Zine the fourth has arrived! The 'Reboot' issue!

2 years later, and we've finally released our fourth zine -- but it was worth the wait:

A front cover by Jeff Lemire! A back cover by Michel Fiffe! An interview with Jeff Lemire! An interview with DC editor Mike Gold! We pestered writers Tony Isabella and Dan Mishkin for information! Articles about the Hawkman/Hawkworld reboot, the Aquaman reboot, Wild Dog and The Question! Our favorite Secret Origins issues! The winning entry from our '8k Twitter followers' contest! Pin-ups by Christian St. Pierre and Raymond Lowell!

We're calling it 'the Reboot issue' even though Mike Gold hates that word. ;)

If you're an American resident, for $5 USD (shipping is extra), we will send you a 24-page black and white 'zine.

If you're a Canadian resident, for [whatever the current currency exchange rate for USD to CAD is] (shipping is extra), we will send you a 24-page black and white 'zine.

If you're an International resident, e-mail us directly and we'll figure something out.

To order, send us an e-mail at dcinthe80s@gmail.com.

Yes, this is our FOURTH 'zine. You can scope out our first, second and third zines by clicking on the links. We may have a few left in stock...

DC in the 80s interviewed by Ed Catto for Mike Gold's ComicMix

We are elated to announce that ComicMix - a comic book & pop culture website overseen by Mike Gold (yes, THAT Mike Gold) - has taken interest in our humble little 80s-centric webzine and decided to interview myself and executive editor Mark Belkin regarding the origins of this site and our favorite material from DC comics (circa 1980s).

ComicMix is kind of a BIG DEAL to us since it's regular roster of columnists include notable 80s greats such as John Ostrander, Dennis O'Neil, Mindy Newell and Mike Gold himself. Robert Greenberger has also been known to pitch in a review article or three.

Ed Catto, who is also the co-founder of the Bonfire Agency, conducted the interview. Not only is Ed a marketing strategist, he's no slouch when it comes to illustrating, either. Ed graciously allowed us to share two of his recent pieces:

  

Our interview is up at: http://www.comicmix.com/2016/10/17/ed-catto-talking-about-and-with-dc-in-the-80s/



Here's a few other Ed Catto articles/interviews (written for ComicMix) that you may enjoy:

• Ed Catto: That Other British Invasion
• Ed Catto: World’s Finest Anticipation... and Trepidation
• Ed Catto: Paul Kupperberg Looks Up Into the Sky!
• Ed Catto: Paul Gulacy – More than just the Master of Kung Fu
• Ed Catto: Murphy Anderson – A Legend and a Gentleman

Throwback Thursday - A really really brief summary of 1983's Vigilante ongoing series

[Everyday is Throwback Thursday when you moderate a webzine that examines comic books from 20+ years ago, however, this was originally written 3 years ago when we first started reviewing DC comics from the 80s on our tumblr. We just figured that with all of the recent hype about Vigilante slated to appear in the CW's next season of the Arrow, now would be a good time to post this. It's kind of humbling to look back on old articles and spot all of the errors/inaccuracies/generalized statements you've made. Remember, sometimes you can't move forward without looking back at how you started. Someday we promise to post the in-depth review this excellent ongoing series deserves - if it's the last thing we ever do. -J]

First, I want to say that this Vigilante has no relation to DC’s golden age Vigilante that appeared in 1941 (cowboy who rides a motorcycle).

I did a lot of research on Vigilante before I posted this, and found there were not that many reviews that thoroughly examine this series.After digging out my old back issues I have come to the conclusion that this may be THE definitive comic book series of the 1980s - I even created a new hash tag just for this entry.

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, the Vigilante was a character introduced in the pages of the New Teen Titans - which was DC’s "it" book of the 1980s. The origin of how the Vigilante came to be is a multi-issue sub-plot that concludes in the New Teen Titans Annual #2 (1983). From then on, the Vigilante gets his own series.

Despite being a spin-off of the New Teen Titans, this series is very much a stand-alone book. One of Wolfman’s main goals in creating this series was to keep it as realistic as possible, which explains the minimal interference from other established DC characters. I’m going to presume that keeping the series grim and violent kept it as close to realistic as possible (observe the newspaper headlines showing in the house ad).

It was a 'Direct Edition' comic (so it never wound up on newsstands) and did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal - which is fitting because the Vigilante shot and killed criminals. The ‘antihero’ was still a relatively new concept in the early 80s, and the fans were squeamish. This series was mired in controversy since the get-go. Fans complained about the cold-blooded killing and the Vigilante took a vow of "no killing" after issue #1. Fans then complained he was too soft, so the writers hardened him up again. At some point fans complained the Vigilante lost his edge and he became a super-hero for a while. Critics panned it for it’s blatant 'implied’ sex scenes. Wolfman wrote and edited this series for the first year, from then on Paul Kupperberg took over writing chores (presumably because Wolfman was busy with Crisis On Infinite Earths and other projects, but I’d be surprised if Wolfman didn’t quit because the readers were too fickle). Wolfman stayed on as editor and Kupperberg stayed on as writer to plot out one of the best whodunnits I’d ever read.

In my opinion, this series really hits it’s stride after Mike Gold becomes the editor (issue #35) and allows Kupperberg the freedom to write stories that would involve as many 80s action/crime film tropes as possible (yes, the protagonist gets arrested and imprisoned and has to fight his way out of jail). By issue #39 a “suggested for mature readers” label is added and the series gets way more extreme with graphic violence, implied sexual abuse, vulgar language, images of drug use, and nudity.

What really makes this series stand out is that it covers a lot of social issues that would never be brought up in a mainstream comic (ex: racial profiling, drug addiction, homelessness, immigration, inflation/economic downturn/jobs being sent over seas, child kidnapping, rape, pedophilia, the war on drugs, corruption in the government/police/law, homosexuality, terrorism, religious extremists, how vigilantism affects society, consequences of killing, innocence, etc…). Which in my opinion was one of the major hallmark of comic books in the 80s: raising awareness of what was going on in our culture/society rather than brushing over the subject and creating a false sense of security. This is NOT a comfortable book.

A few things worth mentioning:

• Alan Moore was a guest writer for issues #17 and #18
• Very subtle Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-in in issue #22
• John Byrne contributed a cover for issue #35
• Mike Grell contributed covers for issues #36, #37, and #38

Vigilante lasted until 1987 with 50 issues and 2 annuals. The adventures of the Vigilante’s supporting cast is continued in Checkmate v1 (1988).

I’ve had the first half of this series since I was a teen and had trouble tracking down the rest of the series until recently. Unfortunately, someone spoiled the ending of this series before I had a chance to finish reading it. I won’t do the same to you. Pick it up, now.


As of this writing, this series has not been reprinted by DC yet, so if you want it you’re going to have to go digging in back-issue bins. Rumor has it that it’s really difficult to find issue #50 - not due to it being highly sought after, but because sales were so bad near the end of the series that retailers were stocking very low numbers of this title.

