Hawkworld #2

History

The Hawkworld miniseries grew out of editor Mike Gold's enthusiasm for Hawkman dating back to Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert's Silver Age creation, combined with DC's post-Crisis appetite — energized by Frank Miller's Batman work — for gritty character reinventions. Gold recruited Timothy Truman, then known for Grimjack (co-created with John Ostrander at First Comics) and Scout, to write, pencil, and paint the covers of all three prestige-format issues, with Argentine artist Enrique Alcatena providing inks and Sam Parsons handling colors throughout. Truman conceived the trilogy as a novel-length story arc drawn from his study of labor, empire, and oppression in history, and issue #2 was published with a cover date of September 1989. Although the miniseries was originally conceived as a retold origin set in the past, Gold subsequently made the editorial decision — over Ostrander's objections — to treat the ongoing series that followed as occurring in the present day of the DC Universe, a choice that unleashed years of continuity headaches but also gave the Hawks a genuinely fresh start on Earth.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Issue title: 'Book Two: Freefall' — cover-dated September 1989, the second chapter of the three-issue Hawkworld prestige-format miniseries (Vol. 1).
• Written, pencilled, and painted cover by Timothy Truman; inked by Enrique Alcatena; colored by Sam Parsons; edited by Mike Gold.
• Published in DC's prestige format: square-bound, approximately 50 pages per issue, higher production values than standard monthly comics of the era.
• Commander Byth manipulates Katar Hol into unknowingly killing his father, scientist and Wingmen founder Paran Katar, then uses the event to have Katar dishonorably discharged and exiled — with his wings surgically removed — to the penal colony called the Isle of Chance.
• The original Shayera Thal, daughter of administrator Thal Porvis and Katar's romantic interest introduced in issue #1, is killed in a terrorist bombing in this issue — her death is central to the series' 'decomposite character' structure, as a second, unrelated girl is later adopted by Thal Porvis and given the same name, becoming the Shayera Thal who eventually partners with Katar.
• Katar's decade of exile on the Isle of Chance — including drug withdrawal, a morally compromised act of violence, and eventual redemption through the teachings of a priest — is depicted in this issue, forming the crucible that transforms him from a flawed aristocrat into the hero he will become.
• None of the five catalog characters (Byth, Katar Hol, Paran Katar, Shayera Thal, Thal Porvis) make their first appearance in issue #2; all debuted in issue #1 ('Flashzone'). Issue #2 is instead significant for the deaths of Paran Katar and the original Shayera Thal, and for Katar's fall from grace.
• The complete three-issue miniseries has been collected multiple times, including an early trade paperback edition and a DC new edition in 2014 (ISBN 9781401243296) collecting Hawkworld #1–3.

Cast · 5 characters

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