[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Aaron Lopresti and Rodney Buchemi
Inkers: John Livesay, Norm Rapmund, and Sean Parsons
Summary
There are a lot of secrets unveiled in this issue. Through the magic of time jumping storytelling we learn that Despero has been manipulating everyone on Thangar and Rann. He has big plans and they are revealed in the final few pages. I am not opposed to a good spoiler, but there is no way I am going to spoil this. I will have to say I did not see that coming. Hawkman cracks a few jokes. Adam tries not to puke (not because of the jokes) and we learn that Thanagar has a Green Lantern. That has to be good news…Right?
Positives
Adam Strange has made this book worth all the time readers have put into it. Hawkman is a tough sell on his own. He has all of Batman’s grumpiness with all of Red Hood’s vengeance and all of Damian Wayne’s impulsiveness. That is pretty ugly mix. He needs a balance and Strange is perfect. He is just a dork who ended up a hero. He is funny. He is earnest. He loves his wife. He is everything that Katar Hol is not. They are the perfect team. With that said, Despero is the perfect villain. You need to have someone so bad that you root for Hawkman to put his head on spike. Luckily, Katar makes that promise so we have that to look forward to in the next few issues.
Artist Aaron Lopresti has some help in this issue. Rodney Buchemi takes over some pages and I think it works really well. It would have been great to see this throughout the book as there have been so many “then” and “now” cuts. Having a new look at these characters is a great idea and they pull it off without effort. Sometimes, multi artist books end up looking sloppy that is not the case here. The mixed bag of inkers solidifies the feel that we are jumping through time and dimensions right along with Adam and Katar.
Negatives
Well, the biggest issue here is that I find it hard to fathom that Alanna is really this stupid. It seems like a lot of sound and fury to me. I am all for misdirection, but I just do not find her part in this play believable.
I also find it a bit too on the nose to have Rann Today as a TV show on which Alanna appears. Sure, the pun is punny as we keep jumping from Rann now and Rann then, but why do we assume that every planet in the galaxy would have a morning talk show called Today and that the leader of the war machine would appear on it? Hmmm.
Verdict
I like where this story is headed. I am not a huge believer in “deaths” in comic book universes but it seems to me that Andreyko is really planning on killing Hawkman. If he were not, we would not need Adam Strange to tell the story. Even if he chooses not to kill him off, this has been a fun intergalactic ride so far.
