Description

Hawkworld (1989 DC Mini-Series)                                      Trade Paperback Lot
Timothy Truman remakes the Legend of Hawkman!  Awesome!!
Writer: Timothy Truman
Artist: Timothy Truman
Inker: Enrique Alcatena
Colorist: Sam Parsons
Letterer: Tim Harkins
Editors: Brian Augustyn, Katie Main & Mike Gold
All Covers by: Timothy Truman

A Post-Crisis reboot of Hawkman’s mythos…Thanagar is really two worlds. There’s the world of the Towers, where the native born rulers of the conqueror world live in opulent decadence. Then there’s the Downside, where millions of cast-off aliens live lives of desperate poverty and fear of the Wingmen, the winged police of the ruling class. Among them is Ensign Katar Hol, son of the world’s most respected scholar and statesman, collector of Thanagarian artifacts…and the man destined to one day become…Hawkman. But before that day comes, the native police officer will have to uncover the harsh realities of Thanagar. A world of racism, drugs, a cold existence. The Wingmen are constantly called upon to root out the rebellious elements. After taking part in several such bloody raids, Katar begins rethinking what his planet has done to others… a civilization that has enslaved other worlds and other races. A people who have forgotten and abandoned their legends and wonders whether he’s fighting on the right side in this struggle.

Story/Spoilers
In book #1, “Flashzone”, Thanagar is divided into two worlds. In the skies, the decadent aristocracy enjoy their lofty perches which were built on by the oppression of the underclass and cast-outs who live in the slums of Downside. A squadron of wingmen led by Commander Byth Rok head to a flash zone which is basically a sector under crisis or as they call it jamming. Ensign Katar Hol observes the squalor in the slums but notices a statue of Kalmoran, the hero who defeated the legions of Polara and became the first High Mor of Thanagar during the Empirium Era. Captain Kragger offers Katar an experimental opiate from Illoral to relax his nerves before descending into the flash zone but Katar refuses. Katar spots a wingless hostile named Shindat Crespa holding a squeaker at gunpoint in a nearby building. Side note: Squeakers are Thanagarian juveniles who haven’t fully matured. Wingless are Thanagarians who are fully matured but never sprouted any wings and are cast out into the slums of Thanagar. Captain Kragger and Ensign Katar find another entry point into the building in order to flank Shindat from behind. Before flanking the Shindat, Kragger inquires why Katar, the son of the esteemed Dr. Paran Hol from the High Towers, is getting his hands dirty with the Wingmen. Katar ignores the question and busts in. Shindat says he won’t hurt the squeakers as long as he talks to Commander Byth. Katar lowers his weapon in order to negotiate but Kragger comes in from behind and shoots Shindat. Kragger notices Katar’s unnerved reluctance to what just happened and offers the ensign the opiate one last time. Katar brushes it off and starts escorting the squeakers to the pick up rendezvous. Afterwards, Katar does a sweep of the room where Shindat was and notices a peculiar wall with Velmar padding. Katar tears its down and discovers an arms cache. Commander Byth comes in from behind and congratulates Katar on his admirable performance with the squeakers as well as the discovery of the arms cache. Katar suspects Byth had a hand in arming Shindat. Byth brushes off Katar’s suspicions by stating his reputation in the slums of Thanagar is infamous and any low life will try to discredit the honor of a wingman. On the way back to the High Towers, Kragger makes one last attempt to offer the opiate to Katar and Katar finally accepts. Later that night, Katar attends a party with his father who wants to introduce him to Commissioner Andar Pul. During the introductions, Katar also meets Administrator Porvis Thal and his ravishing daughter Shayera. Paran rambles on about Katar’s academic obsession with Thanagar’s history and his collection of artifacts. Shayera is intrigued by Katar’s fascinations and asks him to escort her to the dance floor while her father gets drunk on Polaran wine. Shayera notices Katar’s disappointment in Thanagar because the planet no longer crafts, composes or produces anything. Thanagarians simply live off of off-world goods and labor. Katar considers his father as Thanagar’s last artisan who invents new ways to better those who live in the skies. All of a sudden, an alien waiter trips and spills wine over Shayera’s dress. The aristocrat part of Shayera showed such anger and contempt for the alien’s clumsiness.

