DCU Comic Book Reviews

HAWKMAN #23

Black Reign, Part 2

early March 2004

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Rags Morales

Inks by Michael Bair

Cover by John Watson

Synopsis

[Continued from JSA #56]

In St. Roch, Kendra Saunders (aka Hawkgirl) has invited the JSA for a celebration party in the hopes of getting Hawkman to loosen up a little.  While the men and the women enjoy the sights and sounds of St. Roch, Rick Tyler (aka Hourman) remains in his hotel room afraid that his knowledge of the future will entice him to gamble, a dangerous proposition for someone whose family has a history of addictions.  Elsewhere, Hawkman viciously defeats the Matter Master, who is holding people hostage at an auction house.  Meanwhile, the JSA has gathered together for the party.  Hawkman breaks it up to show them news footage of Black Adam taking control of Khandaq.  The JSA turns to Mister Terrific for advice, but Hawkman disagrees:  he is now the chairman and he knows what to do.  [Story continues in JSA #57]

Review

While it is nice to see the JSA make a guest appearance within the pages of Hawkman, it is a little disconcerting to see that JSA take over the pages of Hawkman.  Of the 22 pages, Carter Hall is in maybe three or four; the rest are devoted to the different members of the JSA.  For those picking up this issue because of the Black Reign crossover, this will feel like another JSA issue, which is not necessarily a bad thing since Geoff Johns writes both books.  However, Hawkman fans who might not read the JSA (which is probably only a few, but still) this will feel weird.  First, the heroes are not in costume and while the women are easily defined by bust size and hair color and length, the men look very similar as each seem to have the same face and the same grey line in their hair just above the ears.   Second, there are little bits and pieces of character development sprinkled throughout the issue, but these are continuations of previous JSA issues and are not much related to Hawkman.  The scenes with Dr. Mid-Nite and Hourman, while nice, are woefully out of place in the overall Black Reign storyline.  In fact, it feels like padding, as if Johns felt the ending should be the team receiving the television newscast and then he had had to do what he could to fill out the rest of the issue to reach that point. 

Hawkman’s one appearance before the end, however, was a fantastic appearance, not only for its beautiful artwork of his savage attack on the Matter Master or the continuation of Hawkman’s descent into brutality, but rather because it shows that Hawkman and Black Adam are not all that different.  Both men use violence to achieve their ends.-- Review by MRB

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