Vigilante v1 #50 (1988)

Fun Fact: Apparently Wolfman was not pleased with the way the series ended, but had no say in it.

The Mike Grell interview: Jon Sable Freelance as the precursor for the 1988 Green Arrow ongoing series

This is actually one half of a REALLY LONG interview I conducted with Mike Grell on Friday, May 13 2016 at the Ottawa Comiccon.  I was a little nervous when interviewing Mike, so my questions were all over the place and didn't follow any real logical flow. For your reading convenience, I separated the interview transcription into two parts. The second part will deal exclusively with his work on DC comics characters. This interview was actually recorded, but the quality of the audio is a little raw, so I won't be posting it for all to listen to - but I assure you, it exists.

This webzine is very much DC-centric, and this may be my only REAL chance to gush about how great Grell's John Sable Freelance is (and possibly my only chance ever to interview Mike Grell in person), so please bear that in mind as you read through the rather long-winded interview questions.

To summarize, Jon Sable Freelance is one of those indie book (published by First Comics from 1983 to 1988) that nobody seems to have read, but all unanimously agree to being one of the 'better' indie titles of the 1980s. A quick search on the 'net doesn't really delve much about this series, so this is DC in the 80s' chance to give this series it's due. Not just as a really well-illustrated and well-written series, but also as the forerunner to Grell's 1987 Longbow Hunters limited series and then his 1988 Green Arrow ongoing series (both published by DC comics in the late 1980s).

DCinthe80s: "To start: a little bit of history on you. You enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 and were discharged in 1971. You were in Saigon in 1971 - for about a year, correct?"

Mike Grell: "Yes."

DC80s: "So you weren't in the Vietnam War per se, you were working in the Air Force and Military Intelligence?" [the US extraction from Saigon (aka: end of Vietnam) was in 1975]

Grell: "Yes, I was. But the war was going on all around me, so I wasn't a combat soldier by any means, but I was in the war. I was involved. In fact, I was almost as involved as you can get without being in the jungle."


DC80s: "You grew up in Wisconsin, so you know a lot about hunting. Actually, I read that was one of your passions - wilderness, hunting..."


Grell: "Yes, yes it is."


DC80s: "You also know a lot about weaponry - I remember, while reading Jon Sable Freelance, you going into a lot of detail about the actual weapons used in the stories. I remember reading fan mail for the book praising your attention to detail on illustrating/describing a particular combat knife or gauge/caliber of a specific weapon. You have a really advanced knowledge of this stuff."

Grell: "Well I learned to shoot when I was 4 years old. I lived in Northern Wisconsin where the area was so depressed that if your father didn't hunt, your family didn't eat meat. Hunting came naturally to me just as a way of life. It taught me respect for the game animals, it taught me a love of the wild, and I've been at it since I was just a kid."


DC80s: "I sense a lot of that is reflected in your work: Jon Sable has a history of being a big game hunter in Africa, there's the whole hunter/prey motif in the series, and in Green Arrow - in your revamped origin - Green Arrow learns how to use a bow for survival while being stranded on a deserted island. Originally, as per his pre-Crisis origin, Green Arrow was a young boy when he was taught how to shoot."

Grell: "Yeah, it's a question of staying alive. I had a line I wrote in a story where someone asks him "what's the toughest shot he ever made?" and he replied "it was a lizard at ten feet" and they asked "was it poisonous?" and he replied "No. Tasty". Because it was the shot that he had to make in order to feed himself."


DC80s: "On the topic of Oliver Queen... by the way, do you still like the name 'Green Arrow'? I remember hearing you weren't a fan of the name 'Green Arrow'."

Grell: "The name is stupid, but the character - the concept of Green Arrow - well, Green Arrow has always been one of my favorite comic book heroes. Right from the time I was a little kid. I learned how to shoot a bow when I was six or seven years old and we used to play 'Robin Hood' all of the time. The idea of a character who doesn't have super powers, but he has superior skill that anybody can learn, just really appealed to me."

DC80s:"That's like the 'everyman' idea. Jon Sable is the 'everyman' because anybody with enough training could BE Jon Sable. Warlord/Travis Morgan was an 'everyman', he didn't have any special powers, he was an Air Force pilot who crashed in Skartaris..."

Grell: "Right. He was just an ordinary guy with a big sword and a .44 Magnum... but he had the only .44 Magnum is Skartaris, so it gave him a slight edge - y'know?"

DC80s: "Starslayer was another character you created. He was a Celtic warrior who gets that cybernetic eye implant as soon as he gets picked up by that ship - but for the most part, it is feasible that a normal human being could be skilled and honed enough that he could be on par with Starslayer. I'm finding that this another major theme in your 80s work - the main character as the 'everyman'. Even Blackhawk, the feature you wrote for 1988's Action Comic Weekly, is just a 'normal' pilot..."

Grell: "It's the circumstances that cause ordinary, normal people to rise above their everyday lives that really makes them heroic - people just going about their lives and something happens to change them. And it's that change that's important - it's what makes them who they are. It what makes them interesting." 

DC80s: "Something else I've noticed in your books is the concept of 'aging'. For example, Ollie is going through a mid-life crisis in Longbow Hunters, he's saying "well, I'm 40-something, do you want to have kids?" and Dinah says "Well, no. I don't want to bring kids into this world.""

Grell: "He wants to have kids because he's feeling that biological clock ticking, and she doesn't want anything to do with it because of what THEY do. She tells him that she'd love to make babies with him, but she doesn't want to make orphans. She's not ready to hang up her costume and give up the action. She still enjoys what she is and what she does."

"The reason why I made it a point to age my characters was that early on [in the 70s] I had a discussion with Julius Schwartz over a line in a Green Arrow story in which Ollie says "something something whatever I'm not even 30 yet" and I said "that's impossible" and he said "no no no, none of our characters are over thirty because our readers can't relate to anybody over thirty. They think that over thirty is 'over the hill' " and I said "that's totally ridiculous. How long would you say Green Arrow and Speedy have been together? Could you believe that the state had awarded Green Arrow custody of Speedy? What about Batman and Robin? Are you going to tell me that the state was going to award custody of a 15 year old boy to 29 year-old male bachelor? Really?" and so when I had the opportunity to create the Warlord and then Jon Sable, I made it a point to make those characters not just over 30, but over 40."

"I took a certain amount of pride in making them just a little older than I was at the time because I was against the pervasive ageism that is so prevalent in the comic industry. And it still is. There are so many unemployed artists who just happen to pass that 45 year old mark that you just can't believe it. It happens moreso in the comics industry...  probably moreso than any other industry. Artists who are still vital and viable - guys who can draw rings around a lot of the younger crop - are out of work because they're in their forties. Or, God forbid, in their fifties. Or, in my case, in their sixties."

DC80s: "Did you ever go to Africa?"

Grell: "Yes. I've been there twice on safari."

