Hawkworld #1

History

The ongoing series grew directly out of the commercial success of Timothy Truman's 1989 prestige-format three-issue Hawkworld miniseries, which reimagined Katar Hol as a conflicted Thanagarian wingman grappling with his planet's brutal class system. DC greenlit the monthly book on the strength of that miniseries' reception, bringing in John Ostrander — Truman's longtime collaborator from their Grimjack days at First Comics — to script, while Truman continued contributing to the plotting through the first nine issues. Graham Nolan took over the penciling duties from Truman for the monthly run, with Sam Parsons on colors and Mike Gold editing the first 25 issues; the cover of issue #1 was inked by the veteran Dick Giordano. A crucial editorial decision — that the Hawkworld story was set in the DC present rather than being a standalone origin tale — meant the ongoing series was born already carrying the weight of invalidating three decades of Silver Age continuity, a tension that shaped both the letter columns and the storytelling throughout its run.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Title of the lead story is 'Predators'; cover date is June 1990, with an on-sale date of approximately April 10, 1990.
• Written by John Ostrander (script) and Timothy Truman (plot); penciled by Graham Nolan; cover inked by Dick Giordano; edited by Mike Gold.
• Issue #1 marks the post-Crisis, in-continuity first arrival of Katar Hol (Hawkman) and Shayera Thal (Hawkwoman) on Earth, framed as a Thanagarian diplomatic/goodwill mission that doubles as an undercover pursuit of the escaped villain Byth.
• Contains the post-Crisis first appearance of Kanjar Ro, recast as a desk-bound Thanagarian political operative rather than the interstellar warlord of Silver Age JLA stories.
• Supporting characters appearing in this issue include Andar Pul, Thal Porvis, and Paran Katar (in flashback), along with antagonists Byth, Bladebat, and the Manhawks.
• The ongoing series carried no Comics Code Authority seal, placing it in DC's early-1990s line of mature-skewing titles alongside Green Arrow (Mike Grell) and Shade the Changing Man.
• Because DC editorial treated the ongoing as set in the present rather than as a period origin story, the issue effectively retconned all Silver Age Hawkman appearances — including JLA membership dating back to Brave and the Bold #34 (1961) — out of post-Crisis continuity.
• The series was later partially collected in Hawkworld Book One: The Byth Saga (collecting issues #1–8 and Annual #1), the only trade paperback edition of the ongoing series known to have been produced.

Cast · 19 characters

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