Hawkman #12 Review
Written by Robert Venditti
Art by Bryan Hitch
Inking by Andrew Currie, Norm Rapmund, and Scott Hanna
Colouring by Jeremiah Skipper
Lettering by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Bryan Hitch has been a major force in why I think this book has been so successful; it's been a really long while since Hawkman has had such a powerhouse visual storyteller leading the charge. I say this because this issue concludes Hitch's twelve-issue run on the series. I'm excited for the future, but this has been a pretty solid, if very decompressed, story that I think will draw in new readers to the character.
Overall this was a pretty solid conclusion to this year-long arc. It's rare to get arcs of this length nowadays so, despite the decompression, this story was a breath of fresh air. Artistically, this was a tour de force. Bryan Hitch, his inkers, and Jeremiah Skipper provide such wonderful work here. I personally think Hitch is getting better and better each issue, relying less on spectacle and more on expressions and characters. There are some small panels here that I simply don't recall seeing in previous issues. I'd like to praise Skipper's work here in particular. He has found such a beautiful palette to work with and this issue is so colourful and gorgeous. It complements Hitch's line art very well, and I hope this isn't the end of their collaboration.
Robert Venditti's knack for decompression comes into play here. While it doesn't necessarily damage this particular issue or cause a discernable slow-down, this might very well have been an eight issue story without any fluff, straight to the point. Aside from this, the team delivers on some great moments here. Carter's battle with his old friend Idamm was interesting since Carter had an attitude and will about him that we haven't seen in this series. It upped the tension and kept me glued to the story. The team makes fairly good use of the huge assemblage of Hawkmen, though only a couple of them factor into the plot in any significant way. I don't begrudge the team for this since there are literally thousands of these characters.
HAWKMAN #12 is a worthy conclusion to this character-defining storyline, and delivers a proper send-off to Bryan Hitch who has provided his best work in years. The ending is an interesting indicator of where the story is going to go from here, and I'm genuinely looking forward to it.
Art by Bryan Hitch
Inking by Andrew Currie, Norm Rapmund, and Scott Hanna
Colouring by Jeremiah Skipper
Lettering by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Bryan Hitch has been a major force in why I think this book has been so successful; it's been a really long while since Hawkman has had such a powerhouse visual storyteller leading the charge. I say this because this issue concludes Hitch's twelve-issue run on the series. I'm excited for the future, but this has been a pretty solid, if very decompressed, story that I think will draw in new readers to the character.
Overall this was a pretty solid conclusion to this year-long arc. It's rare to get arcs of this length nowadays so, despite the decompression, this story was a breath of fresh air. Artistically, this was a tour de force. Bryan Hitch, his inkers, and Jeremiah Skipper provide such wonderful work here. I personally think Hitch is getting better and better each issue, relying less on spectacle and more on expressions and characters. There are some small panels here that I simply don't recall seeing in previous issues. I'd like to praise Skipper's work here in particular. He has found such a beautiful palette to work with and this issue is so colourful and gorgeous. It complements Hitch's line art very well, and I hope this isn't the end of their collaboration.
Robert Venditti's knack for decompression comes into play here. While it doesn't necessarily damage this particular issue or cause a discernable slow-down, this might very well have been an eight issue story without any fluff, straight to the point. Aside from this, the team delivers on some great moments here. Carter's battle with his old friend Idamm was interesting since Carter had an attitude and will about him that we haven't seen in this series. It upped the tension and kept me glued to the story. The team makes fairly good use of the huge assemblage of Hawkmen, though only a couple of them factor into the plot in any significant way. I don't begrudge the team for this since there are literally thousands of these characters.
HAWKMAN #12 is a worthy conclusion to this character-defining storyline, and delivers a proper send-off to Bryan Hitch who has provided his best work in years. The ending is an interesting indicator of where the story is going to go from here, and I'm genuinely looking forward to it.
A Look Inside