DC80s: "Was that before or after you wrote Jon Sable?"

Grell: "More or less during. I went first in 1984 and back again in 1989."

DC80s: "And you jousted at some point?"

Grell: "Yes. I rode with a group called the Seattle Knights for almost 10 years. I've jousted, did horse-back archery, sword fighting, and all that other stuff. I used to brag that I've never fell off a horse in my life. Then when I turned 45, I bought a horse. That came to an end in a hurry - three years later I was falling off professionally doing it 3 or 4 times a day. I've never been hurt falling off a horse on purpose. I've gotten busted-up on accident a couple of times.

DC80s: "When you were shopping around your Savage Empire comic strip in the early 1970s, you had another hard-boiled detective strip called Iron Mike... is that who Jon Sable is partly based on? You've listed Mickey Spillane and Edward Burroughs as some of your early influences..."

Grell: "The Mickey Spillane influence really showed in Iron Mike. There were a couple of stories I did in Jon Sable that I lifted straight out of Iron Mike - plots I had written out and wanted to follow through with."

DC80s: "I remember reading somewhere that Jon Sable was your favorite character. He was your 'pet project' and a lot of the allure came from the fact that you were able to tell the stories you wanted to tell. I've got say, I've re-read most of the entire Jon Sable Freelance TPB reprint set (available from IDW) for the first time a few months and still really enjoy it. It really holds up 30+ years later. I don't know if it's my age or etc, but lately I've been taking an interest in Cold War espionage drama, and this book was right up my alley. The majority of the stories are framed like whodunit mysteries..."

Grell: "That's what I liked most about the Jon Sable book - I could do any kind of story I wanted. It was securely anchored to the real world and I could often draw my stories from news headlines."

DC80s: "There's a few things here that you actually predict in advance. Sable dealt with a lot of contemporary stuff (at the time of publication), when you're reading it you can easily place when it happened ("okay, this story is about the 80-something Olympics. Okay, here's Jon Sable meeting with Reagan. Here's some Russians trying to escape the soviet by getting smuggled into the U.S.") and then there's the whole Iran/Contra thing..."

Grell: "Longbow Hunters! I got a call from a radio station in NYC asking me if I'd go on air and speak live about the story connection. The reporter asked me how I was able to beat the Iran/Contra story, in print, by 6 months. I told them that, quite frankly, all I did was read the papers, looked at what was going on in the world and plugged in the various players and asked myself "what would be stupidest thing the CIA could do if they were absolutely certain they would never get caught?" and that's what I wrote about."

Reagan makes a guest appearance in Jon Sable Freelance #1

DC80s: "You're one of the pioneers of championing for creator-owned work. You were the first to join up with Pacific Comics in the 80s (Jack Kirby was the second). For First Comics, you were the second to sign up (Joe Staton was the first). Jon Sable was one of the first 3 books published by First Comics. There was WARP, E-Man, Jon Sable Freelance and then Starslayer came in not too long after that [1983]. What was that like? You were taking a big gamble and venturing into new territory (i.e. creator-owned). I know that First Comics was paying a really good page rate, but there was a risk - you were venturing and taking a gamble. You were also making a statement about 'creator-owned'. It wasn't fair that you were creating popular characters for a bigger comic book company and couldn't retain control of them." 

Grell: "Exactly. I was always a big fan of newspaper comic strips. One of the reasons I wanted to get into newspaper strips so badly is because creators owned their own material. I didn't see any reason why that SHOULDN'T be the case in comic books as well. When the opportunity to create and own my own feature arose with Pacific Comics, I jumped on it. They unfortunately did NOT live up to their pledge and promise of even regular payments, there were so many bounced cheques back in the day that I had to look elsewhere. But here came First Comics and they were making good on their promises that Pacific was unable to fulfill. And it just made a huge difference. They were offering royalties. If it hadn't been for companies like First Comics, I don't think Marvel or DC would be paying royalties today. There's no possible way."

DC80s: "First Comics needed you just as badly as you needed them, as First needed some big-name comic talent to jump on board with them to attract new readers. It was a win-win situation, really. The appeal of First Comics was that you were reading some big-name talent hence drawing you into their line of comic books."

"When you started with Jon Sable Freelance, it wasn't a code-approved book obviously, so it gave you more leeway. Frank Miller's Daredevil run for Marvel - I wouldn't say he coined 'grim and gritty' - but he had the street-level stories... and then there was kind of a lull because he left Daredevil in the early 80s, and that's when Jon Sable appeared on the newsstands. But since you weren't operating under the Comics Code Authority, you were able to be more graphic than Miller was able to...

Grell:"You know.. I'm not sure that that's accurate. I think that Sable was ahead of Miller's Daredevil." 

[Miller's Daredevil run ran from 1979 - 1983, and then again in 1985 - 1986. I was referring to Miller's first run when he introduced Elektra. So, Mike's half-right here. Still - not bad for a guy who didn't have wikipedia in front of him.]

DC80s: "What's interesting about the character of Jon Sable is that he's a very cool, laid-back guy, but then, next thing you know he's straight up murdering people on panel. (Granted, they are typically villains, assassins, muggers or enemy soldiers). But the point is, it's pretty graphic and it's on-panel. The Jon Sable has a major underlying theme of 'urban crime' - how dangerous the streets are. There's lots of implied sex in that book."

Grell: "I explored a lot of those themes in Jon Sable, but also in Green Arrow Longbow Hunters. I was taken to task in print by the New York Times and Times magazine - in the same week they ran articles mentioning Green Arrow. Unfortunately they never mentioned my name. They called Green Arrow, and I remember the quote word-for-word, 'borderline pornography pandering to the prurient interests of today's youth'. oh, it was great. it was great. I just regret that they didn't mention my name."

"At the same time, they referred to Mindy Newell (she was writing Catwoman at the time) and Mindy's name they used. She got a phone call from her father, who was a heavy-hitter stock broker with big offices on Wall Street, saying "Mindy, I'd like you to come down to the office for lunch today" and she was thinking "Oh my God, what am I gonna face now?". So she walks in, as she steps off the elevator in the main lobby of her father's firm she sees the page from the New York Times blown-up wall-sized with her name circled about 25 times in yellow highlighter. She got a standing ovation from the office staff, and a big bouquet of roses from her father. He said "Honey, I've been on Wall Street for 35 years and I've never gotten my name in the Times."

DC80s: "You also did a Jon Sable story in Green Arrow where someone named Jake Moses show up [Green Arrow v2 #15 - 16, 1989], and..."

Grell: "Yes!" [Grell's face lights up]

DC80s: "...and Green Arrow ends up having a conversation with him. Was there a reason for that? Were you trying to demonstrate something? Like, 'for all you critics comparing my Jon Sable character to Green Arrow, here's the difference...'. Jacob Moses was driven over the edge. He was nothing like the smooth, handsome man-of-the-world Jon Sable - he was a haggard, Irish mercenary. Was there a story there? Or was this just a fun way to slip Jon Sable into a DC book?"

