DC Comics reviews for the week of 5/8/19

Hawkman #12

I never thought a Hawkman title could be this much fun, but every month Robert Venditti and Bryan Hitch prove me wrong. This was the big finale to the Deathbringers arc as Carter Hall teamed with various versions of himself from multiple eras. This was a huge component of this initial arc and Venditti couldn’t have pulled it off any better.

The issues spent with Carter traveling through time and meeting his previous incarnations paid off nicely and there was enough investment based off of those visits that it felt like a well-earned conclusion. Maybe there wasn’t a ton of suspense since it wasn’t clear what would happen if any of these past versions got killed, but the action played out in a manner that wasn’t a big concern.

Hitch is leaving the title after this issue, which is unfortunate as he’s delivered some of his best work in years on the book. Hawkman was an ideal character for an artist like Hitch who doesn’t shortchange on the details and backgrounds in crafting his worlds. Fortunately in Will Conrad, the book will be in good artistic hands even in Hitch’s absence.

While I was a little worried Venditti might have written an ending to this major arc too soon, he hints at the next round of storylines including a certain woman who frequently partnered with Carter throughout time.

I really hope readers are checking this out as it’s consistently one of my favorite titles each month from any company, not just DC and it’d be a shame for this reincarnation of Hawkman to fail to find the audience it deserves.

Rating: 10 out of 10