Panel Vision - Hawkworld

So, once again Hawkman has come stumbling into the world of DC live action television, this time through the lens of the CWniverse and its lead up to Legends of Tomorrow rather than his previous one-off appearance on Smallville.  Hawkman’s one of those weird comic book characters like the Fantastic Four or Green Lantern in that he’s been around for a long time but every time people try and slot him into a live action context it tends to end in disaster.  

In Hawkman’s case he kind of has a greater excuse than most given that his origin and history don’t even begin to make sense.  Seriously, I initially planned this as a “history of” article but the history of Hawkman is so needlessly convoluted and full of retcons and revisions not even I can really follow it.  Case in point: even though the latest version of the character seen on CW is the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian prince the version I’m spotlighting for this review is an alien police man.

Like I said, understanding Hawkman is a pretty fruitless endeavor and one not helped by the number of quasi-continuity comics like the excellent Hawkworld to confuse matters.  At the time it came out in 1989, Hawkman really didn’t exist as part of the DC universe.  DC’s entire comics line was still only 3 years old after the company wide reboot in 1986 so Hawkworld was meant to be a fresh start for Hawkman and Hawkgirl, shedding their excessively complex inter-dimensional origins from the ‘60s.  I’ll probably elaborate on Hawkman’s reincarnation origins somewhere down the line but for now I’m focusing on the alien police officer origins that defined him for most of the Silver Age.  

The idea was that Hawkman came from the planet Thanagar, an alien world where people used bird wing harness to travel.  On Thanagar he was known as officer Katar Hol and was married to fellow officer Shayera.  The two were eventually tasked with capturing an escaped fugitive who had fled to Earth.  Upon arriving here they were mistaken for superheroes and given the name Hawkman and Hawkgirl and ended up taking Earth as their new home.  This was the origin DC animation chose to adapt when they included Hawkgirl as their 7^th Justice League member.  Most of that makes into the 1989 reboot series Hawkworld with a handful of major changes.

Written and drawn by Timothy Truman, Hawkworld’s main job was to flesh out the pre-Earth origins of Katar Hol and Shayera and imbue Thanagar with a much darker edge and realization.  When Thanagar was originally imagined sci-fi was very much dominated by the kind of bright and shiny futurism and psychedelic freedom of stuff like the original Star Trek show and that was very much reflected in DC’s approach to alien worlds.  

The Thanagar of Hawkworld is much more informed by the darker reality of ‘70s sci-fi like Soylent Green and, most prominently in the artwork, the gritty, lived-in sci-fi designs of 2000 AD Comics.  More than anything, Hawkworld is looking to emulate the style and tone of Judge Dredd.  Thanagar is redesigned into something closer to Mega-City 1, with massive high rises that stretch into the upper atmosphere and huge hordes of under citizens who are kept in checked by the Wingmen, a violent and near-psychotic police force. 

The Wingmen are actually a major redesign of the Hawkman costume.  In the comics it’s always been accepted that Hawkman’s wings were designed to allow for controlled flight but he didn’t fly by flapping them, he flew thanks to the anti-gravity Nth metal in his belt.  Hawkworld takes this idea to a logical extension by having the Wingmen sport metal wings along with a darker, more armored looking uniform as opposed to Hawkman’s standard green pants/no shirt combo.  The Wingmen actually provide a perfect framing device for the story as they act as the central buffer between the aloof aristocrats of the upper towers and the teaming masses of imported laborers from conquered worlds that makes up the “downsiders.”

All of this helps keep Hawkworld a pretty riveting read even 2 decades later mainly because underneath all the interesting and engaging politics of this world there’s a universe that feels rich and well realized.  The whole “police state pastiche planet” is a little overdone but Thanagar still feels unique and interesting because of how well Truman details the universe through dialogue and character motivation, especially that of Katar Hol, our hero.  

Katar’s whole story is that he’s a son of privilege whose become disillusioned with the Thanagar of today, mainly since it’s culture has become a patchwork quilt of the best things they could cull from conquered worlds.  The culture of post-conquering appropriation is a nice little out the comic leaves itself for how crowded things can look and holds up very well now as an idea to base a corrupt, crumbling society on.  Overall, all of the deeper themes and ideas of Hawkworld are still disturbingly relevant to life in 2015 whether it’s police brutality and misconduct, mass cultural appropriation, or the privileged few living off the poverty of imported labor. 

The main reason I’m talking more about the world than the story is because that’s really the main star of the comic.  The rich texture of Thanagar and this universe is the selling point and the emphasis of the 3-issue mini-series more than anything else.  That’s not to say the story isn’t engaging, it’s pretty solid.  Despite his use conveying the facts of this world Katar is probably the weak link of the series, mainly owing to the fact that on a planet so well developed and interesting he’s just a little too basic.  His entire story is that he wants to do good and has to work his way down from the top of society to realize how exactly that can be accomplished, with some pretty subtle commentary about how the only real change that could be done for Thanagar had to come from outside its corrupt class system. 

Characterization overall is not one of Hawkworld’s strong suits as folks like the main villain Byth or Katar’s father Paran Katar exist more for a singular purpose like “bad guy” or “good guy” rather than something richer.  Still though, the character’s rise and fall much more on their role in society, Byth as the ultimate embodiment of ruthless strength masquerading as justice within the Wingmen and Paran Katar as the scientist who envisioned the technology of this world only to see it used for enslavement and ruination.  Hawkworld isn’t a comic about characters so much as it is about societies, cultures, and systems and how its characters interact or relate to them. 

The other major selling point of the comic, if you will, is the artwork by Truman, which is just incredible.  Truman’s a natural designer, affording everything in the comic a sense of scale and iconic importance and grandeur that’s downright magnificent.  What’s more he’s naturally suited to comics.  Hawkworld was by no means his first rodeo but it’s still amazing to see how well he uses the panel form to convey a story, especially in book 3 which features some truly gorgeous examples of scale, silhouettes and close ups.  

What’s more he takes the winged form of the Hawks perfectly, a tricky feat given how much the wings can fall into vestigial appendages or block a character’s clarity under a poor artist.   Sam Parsons is on color duty and does great work as well.  Along with inker Alcatena the two really preserve a kind of sketchy, penciled aesthetic dotted with detail and imperfection that matches the visualization of Thanagar perfectly. 

In many ways Hawkworld reads more like a novel than a comic, with the emphasis on world building and universe detail more than characterization or arc.  It’s a story where the civilization being imagined and presented represents the subtext and philosophy of the comic infinitely more than any of the characters do but that also makes it a great entry point for anyone looking to get into Hawkman in a bigger way.  

The characterization may be simple but it’s also clear and most of all accessible, everything you need to know about Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and their supporting characters and world is right there on the page, plain as day and big as life.  What’s more, it’s a brilliant exploration of societal issues still relevant to the modern reader punctuated by beautiful artwork with a firm grounding in the language of comics.  If you’re looking to read more Hawkman this is one of the best books you can pick up.    


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