Hawkman by Geoff Johns Book One

Hawkman/Hawkgirl (2002) (Collected Editions) #1-2

by Geoff Johns, Michael Bair (Artist), Timothy Truman (Artist)

Before his legendary runs on GREEN LANTERN, JUSTICE LEAGUE and THE FLASH, Geoff Johns reinvigorated another iconic DC hero--Hawkman!

As he struggles to adjust to his new life, Hawkman tries desperately to rekindle his relationship with Hawkgirl. But with no precious memories of their shared past, she wants nothing to do with him--until she learns that the deaths of her parents years ago were actually murders, and she is forced to enlist Hawkman's help in unlocking the mystery and finding their killer.

Hawkman's past, present and future collide in these stories featuring his surprising interactions with other heroes, including Green Arrow, the Atom and Doctor Fate. You'll find out why Hawkman is one of DC's toughest icons!

HAWKMAN BY GEOFF JOHNS BOOK ONE features stories by Geoff Johns (JUSTICE LEAGUE, TEEN TITANS) and James Robinson (STARMAN, SUPERMAN) and art by Rags Morales (ACTION COMICS, HOURMAN), Michael Bair (JSA, IDENTITY CRISIS) and others. Collects HAWKMAN #1-14 and HAWKMAN: SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery

365 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2017

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hawkman is a character who DC has created so many incarnations of that no one really knew what was going on with the character. Enter James Robinson and Geoff Johns who established that Hawkman and Hawkgirl are continuously reincarnated which allowed them to combine many of the various versions. Most of this was established over in JSA which allowed Johns to focus this series on their eternal love and how that played out now that Kendra doesn't have Shayera's memories. Furthermore, he was able to establish a villain, Hath-Set, destined to murder our two heroes after they find each other in each lifetime.

I loved the Green Arrow and Atom appearances in the book, especially the friction between Hawkman and Green Arrow. Rags Morales's art is fantastic. It has a classic look, but with modern kinetic energy to it.

[Bookwraiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t say I was ever a fan of Hawkman until I began reading this series written by Geoff Johns and James Robinson with art by Rags Morales back in the early 2000s. This was one of my favorite comics back then, as it really breathed new life into this character, and while it isn’t quite as awesome now (2020 reread), I still am enjoying it. Love the reincarnation lore of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the whole eternal love story arc, and the mixture of DC characters and history. Fun stuff.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good!

It starts off with the duo looking for their friend David and that takes them to India and there they are looking for the eye of Shiva and they go against the three thieves in Shadow Thief, Tigress and Copperhead but then the Makhnas and Komerians, people from Hindu myth come in and that was interesting and the battle for the artifact with Hawkman in the center starts and it was an interesting story and introduces fun corner of the DCU.

Then the story with Hawkman and his attitude and trying to find secrets of life and teaming up with The atom and then Green arrow and fight villains like Shadow thief and The Spider starts and its short stories and focuses on expanding Carter's role in the DCU and I love the way Johns treats him as this immortal figure and shows his impact throughout history and its well done.

Plus later in the book they go against Hath-set and there is some great twists there and finally Gentleman Ghost and some great retcon there, Johns really understands these characters and shows them at their best and makes their grudge against Hawkman and Hawkgirl eternal and I love what he does with Kendra and such great twist here examining her character and leading do "Will they, Won't they?" which while not surprisingly is handled better than most.

I like the foreshadowing of what's to come and the reveals were awesome. This is a volume that shows Hawkman at his best and the art is so good and gorgeous and has some of the best covers easily and maybe one of Johns like super scintillating work. Its a must read for any DC fan and understand one of the most seminal figures in DC history. Loved it throughout.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a slog to get through, and I've never said that about a Geoff Johns book before.

I think it's because the opening six or so issues are so bland that it hurts the momentum of the series overall. Considering it took me about two weeks to read those and then I finished the last half of the book in two days, I think that's definitely it.

The opening arc of the series pits Hawkman and Hawkgirl against random bad guys, gives them problems that feel like they've been going on in other books that we aren't reading (probably JSA, which I haven't read for a LONG time but is much better than this is), and does very little for Hawkman as a character. The two parter with Green Arrow is the first time things seem to take an upturn, but even that is just Hawkman yelling at him for two issues so there's that.

