight story, he’s held hostage for a time.
This was a relatively good depiction for a Chinese character in the comics of 1957-58, but sets the teeth on edge for modern readers.
Certain plot elements do get reused. There are no less than four times the Blackhawks fight counterpart teams! The first is the all-female Tigress Squadron. They don’t have a Chop-Chop or Blackie equivalent. At first Blackhawk tries to pitch that crimefighting is man’s work, but after they prove their competence, Blackhawk simply switches to criticizing their plan to execute a criminal mastermind instead of turning him over to the police. (In fairness to the Tigress Squadron, they’re entirely composed of the widows that criminal murdered after he escaped from the prison the Blackhawks delivered him to multiple times. They have good reason for wanting to make sure this time.)
Next up is the all-villain Crimson Vultures. They do have a Chop-Chop equivalent (who never does anything) as well as a crimson vulture named Crimson to fight Blackie.) Unfortunately for them, Crimson is not as smart as Blackie, and that costs them the battle.
And two entirely separate miniature robot versions of the team created by mad inventors! (Both have a Chop-Chop but not a Blackie.)
Coordination between writers was plainly not a priority. In one story, a humanoid robot intelligent enough to infiltrate a criminal gang for months is brought back after several issues of being missing, and the Blackhawks take it back to their island. In the next issue, Blackhawk needs a humanoid robot for something, and builds one from scratch, without even mentioning the previous robot, who also does not appear again in this volume.
That said, there are some tremendous machines in this series, and the War Wheel is always a joy to see in action.
Primarily recommended to older fans who fondly remember the Blackhawks from their childhood like me. Others should take advantage of interlibrary loan
Months later in England, the aviator stewed in frustration. The RAF did not trust the Polish airmen who’d fled to their shores, thinking that because they’d lost, the Poles were inferior pilots. Unable to get in the air through the regular channels, the aviator found a small group of other pilots who were refugees (plus one American volunteer) and likewise unable to get into the fight. They pooled their resources and secretly purchased several Grumman XF5F Skyrockets, as well as supplies for them and a secret island base.
The aviator had discarded his civilian name and now went only by Blackhawk. His men were the Blackhawk Squadron, or just the Blackhawks. They operated on behalf of the Allies, but independently of any military command, striking wherever the need was greatest. After a few missions never detailed, Blackhawk and his men were able to track down von Tepp and Blackhawk took his revenge. His personal business complete, the Blackhawks were free to fly anywhere at any time to fight the Axis.
The Blackhawks first appeared in Military Comics #1 in 1941, under the Quality Comics label, and got their own title, Blackhawk, in 1944. They were very popular, at one point selling just below Superman. In 1952, they even got a film serial, starring Kirk Alyn, who’d previously played Superman in the movies.
But by 1957, sales were waning, and Quality first leased, then sold, its trademarked characters and titles to DC. Blackhawk was one of only a handful of titles to continue (the other notable one was G.I. Combat.) It kept its art team, but had an assortment of now-anonymous writers.
This volume reprints the DC run, starting with #108. At this point, the team had long been stabilized at seven members. Blackhawk (Polish/American/Polish-American) was the leader. Hendrickson (Dutch/German) was the team sharpshooter and the oldest member. Stanislaus (Polish) was generally the second-in-command–at this point he was said to have been a aerialist before the war and was quite acrobatic. Andre (French) was a mechanical engineer and a bit of a ladies’ man. Olaf (Swedish) was large and exceptionally strong. Chuck (American) was a radio specialist. And Chop-Chop (Chinese) was the team cook. We’ll get back to him.
Since the Korean War was over and Vietnam was not yet hot, the Blackhawks (now flying Lockheed XF-90 C jets) primarily fought spies, saboteurs and mechanized gangs. In the first couple of issues, their primary opponents are International Communism, the agents of whom are mostly pure evil (except the one woman who is won over by Blackhawk’s chivalrous behavior and moral rectitude.)
At a guess, these stories were left over from previous writers, as after that contemporary politics vanishes altogether, and much more time is spent on borderline to full science fiction plots. Lost civilizations, time travel, aliens, and lots and lots of robots and awesome vehicles. The team also acquired a pet between issues, a black hawk named Blackie who was of human intelligence (even able to tap out complex messages in Morse Code!)
The Blackhawks also ran into supervillains, most often a high-tech pirate calling himself Killer Shark or his marine-life themed minions. They even fought the first Mr. Freeze DC had.
The plots tended to be simple, as the stories were quite short and mostly meant for kids. There’s relatively little characterization, with each of the Blackhawks having just a few well-worn quirks.