Grell: "Yeah, there was. On the one hand it was a continuation of a Sable-type of character, and on the other hand it was my way of putting that character to rest. It would've more or less been a logical ending for a guy who lived his life like Sable did. But in reality, it was a little bit of a back-hand slap at First Comics because at the time that I left the book - well, the reason that I did so was because I knew that without me on the title it would eventually fade and die. First Comics had a 10 year publishing license for 3 years after they last published the book. My leaving the book was a way to hasten that time period instead of having to wait until that 10 year period was over, I knew that after I left the book they'd only be able to keep it going for a short period of time. And then I would get the rights back a few years after they ceased publication."

DC: "Was there 'bad blood' between you and First Comics?"

Grell: "There was at the time. It was a sheer question of economics: I wasn't being paid what I was owed when I was supposed to get my payments. The timing was perfect. Mike Gold had transitioned to DC comics and he phoned me up one day and said "I'm editing over here at DC, is there any character here that you like well enough to 'bury the hatchet' and come back to work?". I said "Batman". I had just talked to Frank Miller, maybe a week before, and he told me about the plot of his Dark Knight Returns book, and I told Mike "Once Frank's done with Batman, you can put a period at the end of the Batman sentence for the next 20 years." Of course, I'm off by 7 or 8 years now, and counting. Gold was the one who said "Green Arrow". Green Arrow has always been one of my favorite characters. "Now think about this," he said "...Green Arrow as an URBAN HUNTER". That's was it. That was the whole inspiration for the Longbow Hunters, and the angle on the character for the ongoing series that followed."

DC80s: "Was that a difficult idea to sell to DC? I remember Green Arrow as being a somewhat 'jovial' character - that guy with the trick arrows (boxing glove on the tip of the arrow) - and you were going to reinvent him as a vigilante with pointed arrows that pierce and potentially kill. How did DC handle that proposal on the character?"

Grell: "It turned out to be a really easy sell." 

DC80s: "I'm imagining it had to do with your success with Jon Sable Freelance. They saw how popular and well-written that was. Hence my point that Jon Sable Freelance was the precursor to your Longbow Hunters and, shortly thereafter, your 1988 Green Arrow ongoing series. A lot of elements from Jon Sable Freelance are apparent in Green Arrow. In both of them, your main characters get hurt. Jon Sable, he's got permanent scars across his chest - there's some continuity there because the scars are the result of one of his first adventures. In Green Arrow, Ollie's always coming back as bloody as hell and Dinah has to bandage him up. It's grounded in realism. He's not going out beating up muggers all night and coming back home unscathed. These guys are getting hurt. Same thing with Dinah - she gets into a major fight and for several issues later she's still got the exact same bruises. That's realistic. That's the allure - it goes back to that 'everyman' thing. You feel that you could realistically be this person. You can relate to it."

Grell: "Yeah, I think that's part of the job of a writer is to be close enough to reality - even in a fantasy - that your character isn't perceived as just a violent S.O.B. who has no repercussions in his life. Yes, Oliver Queen shot a lot of people with bows and arrows, but he also wound up in court. And it took a toll on him. Everything that he did took a toll. He was essentially a victim of PTSD."

DC80s: "...also another common theme in your work: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Jon Sable is dealing with the death of his family."

Grell: "Violence doesn't only affect the person that it happens to. sometimes it affects the person who perpetrates it"

DC80s: "That appears to be an important theme in your work which keeps it based in realism. Is Jon Sable based on Ian Flemming? His alter ego is B.B. Flemm... "

Grell: "No. The inspiration for Sable was a character who would be the EXACT OPPOSITE of Batman. He doesn't work for the greater good, he works for money - you got to pay him, he's a mercenary. He doesn't have a secret identity. The mask is only symbolic apart from the fact that it scares the hell out of the bad guys. He's not trying to disguise who he is - everybody know he's mister blood and guts. His deep dark secret is that he's a closet "nice guy" who writes children's books about a group of leprechauns living in a fairy mound in central park. The only time he wears any kind of disguise is when he has to go out into public and appear as the children's author B.B. Flemm. Which, when it's written out, looks fine. But when you say it, it's that stuff you hock out of your throat when you have a bad cold."

DC80s: "Physically, was the appearance of Jon Sable based on someone you knew? An actor, perhaps? Same question for Maggie the Cat... [a Jon Sable character that quickly became a fan favorite and received her own spin-off book]"

Maggie the Cat

Grell:"Sable was originally based on James Brolin - Josh Brolin's dad. Maggie the Cat was based in part on Grace Kelly. Grace Kelly did a movie with Cary Grant called To Catch A Thief [1955] and she's also partly based (facially) on a model/actress named Lauren Hutton."

James Brolin

Grace Kelly

Lauren Hutton

DC80s: "All the women in Jon Sable Freelance are beautiful..."

Grell: "Beautiful are more interesting than ugly ones. I'm just sayin' "

DC80s: "...especially when you are writing cold war mystery/espionage thrillers..."
    
Grell: "More interesting to me, anyways"

DC80s: "It's also interesting that Jon Sable, a guy in his 40s, his primary love interest is Myke - the really tall twenty-something aspiring illustrator..."

Grell: "Yeah, well I was married to a twenty-something girl at the time"

DC80s: "art imitates life"

Grell: "...and just like in Jon Sable, she was taller than me."

---

Again, I'm going to make a strong recommendation that you pick up and read First Comics' Jon Sable Freelance ongoing series from 1983 (written and illustrated by Mike Grell). I didn't read the entire series, just the first six trade paperbacks published, so I really can't comment on anything after that - but I can confidently tell you that the first 33 issues are better than 80% of what's currently out there on the comic book market. The series is beautifully illustrated by Grell and holds up really well as far as plotting and pacing go - some of it's pretty intense and will even surprise you. If you're the 'adventurous' type, you can go hunting through back-issue bins (issues can vary wildly in price, but for the most part you should be able to get them pretty cheap) or you can just bite the bullet (like I did) and pick up the trades from IDW.

Just lovin' those two-page Grell-illustrated splash pages

I can hardly express how grateful I am that Mike Grell gave me his time and sat down and talked with me. You can check out more of Mike Grell on his website: http://mikegrell.com.

Go to part two of this interview.

The Hawkworld ongoing series: continuity issues (Hawkworld Annual #1)

[Warning: this article explores continuity issues in the 1990 Hawkworld ongoing series published by DC comics. Needless to say, there will be spoilers. If you're cool with that, keep reading. -J]

As mentioned in our previous article, the re-telling of Hawkman and Hawkwoman's first arrival on earth (as told in the Hawkworld v1 ongoing series) completely wipes out the previously established history of the Silver Age Hawkman & Hawkwoman. According to Hawkworld, everything you see above did NOT happen. Every Silver Age story from the Julius Schwartz-era (1961) up until 1990, involving Hawkman, did NOT occur. Katar Hol and Shayera Thal have NEVER stepped foot on earth prior to 1990. They NEVER joined the Justice League of America in the 60s. Even their post-Crisis material (ex: The Shadow War of Hawkman, Hawkman v2) NEVER happened. Understandably, this left long-time Silver Age Hawkman fans irate as about thirty years of Hawkman continuity went down the drain.