The following issues are much better, with the Atom and Doctor Fate popping up to help Carter and Kendra try and deal with what's been going on, with the long-standing Hath-Set plot taking centre stage after that, along with the Gentleman Ghost and the mystery of Kendra's parents in the last two issues. This is definitely a series that gets better as it goes along.

Art-wise, Rags Morales pencils most of these issues, and his work is...fine. I've never been a massive fan, but he's a dependable artist and there aren't any problems with his style, it just doesn't really stand out to me. Ethan Van Sciver shows up for an issue, which is nice, as does Patrick Gleason, so it's interesting to see how these artists' styles have evolved over the years.

I'm curious to see how the rest of Johns' run plays out, but I'm pretty sure if I'd been reading this series in individual issues I'd have dropped it before we got to the interesting parts.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was actually really good! Hawkman! Who knew?

UPDATED: So, so good in fact that I just had to buy this beauty on Amazon.



Don't judge me until you've read it yourself!!!

[Sans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for reincarnation, always have been, and this hit most of my trope favorites. I’m mostly picked this up because of Metal, but I’m glad I read it regardless. A little ridiculous at times, but it’s a comic book so it kinda comes with the territory.

[Ben A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a diehard Hawkman fan and I’d enjoyed the previous incarnations of the character prior to this series but Geoff Johns and James Robinson really knocked it out of the park with this series. It just crackles with pure creative energy and even almost twenty-five years later puts to shame most of the monthlies I’m reading currently.

[Diego Galvão · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito bom. Eu nunca tinha lido muito sobre o Gavião Negro, e esse ecadernado é um ótimo começo para entender mais sobe ele e a Moça Gavião. Acredito ser um bom complemento para as edições da SJA do Geoff Johns.

[Carlex · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, a totally unknown superhero who has always seemed a bit ridiculous: a guy with a helmet with a hawk beak and some kind of feathered false wings...

Well, to be honest a lot of superheroes look pretty kitschy. In any case, there are no bad characters if a good team of scriptwriter and illustrator is in charge, as is the case.

[Alessio De Agostini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opinione personale:
È il primo volume/la prima storia che leggo sul personaggio di Hawkman. Devo ammettere che mi sono deciso a leggere questo volume per l' hype che ho verso il film su Black Adam, nel quale è stata annunciata la presenza di Hawkman.
Questo primo approccio è stato sicuramente molto positivo.
Se i personaggi di Hawkman e Hawkgirl li conoscevo in qualche maniera era grazie alla serie animata di Justice League e alla serie TV di Arrow e Flash nelle quali i due personaggi compaiono in un crossover tra le due serie dedicato proprio ai loro personaggi e a quello di Vandal Savage.
Tornando al fumetto, Johns ha scritto una almeno una run su quasi tutti i personaggi della DC Comics e qualsiasi cosa abbia scritto è stata quasi sempre apprezzata e credo che tra quelle apprezzate rientri anche questa.
In questo primo volume vengono appunto raccontate le origini di Hawkman e Hawkgirl, il loro destino e le loro vite precedenti.
Premetto che non conoscevo benissimo i due personaggi (come ho detto sopra), ma posso dire tranquillamente di aver apprezzato il personaggio di Carter Hall, un personaggio duro, deciso e che non si ferma davanti a niente. Un personaggio che in questa storia dovrà anche capire quando è il momento di essere Carter Hall e quando essere Hawkman. Ha fargli notare questa cosa sarà un personaggio ben noto tra i fan della DC Comics. E nella parte finale di questa storia entrerà in gioco un altro personaggio della DC Comics famoso tra i fan ma che passa inosservato 😏.
Anche la personalità di Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders è molto ben caratterizzata e anche parecchio dura, nonostante un' inizio di indecisione riuscirà a trovare la sua retta via nel modo di agire e di essere.
I disegni e i colori di ogni tavola sono ben fatti e esprimono bene tutti i sentimenti che ogni vignetta deve esprimere. Nonostante i vari artisti che hanno preso parte a questo primo volume, devo dire che i disegni non sono così tanto diversi tra un' artista e l' altro, questo aiuta sicuramente il lettore a perseguire tranquillamente la lettura.
Adesso non mi resta altro da fare che leggere il secondo volume, nel quale dovrebbe comparire Black Adam.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beh, non c'è che dire: Robinson e Johns sono sempre una bella lettura. Mai banali, sempre al lavoro sulle psicologie dei personaggi, anche con Hawkman hanno imbastito una sequenza di storie decisamente interessanti ed intriganti. Il marchio di fabbrica di Robinson, ossia l'aggancio al passato dei personaggi, funziona bene qui come nella JSA e in Starman.
Tutta la dinamica tra Hawkman ed Hawkgirl è decisamente ben fatta e riuscita, la reintroduzione di Hat-Set è un altro ottimo punto di forza di questa saga e sono curioso di vedere come, nelle prossime storie, recupereranno il Gently Ghost.
4 stelle

