Golden Age Hawkman Remains Excellent DC Comics Character

Although he may not be as famous as Superman or Batman, Hawkman has been a major DC Comics superhero since the Golden Age of comics. Not only is he a great character visually, he sports an interesting origin, too. And while there have been more than one Hawkman, the Golden Age Hawkman is the best.

I am not going to spend hours explaining Hawkman's past. A great place to read about it is at Wikipedia. However, I need to sum up Hawkman a little. Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics in 1940. He was Carter Hall and, later in the series, his fiancee Shiera became Hawkgirl. They flew using wings and a metal-called ninth metal in the Golden Age and Nth metal in the Silver Age-harness that defies gravity. This was all courtesy of ancient Egyptian secrets. They were reincarnated Egyptians.

In the 1960s, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were reintroduced as Katar Hol and Shayera Hol (Thal was her maiden name). They were alien police officers who came to Earth from the planet Thanagar. Although they have a different history, their costumes look almost exactly the same as the original hawks. There are twists and turns to the history of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, but, basically, these are the four main hawk characters.

Growing up in the 1980s, I was most familiar with the alien hawks. It was Katar and Shayera who were on the SuperFriends and featured in DC Comics at the time. Carter and Shiera Hall were still around in DC Comics, too, but not as prominently in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the entire Hawkman franchise was revamped, in a way, through the Hawkworld miniseries and the Hawkworld ongoing series. Although fans were split on some decisions made with the Hawkworld stories, I loved them. The Hawkworld ongoing series was excellent. Some issues featured all four hawks, which made for some great tales.

Hawkman was once again reintroduced in the early 2000s. Carter Hall was back as the main Hawkman and Kendra Saunders (grandniece of the first Hawkgirl) was Hawkgirl. But, it was not really Kendra. It was Shiera's soul in Kendra's body, using Kendra's memories. Thankfully, Shiera is back completely now, memories and all! She returned in DC Comic's Blackest Night No. 8 in early 2010.

Carter is my number one choice for Hawkman. The reincarnation angle of his character makes for some good stories. His adventures are a mix of Indiana Jones and Mummy movies with science fiction thrown in. Plus, he's the first Hawkman. He gets kudos for that!

Haters who say Hawkman is pointless because all he does is fly are missing the point. Sure, he flies. And while Superman can fly and do a hundred other things, Hawkman is unique. Hawkman is about adventures in ancient worlds, lost civilizations, and even on other planets. Also, unlike other heroes who fly, Hawkman embodies the idea of flight. His wings are a symbol of man's dream of flight. And they just look darn cool!

Another important aspect of Hawkman has also been the equality and partnership between Hawkman and Hawkgirl (sometimes called Hawkwoman). The first Hawkgirl, Shiera, appeared in Flash Comics (1940) No. 1 as an non-costumed supporting character in the Hawkman story. She becomes Hawkgirl later in the run. But, that is a subject for another article.

I am an owner of Halloween Hill, an online store that sells haunted house props, as well as Halloween decorations. I am also a comic book collector and have been for more than 25 years!

Visit me at http://www.halloween-hill-props.com/ and http://comicbooksandthings.blogspot.com/.

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Andy Panda - Unsung Character From the Golden Age of Cartoons and Comics

When you mention Andy Panda, many people respond, "Who?" However, there was a time when the bear was a major player in the world of cartoons. He is a character from the Golden Age of animation, and a great one, too.

Andy was created by the legendary Walter Lantz, the same creator of the famous Woody Woodpecker. In fact, Woody first appeared in an Andy Panda cartoon. But, let's get back to the little-known Panda.

Andy was actually quite popular in the 1940s. His first cartoon was Life Begins for Andy Panda in 1939. He starred in multiple cartoons in the 1940s and had his own comic strip in New Funnies comics from the 1940s to the 1960s. He even had his own comic book series as recently as the 1970s. One thing I loved about the comics is he had a sidekick named Charlie Chicken. They were a little like Abbott and Costello to me.

