Description

Blackhawk (DC 1988 Series)                    Trade Paperback Lot
Howard Chaykin revives the World War II fighter pilot… Blackhawk! Awesome!!
Writer: Howard Chaykin
Artist: Howard Chaykin
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Editors: Brian Augustyn, Mike Gold & Dick Giordano
All Covers by: Howard Chaykin

Blackhawk finds himself mixed up with gangsters, Nazi spies, a corrupt U.S. senator and a plot to steal the atomic bomb. Janos Prohaska, better known as Blackhawk, was the heroic leader of Blackhawk Squadron during World War II. He swiftly went from hero to villain when he was accused of having ties to the Communists before the war. Gone were the high-flying days of his past. His next battles would be filled with subterfuge and Cold War paranoia. As a result of Senate investigations, Blackhawk lost his citizenship and was forced into exile in Britain. While there, he was recruited to stop old foe Sir Death, a Nazi sympathizer working with a ring of latter-day fascists. This group had succeeded in tricking Jewish mobsters into stealing a package from the U.S. army and selling it them. As it turned out, the package was an atomic bomb. In Howard Chaykin’s remake of a classic war hero, the line between the good guys and the bad guys is no longer clear. What’s certain is that the stakes are higher than ever.

Story/Spoilers
In book #1, “Blood & Iron”, United States senator Shadrack Hightower publicly accuses famed aviator Janos “Blackhawk” Prohaska of having ties to the Communist party in Russia and inwardly promoting the overthrow of the United States government. He cites Prohaska’s prior affiliation with “Bolshevik” Bill Heywood during the bombing of Guernica in 1936. At a senate hearing, Prohaska denies having any association with those who would commit acts of sedition against the U.S. Meanwhile, two Jewish mobsters hijack a military vehicle carrying a top secret government weapon. They shoot the two army personnel and don their uniforms before taking their cargo to a secret location. The two gangsters are in the employ of mob boss Emil Bronksi. At night, Janos has a disturbing nightmare in which he sees himself in the company of a giant black hawk. The hawk is locked in combat with a lion, and as the scene changes, he sees an image of a sneering Senator Hightower wearing the vestments of a decorated Nazi officer. Prohaska awakens to a telephone call from his fellow aviator Chuck Sirianni. Chuck arranges a meeting with the other Blackhawk Squadron members and Janos tells him that he will be there soon. Next to him in the bed is Reba MacMahon – a seductress who makes a habit of assuming different names. Janos excuses himself and goes off to meet the others. The following day, British Lord-turned-Nazi Marshall Death Mayhew goes hunting with his Russian ally Fyodor Vlaslov. Fyodor tells Death of his intricate means of manipulating Emil Bronski into procuring the secret weapon for them – an atomic bomb. Bronski doesn’t yet know that the men who are paying him for this deed are actually members of the Nazi party. Death Mayhew also tells Fyodor that he is establishing his own counterparts to the Blackhawks known as the White Lions. When Janos meets with Chuck, he learns that Sirianni is actually working on behalf of the O.S.S. and he wants to pull the Blackhawsk together again to retrieve the missing bomb. Prohaska is furious; notably because the government that is now enlisting his aid is the same one that is also calling him a Communist sympathizer. Chuck and fellow Blackhawk Weng “Chop-Chop” Chan tell Janos that they are to go to Morocco to find the bomb, at which point, Jan is to meet with an undercover Soviet contact. Prohaska arrives in the Middle East where he meets Natalia Gurdin-Reed, an American agent who has been living in Moscow for the past two years. At a nearby hotel, Reba MacMahon arrives where she meets with Emil Bronski. Bronski speaks with his henchman Shlomo and is now aware that the Nazis are the one who hired him to steal the bomb. Bronski does not intend to deliver the bomb to Hitler, and has hidden it within the trunk of an unmarked roadster. He is willing to sell it to anyone who will personally use it against Hitler himself. The situation heats up as Death Mayhew arrives. He bursts into Bronski’s hotel room, and Reba races downstairs as bullets begin to fly. Janos and Natalie are on the street when they hear the sounds of gunfire. Mayhew emerges from the front of the building, punches Janos, then takes off. Janos and Natalia Reed go to a hangar, where Natalia has a custom-made Grumman XF5F ready and waiting. They take off out of the hangar and attempt to track Mayhew down, but they are too late. Mayhew is gone. The atomic bomb however, is actually in the trunk of a different vehicle. An Arab steals the car and sells it to a black market smuggler.

Next in book #2, “Red Snow”, The elusive atomic bomb is smuggled inside of a roadster and sold to a German pirate freighter captain. Meanwhile, stories of Death Mayhew’s new White Lions fighter squadron hits the news wire, and photographs circulate of his pilots flying sorties over Bolshevik territories in Russia. The O.S.S. have the Blackhawks infiltrate a Luftwaffe air field and commander their dive bombers. They then drop propaganda leaflets across Europe calling for Germany to surrender. Janos in particular is uptight with the mission, and is eager to do more than simply function as a tool of the O.S.S. Death Mayhew meanwhile, confers with his private physician and discovers the truth about something he has suspected for some time – he is dying from a terminal illness and only has a few months to live. He decides to step up his personal time table, and bemusedly declares that if he is to die, he is going to set off a memorable funeral pyre. The German Captain goes to France with his newly purchased roadster. Mayhew’s thugs intercept him and shoot him in the head. Once again, Death has his hands on his highly coveted weapon. Leaving the doctor’s office, Mayhew meets up with his American contact Senator Hightower. Hightower is facilitating Mayhew’s schemes, but is unclear as to what Death intends on using the atomic weapon for. He is also concerned about Death’s most recent paramour, Reba MacMahon. Death tells him that he has nothing to fear from her. At this time, Reba begins to grow suspicious of Mayhew’s actions, and tries to find Janos. Janos meanwhile, is at the British embassy voicing his dissatisfaction over his recent missions. He wants to take the fight directly to his enemies. Natalie Reed arrives, and the two begin bickering over Janos’ apparent disrespect for the British ambassador. Some time later, a function is held at Natalie’s place of employment – the Valentine-Prendergast Airplane Factory. The Blackhawks broadcast Natalie’s tour of the facility to distinguished personnel over Janos’ custom designed television transmitter. Natalie shows off Valentine-Prendergast’s upgrade of the Grumman XF5F Skyrocket. Suddenly, Death Mayhew’s White Lions appear in the sky above the factory and open fire. Witnessing the attack on television, the Blackhawks scramble to their planes to face them. During the ensuing conflict, Stanislaus’ plane fails to throttle correctly, and his Skyrocket explodes just outside the hangar, killing him. The other Blackhawks manage to drive the White Lions away. News of their failure reaches the ears of Death Mayhew, and he is not amused. He consults with his Russian ally Fyodor Vlaslav.

Finally in book #3, “Iron Dreams & Bloody Murder”, Three members of the White Lions go to France where they infiltrate a Nazi stronghold dressed as German officers. After killing several soldiers, they acquire the elusive atomic weapon and place it on board a truck. In England, Janos and Natalie attend a black tie function at the British embassy. Janos meets Laurette Honneichker, an old friend of Stanislaus Drozdowski. Callously dismissing Drozdowski’s recent demise, she makes a play for Jan, but Prohaska walks away from her in disgust. Natalie isn’t faring much better as she finds herself the victim of fashion designers who attempt to create a new look for her. When Natalie meets back up with Jan, they watch a televised broadcast of Senator Hightower decrying Prohaska’s actions, and accusing him of ties to communism. In New York, Hightower concludes his transmission and takes a cab to a movie theater in Times Square. There, he finds Death Mayhew in the front row of the theater watching one of his old movies. Hightower criticizes him for being out in the open, but Mayhew dismisses him. Death tells the senator that Fyodor Vlaslov was found dead outside of the Kremlin. As the film concludes, the two men retire to Mayhew’s New York suite at the Waldorf-Astoria. In the room, Reba MacMahon is stumbling about in a severe state of inebriation. She gets into a fight with Mayhew and he begins slapping her around. After locking her inside the bedroom, he comes back out and tells Hightower that he is terminally ill. Worse, he has less than twenty-four hours to live. He tells him that his agents have the bomb and will be deploying it in New York City. Hightower thinks Mayhew is insane, particularly after the British turncoat requests the erection of a memorial in his honor at the sight of the Empire State Building – the projected ground zero for the attack. In Paris, the Russian agents smuggle the atomic bomb onto the New York Bomber, and begin the long flight to Manhattan. The bomb is to be detonated by radio signals broadcast over a specific frequency. Death Mayhew is the only one who knows which frequency is required to activate the device. Back in New York, Reba eventually soberly emerges from her room. Death and Hightower are long since gone. She finds Mayhew’s outline of the attack on the floor and realizes that he intends on destroying the entire city. In a panic, Reba leaves the hotel room in search of Janos. She eventually finds him and tells him of the attack. Janos and Natalie burst into action, and they borrow a policeman’s horse to get to the Empire State Building. Janos squares off against Death Mayhew and succeeds in gunning him down with Mayhew’s own weapon. He then uses his knowledge of television mechanics to find the proper frequency that will activate the bomb. He detonates it on board the plane before it reaches Manhattan. There is a huge explosion out at sea. Days after the near disaster, news of Senator Hightower’s connections to the Reich become known. The Senator is found dead in his car. In light of this, Janos suddenly gains favor in the public eye again. President Roosevelt personally comes to New York City and congratulates Prohaska for his bravery. Janos makes an impassioned speech before the public, thanking them for their gratitude.

Trade Paperback lot contains: Blackhawk (1988) Issues #1-3.  DC Comics

Trade Paperbacks are bagged & boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to ensure that it arrives to you perfectly and quickly.

All First Printings
Publisher: DC Comics
Publication Date: 1988
Format per TPB: FC, 48 pages, TPB, 10.25″ x 6.5″
ISBN: None Stated

Collectible Entertainment note: Trade Paperbacks 1,2,3 are in Very Fine + condition.  Beautiful Set!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious Blackhawk and/or Howard Chaykin collector / enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read.  Highly Recommended.

Please read return policy.