DCU Comic Book Reviews

HAWKMAN #40

Farewell My Enemy, part 4

July 2005

Written by Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray

Pencils by Joe Bennett

Inks by Ruy Jose

Cover by Ryan Sook

Synopsis

Today...A funeral is held for Kendra Saunders.  Three days ago...in a drug-induced state Hawkman battered and beat Kendra thinking she was really Lion-Mane.  He takes her to the hospital and waits.  Eventually her uncle Speed Saunders arrives followed shortly by the JSA.  Hawkman tells the JSA to stay and protect Kendra while he goes after the one responsible:  The Fadeaway Man.  First, however, Hawkman visits Dr. Fate, who removes the last traces of the drug from his system.  Meanwhile, the members of the Fadeaway Man’s gang have planted bombs all over St. Roch.  They explode just as Hawkman, along with the Golden Eagle, finds them.  Before he can attack, however, a signal is sent and dozens of half-man, half-bird creatures fly in for the kill.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This storyline has become strangely compelling.  There are parts of it that I find predictable and annoying, but overall I am drawn into the story and I am eager to see how it ends. 

The opening of this issue was, at first, a shock.  Then I realized that the funeral was either a ruse to make the ultimate villain think Kendra was dead or the funeral is really for someone else, such as Hawkman, who is missing from the mourners.  This is a stock plot idea, one that is used for shock value so that the rug can be pulled out from under the reader.  As I said: annoying, but intriguing to see how Palmiotti & Gray will work it all out.  After the Hawkman gets to the hospital, we are greeted with a lengthy exposition as he explains the plot to the JSA.  As someone who has read all of these issues, I did not need the recap, but in terms of the story it made sense; there is now way the JSA would know what was going on.  And while the scenes with Dr. Fate at least presented possibilities about Hawkman’s past lives and what the drugs are doing to him, these scenes are also becoming redundant.  At this point, enough is enough.  Luckily the ending of the issues promises some decent action in the upcoming issue. 

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