The host of the party informs Shayera that he will have the waiter expelled from the High Towers and into the Downside for this offense. Both Katar and Paran defend the waiter stating the socio-economic turmoil in the Downside will soon reach a breaking point if things continue to run they are now. Both the commissioner and administrator tell the Hols to keep their righteous notions to themselves less they attract opposition that could damage their reputations. The next day, Kragger remarks about Katar’s discovery of Shindat’s arms cache. Kragger tells Katar that someone has been supplying the Downside with weapons and organizing them. Kragger has an informant named Kutch’m Ht’Tar who might have some notion as to who the supplier is. As Kragger interrogated his informant, both wingmen come under attack by three assailants. Kutch’m and Kragger are killed but Katar manages to take out one. The two assassins scatter into the dark recesses of the Downside while Katar cradles Kragger’s lifeless body. From afar, Byth observes his attempted assassination of the two wingmen. Byth is disappointed that Katar wasn’t eliminated but at least Kragger won’t be snooping around nor will Kutch’m be informing on anyone. Shayera and her father take Katar on a hunting trip to take his mind of what happened in the Downside. Administrator Thal flies off with his latest hangover thus leaving the two alone. Katar finds another statue of Kalmoran and tells Shayera about his final days. Before Kalmoran founded Thanagar, it was an enslaved planet by the Polaran home world. Kalmoran was a slave who rose up against his oppressors and raised an army of three thousand. Kalmoran stormed the Polaran garrison and liberated every planet that was under Polaran dominion. When he knew death was upon him, Kalmoran laid in the arms of his queen and gazed at the stars before closing his eyes for the final time. Shayera interrupts Katar’s story by ingesting an opiate and starts shooting at Illorians that were foraging. One of the Illorians she didn’t kill limped away but was fatally wounded. Katar goes off to put the creature out of it misery. Katar follows the blood trail to a cave where he finds the Illorian dead with its mate and baby grieving. Katar leaves the frightened widow and the child to their grief. Katar felt nothing but heartache and disappointment for his race. He decides to hang his necklace which bears a likeness to Kalmoran on the hand of Kalmoran’s statue without giving a second thought.

Next in book #2, “Freefall”, Chief Scientist Paran Hol delivers his latest transcript to the High Mor while Katar trains with tri-holos which test his agility and reflexes in the old form of Thanagarian combat. Commander Byth makes an unexpected visit and tries to test Katar’s skills in swordsmanship. Byth has subdued by Katar and Byth confides in Katar about the suspicions thath have been going around. Byth wants Katar to assist him since Captain Kragger is dead. Byth informs Katar of a meeting that will be going down between the arms supplier and the Downside rebels. Katar asks if there will be reinforcements in order to detain the culprits for questioning but Byth informs him that it will only be the two of them on this mission. Byth doesn’t intend to take any prisoners because of the scandal this arms supplier could bring to the Wingmen Corps. Byth gives Katar until nightfall to decide on whether or not he will be in on the mission. Katar goes to see his father at the Ascolon Tower and bumps into Shayera. Shayera apologizes for her rash behavior on the hunting trip and with the waiter the other night. Katar admits that he too can sometimes be overzealous. Shayera and Katar embrace in a passionate kiss then Shayera asks Katar to accompany her back to her place. Katar was more anxious to be with Shayera than join Byth on this supposed crackdown on corruption. Just as Shayera was about to excuse herself with her father, a waiter walks up to their table and detonates and explosion. The suicide bomber killed three people at the Ascolon Tower including Shayera Thal. Administrator Thal reports his grief to the Central Authority Committee and demands immediae action on the Downside inhabitants. In a fit of rage, Katar agrees to join Byth on his mission to apprehend the traitor who was responsible for arming the Downside rebels. Byth and Katar crash the meeting. Byth apprehends a manhawk which is a Thanagarian mutate while Katar goes after the arms supplier. Katar tells the supplier to surrender but the supplier keeps running. Katar retaliates by shooting the supplier. Katar removes the supplier’s hood and discovers that its his father Paran. The gunshot wound that Paran sustained causes him to bleed out and die. Byth congratulates Katar on a clean kill and Katar attacks Byth. Katar realizes that Byth knew who the supplier was and he set up Katar to be his father’s executioner.

Katar flies to his father’s home and discovers a transcript detailing his effort to aid the Downside inhabitants with food and medicine. Paran explains that his efforts have been subsided by an arms supplier who is fueling the Downsiders’ hatred for the Thanagarians and their need for revenge. Paran decides that his last effort to aid the Downside is to come to an arrangement with the Manhawks. When the transcript ends, Byth and another wingman come barging in to apprehend Katar. Katar is dishonorably discharged for attacking a fellow officer and for the disgrace visited upon his family name because of his father’s actions. Katar’s wings were surgically removed then he was banished to the penal island of Chance while Byth is promoted in rank. Katar has no way of escaping by air since there is an invisible defense net that surrounds the island and there is no chance by sea since the waters are infested with ravenous sharakus. Over time, Katar notices one of his fellow exiles gathering the feathers of large birds that live on the island. Katar figures that the exiles know a way to get pass the net. In act of desperation, Katar kills the exile who finished the makeshift wings he was crafting. Another exile approaches Katar and observes his violent deed. Katar demands that the exile tell him his strategy in escaping. The exile introduces himself as R’d Nar T’so and explains the reasoning behind his fallen brother. The exiles had no notion of escaping the island but R’d’s brother wanted to make wings for Katar in order to restore his dignity. Katar fell to his knees with sorrow and began to sob. R’d shows Katar that both he and his dead brother are Wingors, ape like life forms with wing spans similar to Thanagarians. Though grotesque in form, wingors were well known for their singing talent which could melt the coldest of hearts. Katar buried R’d’s brother and became R’d’s pupil. R’d daily prayers were a soothing melody to Katar who took up his training in the old forms of Thanagarian combat again. A decade had passed since Katar’s exile. By that time, R’d had died and Katar’s banishment was at an end. A shuttle came to the island and picked up Katar. Katar noticed the undisciplined manner of these new Wingmen who escorted him to the Downside. Katar’s next round of punishment was condemning him to the Downside with the rest of the cast outs. Katar finds an abandoned building to take up residence and buys arms from a local Downside dealer. Katar intends to start a rebellion that will bring Byth to him.

Finally in book #3, “Phoenix Flight”, Byth Rok has inherited Thal’s position as Administrator of Protection. A lizard like creature named Hommy does another transaction with Jarl, Byth’s liaison for the Downside. Jarl inquires about Hommy’s boss who has been stocking up on weapons and moving goods. Hommy uses his tongue to wrap around Jarl’s throat and threatens Jarl to stay out of his employer’s business. Jarl takes his payment and walks off. A wingwoman observed the transaction. She allowed Jarl to walk but she follows Hommy back to his base of operations. Hommy reports to Katar who has taken on the alias Mr. Shadow Man. Katar tells his man Klynt to check the case that Hommy brought for trackers before bringing it downstairs. The wingwoman that followed Hommy tells Katar to surrender the case. Katar tells his men to leave him alone with the wingwoman. Katar tells the wingwoman that he is aware of her reputation of being the only non-corrupt wingman in the Downside. He gives her the case and asks her to follow him downstairs. Katar shows the wingwoman that the downstairs is a grand scale medical operation. His chief physician D’Shar required medications to treat a woman named Treska who had just given birth to a baby called Nightshade. Treska’s breast milk was ineffective in nursing Nightshade due to malnutrition which turned into a parasitic infection but the medications in the case will help Treska. The wingwoman surrenders the case of medications to D’Shar and Katar escorts the wingwoman out. The wingwoman tells Katar to keep his business strictly medicinal because she intends to stop the gun running in the Downside once and for all.

Jarl informs Byth that he couldn’t get a name out of Hommy about who his employer is. Jarl fears that Katar’s alias is gaining a lot of respect and prestige because he is giving the people of Downside hope just like Paran Hol. Byth pays no mind to Jarl’s concerns because he has become mentally unhinged by the Krotan drug which alters the host’s cellular physiology after prolonged use. Byth’s body has reached its full potential by being in absolute control. His ability to mold and reshape his body into anything is only limited by his imagination. Hommy does another run to buy goods but he comes under attack by a gang called Raider-Boys who are led by a snake like creature Bladebat. Katar defends Hommy from Bladebat and his gang but they flee when the wingwoman appears. The wingwoman tells Katar that she did some digging around and has deduced that Byth is the real culprit behind the gun running in the Downside for the last decade. The wingwoman also tells Katar that they have met before. She removes her helmet and her face bares an almost striking resemblance to Shayera Thal. The wingwoman was the young squeaker who was being held hostage by Shindat Crespa. After the incident and the death of the original Shayera Thal, Administrator Thal adopted the squeaker as his own. Administrator Thal names the squeaker after his daughter. The squeaker inherited Thal’s prestige and holdings when he died. The squeaker gives Katar a pair of anti-gravity wings like hers so he can exact his revenge on Byth. Katar surprises a wingman and takes his armor. Katar then attacks Byth while he was lounging in his chambers. Byth engages Katar by using his metamorphic abilities. At first, Byth’s unusual reflexes gave him the edge over Katar’s keen fighting skills until Katar firebombed Byth. The intense heat caused Byth to writhe in agony. His metamorphic abilities slowed to a crawl but Byth didn’t died. Katar was about to deliver a fatal blow when the squeaker interrupts. She tells Katar to spare Byth so he can suffer for his crimes against Thanagar. The evidence she has gathered and her interrogation on Jarl is more than enough to condemn Byth. Byth uses this moment to metamorph into a bat like creature and flies off. Katar’s titles, holdings and rank are restored by the High Mor. The High Mor offers Katar the chance to become a commander but he chooses to be a captain and the squeaker is promoted to the rank of commander. Katar uses his political pull to start a Commission of Alien Affairs which will address the living conditions of the Downsiders and push for immediate improvements. The Office of Communication has stated that Byth was last seen heading toward Earth but 240 of Byth’s co-conspirators have been arrested. Katar has accepted the squeaker as his partner and calls her Shayera. Shayera and Katar intend to travel to Earth in order to apprehend Byth.

Trade Paperback Lot contains: Hawkworld (1989) 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: 1989
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 to Very Fine + condition.  Beautiful Set!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious Hawkman and/or Hawkworld collector / enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read.  Recommended.

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