And then there’s Chop-Chop (who did not even get a proper name until the 1980s!) It’s worth pointing out that even when he first appeared in the 1940s, Chop-Chop was exceptionally competent and good in a fight. But he was also clearly a comic relief character, short, round, and with facial features that look pretty darn racist towards Chinese people.
By 1957, this had been toned down considerably. His face was still stereotypical, but not really more so than say Olaf’s. He’d ditched the queue and lost weight, but still only came up to chest height on the other men and dressed in a “coolie” outfit that had been outdated even back in 1941.
The other Blackhawks treated Chop-Chop as an equal, and he remained good in a fight. But he also didn’t have his own plane (usually acting as navigator for Blackhawk) and sometimes gets left out of Blackhawks group activities. He’s also the sole Blackhawk to admit feeling fear, having the catchphrase “Wobbly woes!” In his one spotlight story, he’s held hostage for a time.
This was a relatively good depiction for a Chinese character in the comics of 1957-58, but sets the teeth on edge for modern readers.
Certain plot elements do get reused. There are no less than four times the Blackhawks fight counterpart teams! The first is the all-female Tigress Squadron. They don’t have a Chop-Chop or Blackie equivalent. At first Blackhawk tries to pitch that crimefighting is man’s work, but after they prove their competence, Blackhawk simply switches to criticizing their plan to execute a criminal mastermind instead of turning him over to the police. (In fairness to the Tigress Squadron, they’re entirely composed of the widows that criminal murdered after he escaped from the prison the Blackhawks delivered him to multiple times. They have good reason for wanting to make sure this time.)
Next up is the all-villain Crimson Vultures. They do have a Chop-Chop equivalent (who never does anything) as well as a crimson vulture named Crimson to fight Blackie.) Unfortunately for them, Crimson is not as smart as Blackie, and that costs them the battle.
And two entirely separate miniature robot versions of the team created by mad inventors! (Both have a Chop-Chop but not a Blackie.)
Coordination between writers was plainly not a priority. In one story, a humanoid robot intelligent enough to infiltrate a criminal gang for months is brought back after several issues of being missing, and the Blackhawks take it back to their island. In the next issue, Blackhawk needs a humanoid robot for something, and builds one from scratch, without even mentioning the previous robot, who also does not appear again in this volume.
That said, there are some tremendous machines in this series, and the War Wheel is always a joy to see in action.
Primarily recommended to older fans who fondly remember the Blackhawks from their childhood like me. Others should take advantage of interlibrary loan
June 30, 2019
Andre. Olaf. Chop-Chop. Chuck. Hendrickson. Blackhawk. Together, these seven men fight to protect right and stop evildoers all across the globe. Prior in World War II, the Blackhawks fought the Nazis and Imperial Japan. After the war, they continued their campaign, only this time against giant robots, aliens from outer space and escaped Nazi War criminals.
This volume of DC Comics Presents covers issues of Blackhawk #108-127; the first 20 issues after DC obtained the rights of the property from defunct Quality Comics. I didn't know that DC did any anti-Communism stories during the 1950s. After the Comic Book scare, DC Comics tended to shy away from such overly controversial subjects. But in the first 5-6 issues, it seems like every villain the Blackhawks faced was part of the 'Communist scourge'. But that plot-line soon softened to having the Blackhawks mostly take on costumed villains. Though now a part of the Atomic Age 1950s, the team did have it's WWII throwbacks, mostly in fighting foes who wish to establish the Fourth Reich.
This version of the Blackhawks was clearly a product of it's time period; mostly with the troubling inclusion of Chop-Chop. Unlike Will Eisner's The Spirit, Blackhawk did not boast a racial caricature of an African American, But they did have an character who started out as a racial stereotype of the uneducated Asian houseboy in Chop-Chop.
By 1955 when DC Comics took over the property, Chop-Chop looked less embellished. But he still spoke in a broken English filled with fortune cookie platitudes. (To be fair, the Swedish, French and German characters also spoke in stereotype.) Plus, he always rode in the back of Blackhawk's plane like a puppy on a ride with his owner. However, as this volume progresses, you start to notice that Chop-Chop is permitted to fly the plane on errands and becomes a martial arts wunderkind who gets the team out of their fair share of scrapes.
I appreciated that DC Comics decided to release this book unedited. In a disclaimer at the beginning of this volume, the publishers admit that Blackhawk had it's racist elements but felt that for historical merit those elements should be included. I think it doesn't glamorize racism. Instead, it shows how far we've come. With the recent cancellation of a pre-Batman Detective Comics omnibus, it's too bad that in only 11 short years, DC no longer feels worthy to share it's mistakes for the next generation of readers.