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hawkman has always been a character that I never really got into or knew anything about. To me he is a pretty much a dude that punches first and asks questions later. So this volume is really a crash course on the character in general.

And there is a lot of history to this character. First, it seems Hawkman and Hawkgirl are both reincarnated since Egyptian times, to fall in love and die tragically and then do it all over again until the present day. However there was brief mentions of an alien Hawkman that died and gave his life for this Hawkman... I got a little lost on the history to be honest.

But once we get past the history of the character, Johns sets up the world. Which comprises of a lot of history and historical artifacts, callbacks to previous villains and allies, and of course the relationship between Hawkman and Hawkgirl. I feel like this book is, at once, both a good introduction to the character, and a bad one. Johns writing is so good that the story feels new and easy to take in, but I kept running into roadblocks when a villain or ally would show up and start talking about the past. So I kind of feel like I have to go back and read the old stuff to really appreciate the book.

Overall, this book feels a bit by the numbers. A lot of reintroduction, a lot of will they-wont they, and a lot of Hawkman kicking ass. Ultimately, enjoyable but a bit dated, check this out if you have any interest in the character. John's makes it easy to dive into the world of the Hawks.

[Ανδρέας Μιχαηλίδης · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting one for a number of reasons. First off, I have never been a terrible Hawkman fan, simply because he was never on my radar. Secondly, what Johns and Robinson do is take however many decades of different Hawkman and Hawkgirl / Hawkwoman stories and weave them into one continuity of death and reincarnation, taking it to a cosmic scale. Third, this is from the beginning of the last era of good superhero comics, that ended around 2010. The last decade has been going downhill in a big, bad way.

Rags Morales does some beautiful art that is a joy to look at, as well a sore reminder of the current triumph of mediocrity.

The title also has strong adventurous archaeology element and relocates the heroes to the American South, both of which hold allure for me.

All that said, is it perfect? No. Especially around issues 5 and 6, there is a lot of silliness going on, with one of the lamest villains in the history of the genre (rather, one who has one of the lamest motives). However, that is a temporary setback and then the comic really gets into the business of establishing the greater Hawk mythos.

[EDIT: OK, second time I had to revise a review. Actually, there is a lot of silliness and one terrible issue (art-wise) by van Sciver. Still a fun read, but the truth is that the trope of Eternal Love across lifetimes often chokes everything else, sometimes nonsensically].

[Shyue Chou Chuang · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather oddball of a volume with a great cover painting. The interior artwork is mixed, some good, some rather poor and some generic. As to the stories, they are decidedly rather different in tone. There is the ever running tension between Hawkman and Hawkgirl throughout, there is the odd adventure to Punjab and a trip into a strange Indian fantasyland involving elephant beings, this is followed by an murder mystery with the Green Arrow, and a trip back in history to the Wild West with the earlier incarnation of Hawkman and Hawkgirl as Nighthawk and Cinnamon.

