Interestingly enough, while Geoff Johns bowed out for last month's "Past Lives," James Robinson steps back this month to let Johns tell the story of Hawkman's quiet dinner with the Atom and Hawkgirl's less quiet investigation of her parents' deaths. Hawkman got off to a bit of a shaky start, but the last few issues have impressed me. The interaction between old friends Carter Hall and Ray Palmer is a great backdrop for a little more continuity revealing, as well as character-building, and the B plot with Kendra keeps the action quotient where it needs to be, with Morales providing frankly stunning artwork throughout, regardless of which inker he's paired with.
Which is not to say that the reader can't see the difference in inks. Bair's work is tighter, and generally more impressive, but Rollins comports himself well, and the end result is the same strong artwork that has grabbed my attention with each issue of Hawkman. I was particularly impressed with Hawkgirl's aerial assault on Warwhip, but the quieter scenes of Ray and Carter talking are just as impressive. Morales has always been a talent to reckon with, but he seems to have really found his groove with this book, and I haven't enjoyed his work this much since his days as a superstar in the closing days of Valiant.
Johns has made a name for himself by writing old school super-heroics with appeal to modern readers, and that's definitely on display in this issue. The soap operatic nature of super-heroes emphasized by Claremont and Wolfman mixes with the action-oriented style and energy of classic Marvel or early Image, grabbing the strengths of all of them. I love that Johns pays homage to continuity here, inserting a plug that Carter Hall joined the JLA to train them, nicely dovetailing with retcons originally inserted in the Hawkworld series, but that the focus is on the relationship between two long-time super-heroes in their private identities. Mind you, the continuity is still a mess, and I'd love to see a little more on where exactly the excellent Hawkworld stands vis-a-vis current stories, but Johns has done a pretty good job of keeping his eye on the ball, which is more telling stories in the now than stories that revolve around the past.
Of course, it is the past which directly concerns Hawkgirl, as she is driven largely by the desire to find out who killed her parents. She seems to have an impulsive streak in common with Carter, and a bit of a violent temper as well, which is shown off to a great degree in this issue. There are also some interesting tidbits of character from Speed Saunders, providing not just a reminder of her link to DC characters but a nice secondary cliffhanger to send the issue out on. As if the first one, promising another guest star in the next issue, wasn't enough already.
Hawkman should appeal to those same DC fans who are loving JSA or Flash, and not just because of the writer that the books share. These are the books that explore the modern DC universe, without an obsession for clearing up continuity but instead with an approach that mixes a clear love and understanding of the characters with a desire to tell exciting and interesting stories that even a newbie to the universe can appreciate.