Curiously, Tim Truman's 1989 Hawkworld prestige format mini-series, which preceded the Hawkworld ongoing series, did NOT hit the reset button on Katar Hol and Shayera Thol's continuity. Truman's mini-series is self-contained to Katar Hol's life on Thanagar and doesn't effect his adventures on earth. There isn't really much of a time-stamp on anything written in the mini - there are no mention of any other DCU events - and the story could've taken place at any time in DC history.

So where did the decision to reboot the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman come from?

In a 1999 interview with Michael Hutchison of Fanzing magazine, John Ostrander [writer for Hawkworld v1] answers this very question:

Michael Hutchison: "When the decision was made to introduce Hawkman into the modern era (Tim Truman revealed in a previous interview that you weren't the one responsible for that decision, but he felt strongly against it) instead of "back-dating" the changes from Tim Truman's "Hawkworld" mini-series, did you have any idea how many significant continuity gaps a minor league character like Hawkman was going to open up? Given that you then spent a lot of time trying to retroactively plug those gaps, if you had to do it over again, would you do anything differently?"

John Ostrander: "The decision was purely Mike Gold's. I argued against it at the time but Mike was adamant; he wanted the Hawkman series to start up right after the end of the Tim Truman miniseries. All of Tim's stories could've happened before Hawkman arrived on Earth and the series could've picked up with him already ON Earth. My choice was doing it Mike's way or not doing the book. I felt another writer wouldn't have worked as well or closely with what Tim had done so I decided to do the book. I did disagree and still disagree with the premise and the junking of continuity. That said, I'll stand by the stories. There was some first-rate stuff there. If I had it to do over again, I'd fight again to keep from wrecking continuity needlessly. Would I still write the series? I'd think a lot harder this time about it. I took some hits for it over a decision that wasn't mine."

Earlier in the same interview, Ostrander also states:

"My first obligation to the reader is a good story and sometimes that means breaking with past continuity. I don't HATE continuity; actually, I've been very good with it overall. Better than many other writers have been or are willing to be. I try to keep faith with past continuity without letting it tie my hands. Slavish devotion to continuity is like cultivating kudzu; it's going to strangle everything else you do. With SPECTRE, which continuity do I keep with? The Fleischer/Aparo one? The Moench/Whoever one? Keep in mind that they all got canceled. What I tried to do was use ELEMENTS of each while making a cohesive whole. With Firestorm, I kept to continuity but developed the storyline. With Hawkman -- well, that was an editorial decision that was out of my hands and a given before I came on the book. I later tried to reconcile the continuity as best I could. So I'm respectful of it and past fans but I don't worship it and I won't be hung by it and I think that's playing fair. I was a fan before I was a writer and I go way back so I appreciate the old fan and their concerns but sacrificing new readers to satisfy continuity is, I feel, a big mistake. So I choose a middle path as best I can."

Evan Henry, of Black Ship Books also asked Ostrander a similar question and John replied with:

"An editorial decision was made that the monthly would start up right after the Prestige series; it would be the first time that Katar and Shayera were on Earth, despite whatever continuity was there. I tried to explain that all away later; I think it worked, but it wasn’t perfect. I think you can overdo an origin. If you rewrite it too often, the origin just gets muddy and so does the character. Leave the origin alone and just tell good stories."

So there we have it. Apparently it was editor Mike Gold's decision. I've never heard Gold's side of the story and, if he's aware of our scrappy DC webzine and cares to comment, I'd love to hear it.

Hawkworld readers were very resolute in reminding the creative team about their dissatisfaction with the Silver Age Hawkman/Hawkwoman continuity reboot. Most letters went something along the lines of "I like what you did with the character (giving him layers and all), BUT did you have to throw the continuity away?". One reader even went so far as to point out all of the post-Crisis Hawkman appearances that had been affected. His list included INVASION!, several issues of Justice League International, Animal Man #6, Hawk & Dove v3 #1,  Power of the Atom #4, and a few other appearances in other books (including the newly rebooted Superman v2). Meanwhile, Mike Gold assured readers that Hawkworld Annual #1 (1990) would solve many continuity issues.

The continuity discrepancies were weighing heavily on the creative team - early issues in the run were being shipped late [ex: issue #6 shipped a month late] and editorial cited one of the reasons as 'spotting a major continuity problem' just before printing.

The Hawkworld Annual #1 gave us a lot of things: a Hawkman/Flash team-up, a second appearance of a villain who first debuted in the 1986 Super Powers mini-series, a time-traveling story featuring a few members of the Justice Society of America, the introduction of a new villain (Thrash - successor to the Fiddler), two BIG retcons, and... most importantly... an explanation as to why the Golden Age Hawkman (Carter Hall, an earth man) had the same emblem/logo/symbol/headgear as the Thanagarians (an extra-terrestrial race) who's existence he would not have been unaware of.

First up, retcon #1:

Okay, so Hawkman WAS part of the original Justice League of America - only it wasn't Katar Hol, it was Carter Hall (Golden Age Hawkman). That kinda works - the Pre-Crisis Katar Hol and the Golden Age Carter Hall basically had the same costume anyways. This covers all Silver Age Hawkman appearances up until Carter Hall gets sent to limbo with the rest of the JSA [excluding any pesky story with both the Silver Age and Golden Age Hawkman teaming up or battling each other].



Retcon #2:

This retcon reveals Golden Age Hawkman support character, Perry Carter, to actually be Paran Katar - Katar Hol's father. It's explained that a) Perry Carter/Paran Katar was actually a Thanagarian spy sent to spy on earth, who b) secretly assisted the Golden Age Hawkman (Carter Hall) in creating the Nth metal that allowed him to fly, and c) inspired Carter Hall to use the Hawkman emblem (and winged helmet) that would later become incorporated into the standard Thanagarian wingmen regalia. I'm not too well versed in my Golden Age Hawkman lore, so this (unsurprisingly) doesn't bother me. It provides a believable explanation to the Golden Age Hawkman's (unknowing) ties to the Thanagarians, without actually being a Thanagarian himself. I don't really know who Perry Carter was and retconning him into someone else doesn't offend me. I think he only appeared in a few issues, anyways. This only applies to *me* - for all I know, Golden Age Hawkman fans were throwing a fit over this retcon. Either way, well done Hawkworld creative team. ;)

Evidently, all the negative Hawkworld fan mail regarding Hawkman's new messed-up continuity concerned Mike Gold so much that he felt compelled to include a two-pager in the letter pages of Hawkworld Annual #1 addressing these issues. "CONTINUITY: A Slightly Tongue-in-Cheek Secret Origin Story" has Mike Gold explaining the history of comic book continuity and retcons, devices writers use to fix comic book continuity [for anyone interested, he cites 'continuity implants', 'ignoring selected stuff', 'blowing up and starting over', 'the sleight-of-hand', 'completely ignoring continuity' and 'picking-and-choosing'] and points out that Marvel comics has done this frequently in the past, too. He explains that the Hawkworld 'continuity fix' was a combination of continuity implants and sleight-of-hand techniques. He acknowledges that loyal readers of the Silver Age Hawkman might feel "honked off" [his words, not mine] about the changes, but re-asserts that sometimes 'neat stuff' gets lost when you retcon continuity on a legacy character like Hawkman. Gold then casually mentions how Byrne's Superman reboot is great stuff, but really messed up Legion of Super-Heroes continuity. This is the closest thing to an apology that we'll ever get from Mike Gold. It still doesn't explain why DC editorial chose to go this route instead of setting Katar Hol's story in the past, but Gold makes a very compelling case for the challenges involved in retconning Hawkworld and credits Ostrander as a master at resolving continuity conflicts. Gold closes off by stating that it was important that they addressed 1) who 'that guy' in the Silver Age Justice League of America with the wings was, 2) his relationship to the other guy with the wings in the Justice Society of America and 3) how the rest of the DC Universe would react to their newest hero with wings being a Thanagarian (this is in direct reference to the recent INVASION! event in which Thanagarians were one of the extraterrestrial races to invade earth).

So, for anyone keeping score, 1990's Hawkworld Annual #1 has revealed that:

• The Golden Age Hawkman (JSA) and the Silver Age Hawkman (JLA), up until The Last Days of the Justice Society [1986], have always been the same 'guy with wings'. Let's just try to forget about the Earth-Two stuff, okay?
• The reason why the Golden Age Hawkman and Thanagarian soldiers had the same helmet and hawk emblem is because a Thanagarian spy, Paran Katar, was secretly influencing Carter Hall on how to become the Golden Age Hawkman and took that knowledge back with him to found the military force on Thanagar.

Well, this answers everything... up to a point.

Who was that 'other guy with wings' who appeared in 1985's The Shadow War of Hawkman mini-series, the 1986 Hawkman ongoing series and all of those Justice League International issues (and other random guest appearances) up until Hawkworld #1? Glad you asked, all answers will be revealed in our next installment.


Addendum:

As I was google-searching for Hawkworld Annual #1 cover images to use for this article, I discovered that Luke from the Being Carter Hall blog wrote an interesting personal opinion/review on this very same Annual. Thankfully (for me), Luke's review doesn't contradict anything I wrote, and if nothing else, collaborates this article. Being Carter Hall is a great site and I highly recommend it - Luke definitely knows his Hawkman lore.

A brief summary of Wild Dog v1 mini-series (1987)

As explained by editor Mike Gold, the whole concept behind Wild Dog originated from the fact that all of the big cities in the DC Universe (i.e. Gotham City, Metropolis, Coast City, Opal City, etc) had multiple superheroes protecting them, but who was watching out for the smaller towns in America’s Heartland? Wild Dog was devised to be DC’s answer to that - he was a ‘regular joe’ who used the weapons/tools at his disposal to take down any threats within the Quad City area. Basically, a 'hero’ for small town America. Coincidentally, the creators of Wild Dog both lived in Iowa.


Fun fact: Originally Wild Dog was meant to be named 'Red Dog’ (as per the logo on his jersey/costume), but it was discovered that one of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe characters was using the name already so a quick alteration was made.

The first issue of this mini-series was the first appearance of Wild Dog in the DC universe. How did a completely brand-new character get to headline his own mini-series without ever being introduced to the DC universe beforehand? Well, I’d wager it would have something to do with the creative team behind the character and mini-series: Max Allan Collins (writer) and Terry Beatty (artist).

If the names Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty don’t mean anything to you, then you probably aren’t familiar with Ms. Tree. Ms Tree was a detective-fiction comic book created by Collins and Beatty that debuted in 1981 under the Eclipse Magazine imprint. It may have jumped around from one publisher to another, but it ran for 50 issues before being picked up by DC comics in 1989, and developed a loyal readership along the way. Collins, understudy of Mickey Spillane, was no stranger to writing detective and crime fiction - by 1988 he had already written his 19th mystery novel, had a short stint scripting the Dick Tracy newspaper strip and had a hand in re-introducing the post-Crisis Jason Todd back to DC continuity (Batman #408 to #412). Collins’ love of mystery fiction becomes apparent as you read the Wild Dog mini-series and realize that it’s set-up as a four-issue 'whodunnit’ mystery - the secret identity of Wild Dog is hinted at throughout the mini-series with clues for the reader to try to solve. Wild Dog’s secret identity and back-story is finally revealed in the final issue, but only at Collins’ insistence - editor Mike Gold originally wanted to save the big 'reveal’ for the first issue of the second mini-series (or possible ongoing series). I’m not sure why Collins was dismissive of making it a full-time project. It may have had something to do with Beatty stating, on record, that the motivation for the creation of Wild Dog (the character AND the mini-series) was to pay a few bills and keep the Ms. Tree publication afloat. As previously mentioned, while critically acclaimed, Ms. Tree was not a very financially profitable venture.

While Wild Dog may have embodied a lot of trending late 80s comic book elements (ex: excessive violence, a gun-toting anti-hero who doesn’t take prisoners), Collins states that Wild Dog was derived from classic crime-fiction pulp heroes (ex: Zorro, the Green Hornet, the Shadow, etc) but packaged for the GI Joe crowd. As comic books in the late 80s were synonymous with merchandising, Collins has stated that he had started to craft the idea of Wild Dog with the potential of a toy line and Saturday morning cartoon in mind, but his artistic integrity stopped him from 'selling out’ and going down that route.
 
I remember seeing the ads for this mini-series in several DC titles (as DC was marketing it heavily during 1987) and it really appealed to my 9 year-old self - so much so that about a decade later when I happened upon it for sale at a comic book shop I snatched it up with no delay. I do believe that Collins and Beatty were trying to create a comic that would appeal to a pre-adolescent audience and they undoubtedly delivered on that goal. You can tell that Collins didn’t take his creation too seriously - as a character in the first issue sees Wild Dog and openly asks if he’s part of a publicity campaign for a new Friday the 13th movie.

I was unaware of what happened to this character after this mini-series ended (it kind of ends on a cliffhanger). Had I known that it would run as a 7-page feature in Action Comics Weekly #601 to 641 (1988) and a one-shot special in 1989, I probably would’ve made greater efforts to track those issues down. My 9 year-old self still looks at Wild Dog with glee and secretly longs for his massive collection of GI Joe action figures from yesteryear.

Fun fact: Collins was not a fan of characters talking during fight scenes. He cited this as being an annoying comic book cliché and went to great efforts to omit it from his scripts (much to the dismay of DC editors).

For a more in-depth summary, our talented and witty Chris Sheehan reviews the entire Wild Dog mini-series - issue by issue (comes with spoilers):

• Wild Dog #1 (1987)
• Wild Dog #2 (1987)
• Wild Dog #3 (1987)
• Wild Dog #4 (1987)

[This article originally published on our tumblr in November 2013]

The Hawkworld ongoing series: a comprehensive review (1990 - 1992)

The Hawkworld ongoing series was published from 1990 to 1993 as a continuation of the prestige format 3-book Hawkworld mini-series released in 1989. It lasted 33 issues, 3 annuals and a War of the Gods tie-in.

Graham Nolan penciled the first 26 issues (not including the 3 Annuals and two issues by guest pencillers [Gary Kwapisz and Tom Mandrake]). The remaining 6 issues were penciled by Jan Duursema.

John Ostrander wrote all 32 issues, but shares writing credit with Timothy Truman for the first nine and last three issues. On an interesting note, Truman and Ostrander created Grimjack [First Comics] together, so they have some history there. Mike Gold edited the first 25 issues, Archie Goodwin took over at issue 26 and saw the series through 'til the end.

This ongoing series is often overlooked/forgotten about, as it came out during the early 90s when it seemed that DC was trying to move into more 'mature' territory (kind of like their edgier Vertigo brethren) but couldn't figure out how extreme they wanted to go - so they ended up 'toeing the line'. As a result, you've got somewhere between 'not quite a super-hero' story and 'not quite a Vertigo' story, and Hawkworld almost reads like an adult sci-fi series (with strong undertones of political drama). Just to give you some sort of context: other DC material being published during this era included Mike Grell's Green Arrow series, Ms Tree Quarterly, The Question Quarterly, The Atlantis Chronicles, and Shade the Changing Man - titles that seemed to be aimed towards an older audience. Fun fact: the Hawkworld ongoing series did NOT carry the Comics Code Authority seal.

Additionally, 1990 is infamous for being the year that Marvel Comics really started 'stepping up' and producing it's (arguably) most popular material ever: Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man was launched that August, Cable had debuted in March's New Mutants #87, a 'new' Ghost Rider was kicking off a new ongoing that May. This was also the precursor to the Marvel 'X-Plosion' that would dominate the comic book market (and then some) until the mid-90s. So, if you're wondering why you don't remember this title, the short answer is that it had some serious competition. (Hint: it was probably buried on the comic rack behind an X-Men comic.)

Another factor working against this series was that from the very get-go there were continuity issues. This ongoing was continuously trying to 'correct' what the prestige format mini-series had started - and that would hound it for the rest of it's publication. The very first letters from readers were filled with gripes about DC's decision to reboot the history of the Silver Age Hawkman (effectively retconning about thirty years of Hawkman history). If the only people following the series are hardcore Hawkman fans, and even they are having trouble with this series, then you know you're in for a bumpy ride.  


Like the 1989 prestige mini-series of the same name, the Hawkworld ongoing continues the same continuity and story of the 'rebooted' Katar Hol Hawkman and Shayera Thal Hawkwoman. The focus, however, is their experiences on earth and their adventures of 'adapting' to earth life. The first nine-issue story arc has the Hawks travel to earth on the pretense of being on a diplomatic mission, but are actually going undercover to try to capture a renegade Thangarian. Keep in mind that this *new* reboot is the Hawk's first exposure to earth, so the Hawks trying to understand how our world's prosecution/political system works is a major story element here. The Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Brave and the Bold #34) originally came to earth in pursuit of Byth, so that's not much of a drastic change except for the fact that they're arriving on earth for the first time in the early 90s instead of the early 60s.


Something major within this series are the Hawk's appearances. They are wearing their grey/yellow Thangarian stromtrooper/wingman outfits. No matter what story you read, past or present, if you see Hawkman in *that* particular outfit, you know it most likely happened during this era of DC comics. From a practical point of view, decking Hawkman out in Kevlar makes sense, as opposed to his previous midriff baring outfit. [Issue #3 has Katar Hol donning the 'throw-back' bandolier costume.] The metal helmet and metal wings are also a nice touch as it really emphasizes the militant culture that Thanagar is meant to represent. Also, synonymous with this era is Hawkman wielding a submachine gun - which is a much more conventional weapon. Pre-Hawkworld Hawkman were great and everything, but you've got to kinda feel sorry for a guy who can fly (and potentially attack from a distance and higher vantage point), but who's weapon of choice is a club. In issue #11, Ostrander introduces Hawkman to feudal Japanese weaponry. By issue #16 he starts using 'bundi daggers' (aka katars) - the close-combat weapons the Hawkman of the mid-90s will be most associated with. Ostrander was previously writing the [Mark Shaw] Manhunter v1 (1988-1990) ongoing series which incorporated a lot of ninjitsu-themed weaponry, so that may have been the inspiration for Hawkman's weapons of choice. [Bundi daggers originate from India] Besides, seeing Hawkman flying around carrying a katana sword is just plain cool.

Katar Hol and Shayera Thal as featured in the 1992 Impel DC Cosmic Cards set:

Calling this series 'Hawkworld' was an interesting choice. The prestige mini-series that preceded this series mainly took place on Thanagar, so calling that 'Hawkworld' made sense. Calling this ongoing series 'Hawkman' wouldn't be fair, since Hawkwoman (Shayera Thal) gets just as much of the spotlight as Hawkman does. Actually, Katar and Shayera aren't called 'Hawkman' and 'Hawkwoman' until the second issue - anointed so by their PR man. (Keeping in mind that in this rebooted continuity, the world is already familiar with Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl.) The answer: 'Hawkworld' is a term referring to a predatory world where the strong prey on the weak. In the first issue, Shayera announces that Thanagar is a Hawkworld - alluding to the fact that those in power (political or otherwise) will prey on those with none. Early in the series, Katar realizes that earth is just as bad as (if not worse than) Thanagar - issue #13 has Katar stating "the power of money makes this a Hawkworld" - which leads us to...

A recurring motif in this series is bureaucracy and corruption. No matter what story line is occurring in this series, there's always someone making a deal with someone else in the background (usually political or business related) with the intention of screwing someone else over, somehow. This is the first post-Crisis appearance of major Silver Age Justice League of America and Adam Strange villain, Kanjar Ro, who is now a desk-jockey and political wheeler-and-dealer, of all things. The whole 'two aliens trying to understand the ways of earth' trope is really played up here. You might say that Katar's greatest enemy in this series is the "system". A pivotal scene in the series is Katar and Shayera trying to make sense of the Declaration of Indepence in issue #3. Another big moment is a legal counsel explaining the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' to Katar. Ostrander sprinkles a few more of these dialogues throughout the series. Ostrander doesn't take sides, he just presents both sides of the argument. He's teaching you something, folks. This is intelligent writing. He also addresses other topics such as: women's roles in regards to positions of power, racial segregation, political/religious turmoil in Palestine, Christian fundamentalist interpretations of the American constitution,  and pretty much every other 'hot button' issue of the early 90s. The only thing Ostrander didn't cover was environmentalism (probably because Swamp Thing had that covered so well).

