Review: The Savage Hawkman Vol. 2- Wanted

Quick Summary

Pros: The middle third of the book is great and tells an interesting and engaging story. The mystery of Hawkman’s past is finally solved in a way that will satisfy fans.

Cons: The first third of the book is a bit generic and average in terms of quality. The final third of the book is below average.

Overall: This is a collection with a wide range in overall quality. It starts out alright, becomes great, and then ends on a sour note. However, each of these portions is very independent, so the poor stories do not affect your perception of the better ones. If you are interested in the mystery of Hawkman’s past, then the middle of this book will make the whole thing worth it; if not though, you won’t find much to love about this collection.

Story

The Savage Hawkman Vol. 2: Wanted is a veritable smorgasbord of quality. It begins with a few decent stories, made more interesting by the teases about Hawkman’s past; then it moves into the main event, which is great and undoubtedly the best portion of the book; finally it ends with a series of short stories that ultimately prove to be poor and uninspired. With such a range of quality, the deciding factor for whether readers will enjoy this collection or not is how much they care for the mystery behind Hawkman’s past. Those, like myself, going into this collection excited to uncover this mystery, will leave it satisfied. However, those who have no connection or care for this story will likely leave this collection disappointed or just bored.

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The first third of this book is overwhelmingly average, to the point where it simply feels boring. Hawkman engages in an array of short battles against generic enemies who he manages to defeat using his unique skillset. There is some fun action and even a bit of suspense, but overall it isn’t anything special. The biggest positive is that it continues to tease the mystery of Hawkman’s origin, which was one of my favorite parts of the first volume.

This boredom is terminated when Shayera, aka Hawkgirl, shows up and the mystery of Hawkman’s origin is fully explained. We learn that he was an outsider in the Thanagarian royal family who preached peace and opposed the views of the king’s son. However, his idealistic thoughts brought about the ire of the king’s son, who was now the new king. The king framed Hawkman for murder and effectively banished him from Thanagar.

The reveal of this mystery is well done and contributes significantly to the overall plotline of the series. I was already interested in Hawkman’s story but was now more enthralled than ever before. His new status as a reluctant outlaw gives more weight to every one of his battles and constantly leaves him in danger of being completely overwhelmed by enemies. This, in turn, creates a constant feeling of suspense and makes every chapter feel like the most important chapter of the book. It also builds up a conclusion that is every bit as epic and meaningful as fans could hope for.

With the Thanagarian storyline done with though, mediocrity returns. Tom DeFalco takes over writing duties and tells a few stories that feel as if they were only included in order to finish out the series. This final third of the book is even worse than the initial third and quickly became my least favorite part of the entire collection. The story is bland, the enemies are generic, and the rather uninteresting minor characters start to become a central focus for the action. All of this caused me to lose interest, and I was left feeling only relief when the book finally came to a close.

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Art

The change from Philip Tan to Joe Bennett is a pretty intense one right off the bat. Tan’s soft and unique style is strikingly different from Bennett’s more detailed and standard approach. In terms of pure quality alone, I prefer Tan’s work. However, there is a bit more here to take into consideration.

The shift in artistic talents occurs simultaneously with a shift in writing talents. As such, this is a different type of story than the one before it. Instead of a self deprecating and gloomy Hawkman, readers experience a more violent and chaotic Hawkman. Bennett’s style is more suited for action packed stories of adventure and, thus, looks better in this book. Though I enjoyed the visuals in the first volume a bit more, I completely understand and agree with the shift seen in this volume.

Continuity

The Savage Hawkman Vol. 2: Wanted continues the story started in The Savage Hawkman Vol. 1: Darkness Rising (Review).

The Savage Hawkman series ends here. However, Hawkman’s adventures continue in the Justice League of America series, which starts with Justice League of America Vol. 1: World’s Most Dangerous (Review).

This volume also references the stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below:

• A small crossover with the Green Arrow series happens around issue #14 of both Green Arrow and Savage Hawkman. This Green Arrow issue is collected in Green Arrow Vol. 3: Harrow (Review).
• A small crossover with the Deathstroke series happens around issue #14 of both Deathstroke and Savage Hawkman. This Deathstroke issue is collected in Deathstroke Vol. 2: Lobo Hunt (Review).