DCU Comic Book Reviews

HAWKGIRL #54

The Sleep Of Reason

September 2006

Written by Walter Simonson

Pencils by Howard Chaykin

Inks by Howard Chaykin

Cover by Howard Chaykin

Synopsis

As Kendra Saunders (aka Hawkgirl) mourns the death of Lieutenant Grubs, Lieutenant Doucette informs her that Khimaera is about to get loose of the razor wire she had been tossed into.  Hawkgirl attacks Khimaera beating the creature to a bloody pulp, stopped only by Doucette’s pleading.  Doucette tells her to go home; he will handle taking her to a STAR Labs holding facility.  At the Stonechat Museum, Christopher Roderic offers to help, in return for a few favors.  Director Oliver Evans tells him he will talk to Ivan Boscovitch at the bank, but Roderic tells him that Boscovitch is dead.  Kendra arrives at that moment to confirm the death and to suggest that Roderic may have been involved.  After Roderic leaves, Kendra heads home.  Later, a bone flute plays an alien scale that seemingly wakes the dead in St. Roch.  Meanwhile, a gang member breaks in the Stonechat Museum and uses Hawkman’s staff to summon a creature that looks like Hawkman.  At home, Kendra receives a mysterious call from Hawkman’s office.  She flies over to investigate and finds Hawkman sprawled out on the floor.  When she lifts the helmet, she finds an old man. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There is nothing to see here, move right along.  No, seriously, except for the return Hawkman (if that’s him underneath the helmet) there is not much to this issue that has not been shown before in one form or another.  We get a detective revealing that he knows Hawkgirl is really Kendra, we get a menace glaring in space in anticipation of evil, we get that damn flute playing music to wake the dead, and we even get Kendra wondering about a potential nightmare.  All of these have appeared in the previous four or five issues before.  What we haven’t seen is Hawkman, who has been mysteriously missing for some time.  Yet, he doesn’t appear here; that will happen next issue.  So, this issue comes across and more of the same old, same old.  There have been five issues since the One Year Later re-launch and so far not much has occurred, either in terms of plot or in terms of character development.  It just seems like we are wandering around in circles, marking time until Hawkman returns. 

I feel sorry for Hawkgirl; this seemed like a great time to really get her character going in the DCU and (to me) that opportunity has been lost.  Rather than coming across as a strong character, she has been turned into a mess of confusion and uncertainty which apparently occurred because Hawkman has left her.  Kendra should be past the uncertain stage and should be more sure of herself, even without Hawkman around.  But Simonson seems to like the idea of Kendra fumbling about.  I liked the scene in this issue where she confronted Roderic, but this seems more like an anomaly lately when it should be the status quo. 

I seem to recall that in the early issues of Hawkman, Roderic’s first name was spelled with a “K” rather than a “C” as it is here.  Perhaps the original spelling was incorrect?  Or maybe I just do not quite remember it right.