Lastly, let's talk about the forgotten Blackhawk. Earlier, I named 6 of the Blackhawks team. Yet, there are 7 of them. However, it might as well only have been 6! In most origin accounts, the Polish Stanislaus is the first to join Blackhawk's team and considered the team leader's most valued officer. Yet, in this book, I don't think I would be lying if I said that he only speaks in maybe 8 of the 60 stories reprinted here.
Of all the Blackhawks of foreign heritage, Stan is the only one who doesn't speak with an exaggerated accent or mannerisms. Considering how Polish people have had a reputation as being the butt of many a bar room joke, Stanislaus is nobody's fool. But he's the least used team member. Possibly having 7 characters is just too many to given a proper attention to. Yet all the other teammates have at least one story in which they are the star in this collection. Stanislaus it seems is forever the bride maid.
An interesting look at DC's team of super soldiers from the 50s. It's very much a product of it's time period. The covers are great but the story's tend to fall flat with absurd endings. Plus, for a group having a secret island base, most of the criminal element of the world seem able to stumble across it.
I enjoyed reading this edition, but I don't feel compelled to revisit the Blackhawks of time again. I would love to get my hands on their adventures in the late 60s when they became costume secret agents. But I think I've had enough of them from a time period fraught with racial ignorance.
This volume of DC Comics Presents covers issues of Blackhawk #108-127; the first 20 issues after DC obtained the rights of the property from defunct Quality Comics. I didn't know that DC did any anti-Communism stories during the 1950s. After the Comic Book scare, DC Comics tended to shy away from such overly controversial subjects. But in the first 5-6 issues, it seems like every villain the Blackhawks faced was part of the 'Communist scourge'. But that plot-line soon softened to having the Blackhawks mostly take on costumed villains. Though now a part of the Atomic Age 1950s, the team did have it's WWII throwbacks, mostly in fighting foes who wish to establish the Fourth Reich.
This version of the Blackhawks was clearly a product of it's time period; mostly with the troubling inclusion of Chop-Chop. Unlike Will Eisner's The Spirit, Blackhawk did not boast a racial caricature of an African American, But they did have an character who started out as a racial stereotype of the uneducated Asian houseboy in Chop-Chop.
By 1955 when DC Comics took over the property, Chop-Chop looked less embellished. But he still spoke in a broken English filled with fortune cookie platitudes. (To be fair, the Swedish, French and German characters also spoke in stereotype.) Plus, he always rode in the back of Blackhawk's plane like a puppy on a ride with his owner. However, as this volume progresses, you start to notice that Chop-Chop is permitted to fly the plane on errands and becomes a martial arts wunderkind who gets the team out of their fair share of scrapes.
I appreciated that DC Comics decided to release this book unedited. In a disclaimer at the beginning of this volume, the publishers admit that Blackhawk had it's racist elements but felt that for historical merit those elements should be included. I think it doesn't glamorize racism. Instead, it shows how far we've come. With the recent cancellation of a pre-Batman Detective Comics omnibus, it's too bad that in only 11 short years, DC no longer feels worthy to share it's mistakes for the next generation of readers.
Lastly, let's talk about the forgotten Blackhawk. Earlier, I named 6 of the Blackhawks team. Yet, there are 7 of them. However, it might as well only have been 6! In most origin accounts, the Polish Stanislaus is the first to join Blackhawk's team and considered the team leader's most valued officer. Yet, in this book, I don't think I would be lying if I said that he only speaks in maybe 8 of the 60 stories reprinted here.
Of all the Blackhawks of foreign heritage, Stan is the only one who doesn't speak with an exaggerated accent or mannerisms. Considering how Polish people have had a reputation as being the butt of many a bar room joke, Stanislaus is nobody's fool. But he's the least used team member. Possibly having 7 characters is just too many to given a proper attention to. Yet all the other teammates have at least one story in which they are the star in this collection. Stanislaus it seems is forever the bride maid.
An interesting look at DC's team of super soldiers from the 50s. It's very much a product of it's time period. The covers are great but the story's tend to fall flat with absurd endings. Plus, for a group having a secret island base, most of the criminal element of the world seem able to stumble across it.
I enjoyed reading this edition, but I don't feel compelled to revisit the Blackhawks of time again. I would love to get my hands on their adventures in the late 60s when they became costume secret agents. But I think I've had enough of them from a time period fraught with racial ignorance.