Then, it goes back to the thread of Hawkgirl looking for the murderer of her parents. At times, Dr Fate, the Atom and other superheroes would make their appearances. In between, there is an adventure into a Tibet-like place involving yetis and magic and their nemesis Hath-Set. The everchanging disparate tones and stories can be both a boon and a curse. Hawkman seemed to charge in a rage into just about everything. Fairly entertaining.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the world of modern Hawkman. Geoff Johns permeated the core concept and interactions of the character to de CW universe and most recently Arrowverse, from this tun he co-plotted with James ''Starman'' Robinson, and you see those seeds planted in this run, full of guest appeareances, and the bittersweet story of a man clinging to the past, as an archeologist, adventurer, and costumed hero. Rag Morales (Action Comics N52) gives hus distinctive style that reminds of classic comics with a modern twist, aided by a bunch of guest pencillers like Ethan Van Sciver and Don Kramer. This in my mind is the last good Hawkman series until the new Venditti/Hitch run, and a good jimping on point for people who want to read more than his current montly (2018), or fans of the tv version, that would like to know the original concepts of the characters portrayed on tv.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geoff Johns does a good job establishing a solid character for Hawkman and Hawkgirl while also setting up their supporting cast and main city (St. Roch).

The history of Hawkman and Hawkgirl is pretty interesting, and we got to see one their past lives as vigilantes in the Wild West.

Gentleman Ghost and the mystery of Kendra's parents deaths are the most interesting part of the story, but the initial arc is a bit dull (although is was sort of cool seeing Hindu mythology utilised in a comic book). Green Arrow also makes a memorable appearance.

Unfortunately the villians tend to be a bit on the boring side, and the story can feel a tad generic at times.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading it (cheap digital purchase) between 2 JSA Omnibus to learn more about the Hawkman and Hawkgirl relationship. But there are actually more origin stories in the JSA run. These are very earthy / no real threat stories (Kendra trying to find out who killed her parents). But the stories are good! And I liked the "archeological" locations like India and Tibet. The Atom and the Green Arrow also make appearances (not just cameo, but real substance to their relationship with Hawkman). This is a good book (the art is beautiful too) and I will read the second book too very soon.

[Evan]

Fun stuff. Didn’t know this was going to be Louisiana-set. An interesting contrast to the JSA series it’s spun off of. It’s Hawkgirl-heavy, too, with most of the book dedicated to the two heroes figuring one another out and learning who they want to be to each other. Gentleman Ghost as puppetmaster is a lot of fun. The Atom and Green Arrow make memorable appearances. Fun!

[alejandro galvez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly very good.

Was never really into Hawkman until a couple of years ago. I can't believe it took me this long to read this book. If you are on the fence about the character, read this book. It will help shed light on not only Hawkman, but a few other characters as well. Even a surprise cameo from The Gentlemen ghost himself! This book is a gem.

[Zachary King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Continuity wonks will marvel at the way Johns ties all the Hawks together in a story of immortal, ill-fated love. High adventures blended with superheroics, this book also gives a good glimpse into Johns’s early DC work, a fine companion to his epic run on JSA.

[Kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not impressed with this. The first story is a more offensive version of Temple of Doom, GA crossover is forgettable, past lives stuff was marginally interesting, Speed Saunders story was not even that and the final was an interesting idea poorly handled.
Overall, a big thumbs down from me.

[c wylie misselhorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a lifelong groundhog day, huh? With some Egyptian mystical flair. It's cool. I'm curious if it will ever become an on-screen event. Read it if you like Egyptian flavored magic, or I guess, true love.

[Eric Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robinson and Johns work their magic once again, and I couldn't put this one down. The globe trotting adventure mixed with mystery and action was so much fun and the characters of Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders are so underrated.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not read Hawkman stories since the 60s. Loved this.

[tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Andy Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half is a bit of a slog but it picks up. I've been trying to complete Geoff John's work.
Rags Morales shines here.
But it should always be pointed out that Ethan Van Sciver is a Nazi.

[The Poor Person's Book Reviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It started off good, and ended great with a dark story that I didn’t expect

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like a story that got away from the writer. A lot of story clearly occurred before the first issue. Ending makes no sense.

[Batusi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfactory read that doesn't quite reach the heights of Johns' best work.

The story follows Carter Hall as he struggles to piece together his reincarnated identity while battling threats like ancient curses and shadowy enemies tied to his past.

While the action is exciting and the lore intriguing, the pacing and character development feel uneven making it a good but not great experience.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting ideas here, and some very pretty art, as Johns focuses on the history of Hawkman, turning him into a super powered Indiana Jones.

Like with every series he writes, it all gets away from him, and the whole doomed destiny drags, but the early stories are decent and introduces an interesting supporting cast.

Love the appearance of Officer Isabella!