When ancient alien mummy DNA samples start attacking people, who are you going to call? Savage Hawkman, who else?

The Good

I've never liked Hawkman. He has a convoluted back story, and he's a bit whiny for my liking. I threw those feelings away after I finished this issue. Frankly, I thought the book was going to be not-so-great, for lack of a better term. It was the exact opposite. I know I've read this type of story before: The hero gives up being a hero, but something pulls him back in, but I really loved the execution of it in Savage Hawkman. Carter doesn't just jump back into being a hero though. He accidentally falls back into it. This leads to some really cool fight scenes.

I'm not particularly a fan of Tony Daniel's writing, and Phillip Tan never really excited me. Apparently, I'm wrong on both accounts because this creative team was great. The story was paced well, and above that, the story was pretty awesome. Phillip Tan's art, along with the coloring of Sunny Gho was fantastic throughout the issue. It's a bit non-traditional, especially with the coloring, but it works, and it works extremely well.

Hawkman's new outfit is fantastic.

The Bad

NTH metal. I still don't understand it, nor do I understand who/what Hawkman is. There's not a lot of explanation about this character. We're thrown right into the story, and new readers may have trouble with this. For all we know, he can fly and that's it. I'd like to know more about this character in the first issue and what his powers are.

Black liquid that is actually an alien=Marvel Symbiote. There's no way to not think that while reading this issue. I don't care how hard you try. When you see the action, all you can say to yourself is "Hawkman is fighting Venom." It's a bummer, but it's the truth.

The Verdict

Wow. This book was a surprise. A solid start to a new story featuring a character I'm usually not to fond of. I love the set-up of Carter trying to put his past behind him only to be dragged right back into battle, and the book had solid writing from Tony Daniel. Phillip Tan and Sunny Gho's art was fantastic throughout the book, and Hawkman's new outfit is pretty awesome. I still don't understand the NTH metal business nor Hawkman's power-set or who he is. Lastly, the black alien liquid that becomes a monster just reminds me of Marvel's symbiotes, and there's no way around that. This was a solid start to a new series, and I recommend the book!