May 22, 2020
Like a lot of comics of its time (I looked it up, and this is technically from the Silver Age, which is considered to have started in 1956) the idea behind this comic is much better than the comic itself. As anyone who has read Stan Lee will have experienced, this book has FAR TOO MUCH dialog and captioning, explains way too much and has little depth. Basically Blackhawk and his band of ethnic stereotypes punch Communists. Once in a while something really weird happens. Mostly, it's just punching Communists. The stories are almost all self-contained and only a few pages long, so there's not enough time to get into much (in spite of them giving it the old college try by jamming in half a novel's worth of word balloons & such). It's from that marvelous era when comics were often not credited to writers or artists, and you have no sense of a creator's voice. Written by committee is the vibe. If it came out today, I'd say by computer.
Like Challengers of the Unknown, I really wanted to like this. It's got some great core concepts. It's just not very well done. Some good if repetitive art doesn't make up for boring stories and no growth.
Like Challengers of the Unknown, I really wanted to like this. It's got some great core concepts. It's just not very well done. Some good if repetitive art doesn't make up for boring stories and no growth.
August 31, 2018
2.5 Stars
If you are a fan of Silver Age comics and all of the campiness that comes with them, you will enjoy this. I found it to be just a little silly and a little overwritten. The early issues kept going on about the Reds since it was written during the Cold War and communism was the big issue at the time. Also, it seems this Blackhawk series was not set in the DC Universe but rather in its own universe as other DC Heroes and villains never show up.
The Blackhawks are a group of high flying military aces who battle crime on land, sea and air. Each issue has 3 stories, and there's very little continuity so this is basically an anthology series. The art isn't bad, but the stories are a just a little too campy for me. This is very much the epitome of the Silver Age, though, so if you are a fan of Silver Age comics and those type of stories, this one is for you.
If you are a fan of Silver Age comics and all of the campiness that comes with them, you will enjoy this. I found it to be just a little silly and a little overwritten. The early issues kept going on about the Reds since it was written during the Cold War and communism was the big issue at the time. Also, it seems this Blackhawk series was not set in the DC Universe but rather in its own universe as other DC Heroes and villains never show up.
The Blackhawks are a group of high flying military aces who battle crime on land, sea and air. Each issue has 3 stories, and there's very little continuity so this is basically an anthology series. The art isn't bad, but the stories are a just a little too campy for me. This is very much the epitome of the Silver Age, though, so if you are a fan of Silver Age comics and those type of stories, this one is for you.
January 2, 2018
This would get one star, but I have a soft spot for even mediocre Silver Age superheroes. This volume collects the adventures of the Blackhawks right after DC bought them away from Quality Comics. The battles against assorted, mostly uninteresting villains (the Net, the Sniper, the Dodo, the Raven) would be okay for Batman stories but having a team of seven Blackhawks (Blackhawk himself was the leader) makes everything cluttered. More so because they don't have personalities, just accents (German, French, American, etc.). And the handling of the Chinese member Chop-Chop (originally the cook) is painfully stereotypical and racist.
April 27, 2009
Most of the stories were pretty decent, but i have a hard time rating this higher than two stars because it is so amazingly racist. Granted this is mostly because of the mentality of the time period in question, but still. I guess i have to give them kudos for representing a large number of cultures in with the dramatis personæ, but since it's basically every kind of white i don't give them a whole lot. All of these people are pretty straight stereotypes of their nationalities, except, surprisingly, the Polish. There are two Polish characters at this point in the Blackhawk continuity, one being Blackhawk himself and the other carrying the first name Stanislaus. I've read on Wikipedia that later in the run, they retcon Blackhawk to be American, of Polish descent. Of course the leader of the team has to be an American, doesn't he? Can't have a Pollock leading the best-known international fighter pilot squadron, can we? Ugh. Perhaps i've rambled too long on the racial aspects of the comic but, in 1957, i think that was really it's most glaring feature.
December 29, 2012
This really is not a book for the casual reader of comic books, unless they don't mind real fifties goofiness. Don't expect any angst or metafictional deconstruction; Blackhawk was a simple about a group of aviators who started out fighting Nazis and the like, and went on to battle giant monsters, evil scientists and all sorts of strange menaces.
The highlight of the book is the fantastic artwork by Dick Dillin (inked by Chuck Cuidera and Shelly Moldof). Dick Dillin is my all-time favorite artist, given his long run of work on Justice League of America. He's one of those artists who's not afraid to make a hero look goofy or have him fall on his ass. Great artwork, fun stories ... hard to go wrong with this volume of the Showcase Presents series.
The highlight of the book is the fantastic artwork by Dick Dillin (inked by Chuck Cuidera and Shelly Moldof). Dick Dillin is my all-time favorite artist, given his long run of work on Justice League of America. He's one of those artists who's not afraid to make a hero look goofy or have him fall on his ass. Great artwork, fun stories ... hard to go wrong with this volume of the Showcase Presents series.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews