By Dustin Cabeal
I give the notion of killing Hawkman a 5 out of 5. Unfortunately, I won’t be giving this comic the same score. As far as comics go, this one is generic and lacks any real consequences. If Hawkman actually dies, that will likely be the only thing to happen in the comic. The main reason is the underdeveloped DC space line of books. What’s currently going on in them? Are there any? Nothing and no are the answers to those questions so being thrust into space to watch Hawkman die is almost as anti-climactic as seeing him alive at the beginning of the issue.
Hawkman and Adam Strange have gone through a battle recently. We know that because we’re seeing them after the fact. Then the story rewinds and goes to the actual beginning of the story which is a staple in how Marc Andreyko writes all his stories. The rest of the issue, which according to the cover “features Adam Strange,” follows Adam Strange. He misses his beam up even though he planned his day around the DMV. Hilarious, I know, but if you know when exactly you’ll be beamed up, why go to the DMV? Why would I laugh at this?
He doesn’t get beamed, though, and he instead teams up with Cyborg to visit places experiencing some kind of phenomenon that happens at famous DC landmarks. Then he gets beams and finds his world on fire and shit.
The writing follows a very tight, boring formula. I learned very little about Adam Strange that had anything to do with the story. The places he visited seemingly had no point, and if they do have a point in the future, they probably could have been established in flashback in that issue. This first issue left me wondering what the point of reading this issue was. It wasn’t good, it wasn’t interesting, it didn’t even star the person who is supposedly going to die in the title. This feels like a bullshit mini-series that will have no consequences on the DC Universe.
The art is good but wasted. You have Aaron Lopresti illustrating Adam Strange fighting soap scum. That’s the definition of “waste of talent.” There’s no action. You mostly see Strange in street clothes bothering people about his fucked up life, but unlike the woman in the DMV I won’t apologize to him since he should apologize to me for having a boring ass life written by a writer that has too many boring strikes against him.
We can all just wait until a news site confirms Hawkman’s death in issue six. It won’t be spectacular. It won’t have consequences on the universe, and since there’s been zero work put into Hawkman’s character or relationships since the DC reboot, no one will even be at the funeral. Unless it’s to spit on his worthless grave. Maybe they’ll reincarnate him into a character worth reading… too bad Adam Strange will still be boring and suck.
Score: 2/5
Death of Hawkman #1 (of 6)
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Aaron Lopresti
Publisher: DC Comics