This ongoing series really fleshes out Thanagar (as Truman started to do in the Hawkworld prestige mini-series). We're learning a lot about it's social/cultural/political structure, the different species that reside there, and a bit of Thanagarian history. Just about every issue reminds you that the Hawks are representing Thanagar, and there's lots of subplots about how their actions on earth affect their home planet and vice-versa.

Mavis Trent, Joe Tracy and Commissioner Emmett are quickly re-introduced in this series. Mavis being reintroduced is somewhat surprising considering the events of the Shadow War of Hawkman. In this new series, Commissioner Emmett is now a black man (prior to the reboot he resembled Kentucky Fried Chicken's Colonel Sanders). Something else different about this reboot is that Hawkman and Hawkwoman don't start as an 'item', they start as 'two cops assigned to worked together' (who don't even like each other that much). The Hawkman/Hawkwoman 'not being a married couple' is kind of a departure from the classic Hawkman mythos. It's kind of a romantic idea to think that there's a husband and wife team flying around out there clubbing people with maces, but that's not the case in this series. It's not until near the middle of the series that the Hawk's start showing a flicker of attraction for each other, and then - well... I don't want to spoil anything for you.

Ostrander keeps the Hawk's story-universe pretty tight, with only the occasional glimpses of other DCU characters (ex: 'Chop-chop' from Blackhawk becomes a recurring character as of issue #11) [Mike Gold edited Blackhawk. 'Chop-chop' leaves the book shortly after Gold leaves as editor] A few other characters/locales that Ostrander had worked on also make brief appearances (i.e. Amanda Waller, Belle Reve prison, Sunderland corporation, etc). The exception to this would be Firehawk, from Firestorm, who has something drastic happen to her in issue #13. Despite the fact that Ostrander left Firestorm at issue #100 back in 1990, he still manages to squeeze in an important character-development story about a Firestorm supporting character. The new Wally West Flash meets Hawkman and Hawkwoman in the first Hawkworld annual and Wonder Woman appears in issue #16 (but I'm sure the latter was due to being an obligatory War of the Gods tie-in), but other than those two brief appearances, you will find no other mainstream DC characters (ex: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern) in this series... unless you want to count Lobo...

Well, not really Lobo. In issue #20, a bounty hunter (named Smif'Beau) who talks like Lobo, acts like Lobo, looks very similar to Lobo and even drives a flying hotrod (similar to Lobo's flying motorcycle) appears - but it's not Lobo. (This was in February 1992 and Lobo would've been making appearances in both L.E.G.I.O.N. '92 and Starman v1 at the time.)

Smif'Beau: a Lobo homage if I ever saw one

This series is a little short on super-villains. During the series, the Hawks are either battling Byth, Thanagarian politics, everyday social issues or bureaucratic red tape. Of all of Hawkman's main rogues, only the Shadow Thief appears (complete with a new post-Crisis origin). Issue #17 introduces a new villain to the series: Attilla, the Christian Fundamentalist robot. Even though Ostrander wove Attilla into a very interesting story line with a lot of future potential, he nevertheless became a minor footnote in Hawkman history and never reappeared outside of this series. The White Dragon, based on a character who debuted in Ostrander's Suicide Squad in 1987, battles the Hawks in a few issues. A new villain, named Count Viper, is introduced near the end of the series - most likely because they were trying to create new, more menacing villains for Hawkman. Count Viper actually serves as a major catalyst for Hawkman's transition from Hawkworld to Hawkman v3. You've never heard of Count Viper? That's okay. Besides being Hawkman's primary antagonist for the first half of Hawkman v3, he's never really heard from again.

Attila gives an insightful lecture before unleashing destruction

When looking back over this series, there's two very important aspects to note: the art (Graham Nolan) and the writing (John Ostrander).

Graham Nolan's first published work for DC was in 1985's DC Comics' Talent Showcase #15. His next work for DC was the Power of the Atom series (1998) that ran for twelve issues. Following that, he worked on the Hawkworld ongoing series, and he continued with Detective Comics once he left Hawkworld. As a result of this, Nolan is one-third responsible for the creation of Bane (he co-shares that credit with Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench).

John Ostrander doesn't need much of an introduction, as I'm sure you're aware that he's written Suicide Squad, the Legends mini-series, Manhunter and Firestorm (because I scream it to anyone within earshot every chance I get). Ostrander is well-known for writing intelligent, mature, and realistic plot lines - which is very apparent in this series. Ostrander writes really involved storylines, often with multiple subplots per issue, that the reader needs to pick up every single issue in order to know what's going on. This, in my opinion, kind of works against him because a new reader picking up issue #6 won't know what's going on unless they've collected and read the first five issues. So, reader beware: most of the issues in this series are NOT self-contained stand-alone stories. Readers have noted that, despite Ostrander working on several books at once, he was able to bring a distinct feel to every one.


As mentioned, Shayera/Hawkwoman get just as much of the spotlight as Katar Hol/Hawkman does. She was written by Ostrander as a strong female character. Fans wrote in to comment that Shayera may have been one of the best female characters since Firehawk. Other fans wrote in to complain that Shayera was taking so much of the attention that she made Katar seem like the supporting character. Guess you can't win 'em all.

I can't put my finger on it - maybe it's the art (the inking and the colors make it feel... unpolished?), the pacing of the stories, or simply the fact that there are no other super-heroes in the first dozen issues - but this series feels like an indie comic. This, however, works in it's favor. This is a different kind of DC comic, and while it may be centered around two mainstream DC heroes, it's different from the other mainstream books DC was publishing - and the art visually reminds you of that. At least, that's my take on it.

This is not a fun, light-hearted super-hero book. The stories are long and sweeping - with lots of drama (and a few humorous moments) - that last many many issues. It's really an adult, thinking-person's comic. Ostrander's material (for the most part) consists of more than predictable 'super-hero' tropes, so it's really hard to second-guess where he's going sometimes. In that aspect, he kept this series grounded to reality.

As far as real-world drama goes, Ostrander covers a large spectrum of themes. These include politics, philosophy, the nature and responsibility of government, freedom of speech, the cost of an individual's rights and freedoms, and the rights of criminals in the context of the law vs their moral rights. Hawkman realizes criminals have more rights than citizens and that the government basically controls everything. Seemingly, Ostrander may have a political agenda here, or maybe he was just trying to stir up some good conversation. Without a doubt, the Hawkworld letter column ran some pretty lively political debates and discussions.


This article is running way longer than I intended it to, so I've decided to split it into several parts. The next part will discuss the continuity issues that got so many fans into an uproar and how John Ostrander and Mike Gold planned on fixing them.