I always liked Andy and Woody cartoons as a child, and they were rerun continuously in the 1970s and '80s. I have fond memories of watching 1940s' Andy Panda cartoons before and after school. My favorite cartoon is Apple Andy. In the cartoon, Andy fights with the good and bad side of himself. The good side is a panda that looks like an angel. The bad side is--you guessed it--a panda that looks like the devil.

In the cartoon, the bad side convinces Andy to skip school and steal a farmer's apples. He eats so many apples that he passes out and dreams he goes to Hell. In the end he wakes up, defeats his bad side and goes back to school. Yes, some early cartoons were eerie and amusing at the same time. I am glad they were still shown on television in the 1980s.

Andy is not completely lost to limbo, though. Recently, DVD sets of old Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda cartoons were released for sale. You can't keep a good character down forever!

If you remember Andy, feel free to comment! I would like to hear your memories.

I am an owner of Halloween Hill, an online store that sells haunted house props, as well as Halloween decorations. I am also a comic book collector and have been for more than 25 years!

Visit me at http://www.halloween-hill-props.com/ and http://comicbooksandthings.blogspot.com/

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Hawkman's History Makes Him a Fascinating Comic Book Character

Many people feel that Hawkman is a confusing comic book character and that hurts his appeal. I disagree. Hawkman's history is one thing I find appealing about the hero. Let's revisit Hawkman's history and also why he is a rocking super hero.

Hawkman is a superhero who appears in DC Comics. He was created by Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville; the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1 (1940) in the Golden Age of comics. The first Hawkman was Carter Hall, an archeologist. His girlfriend (later wife) Shiera Sanders became Hawkgirl. Like most Golden Age heroes, Hawkman and Hawkgirl disappeared from comics after World War II.

In the Silver Age, DC introduced new versions of several characters. Hawkman and Hawkgirl were revamped and became aliens from the planet Thanagar. Hawkman and Hawkgirl were interesting because unlike other heroes getting a revamp, their names were very similar to the original Golden Age hawks. The alien hawks were named Katar and Shayera Hol. On earth they went by the more earth-like names Carter and Shiera Hall.

I can certainly see why people get a little confused about Hawkman's history, given the Golden Age and Silver Age hawks were different people yet very similar. However, it was pretty cut and dried in the Silver Age. The alien Hawkman and Hawkgirl lived on Earth-1 and it was revealed the Golden Age heroes from the 1940s lived on Earth-2, a parallel world!

The problems with Hawkman happened after 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths series. You see, at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986, DC merged the parallel worlds in their stories into one world. So, all their Golden Age and Silver Age characters came to live on one earth. That meant that some characters who had duplicates either died or disappeared. For instance, the Golden Age Superman went off to live in a paradise world while the Silver Age Superman lived on.

Originally, Carter Hall and Katar lived on the same earth, and then Hawkworld came in 1989. The Hawkworld limited series retold Katar's origins. It was popular. When the ongoing series started in 1990, the decision was made to reintroduce Katar and Shayera as new characters and have them come to earth for the first time. This is where the confusion really begins. However, all the questions surrounding Hawkman's post Crisis history have been answered.

It was revealed in Infinite Crisis that the changes to Katar and Shayera's history happened because Superboy was punching on the walls of reality.It was explained in the Hawkworld ongoing series that the Katar and Shayera who joined the Justice League after 1985, appeared in the Millennium series and other comic books, were really a Thanagarian spy and his wife, Sharon. It was later revealed in the last Hawkman series that Sharon was brainwashed into believing she was Hawkgirl.It was also revealed in the Hawkworld ongoing series (Annual No. 1, to be specific) that the Justice League did have a Hawkman and Hawkgirl in the Silver Age. Carter and Shiera Hall joined the Silver Age JLA and served with them and the JSA.It was explained in the Hawkworld ongoing series that Carter Hall was close to Paran Katar, Katar's father. When Paran left Earth to go back to Thanagar, he gave Carter and Shiera plans for a Thanagarian teleporter. Later, in the JLA Incarnations miniseries, we see Carter Hall building a teleporter on the JLA satellite.All of these changes to Hawkman's history have been confirmed throughout the years and remain intact today.

Personally, I loved Hawkworld, the miniseries and ongoing series. I found the 1990s Katar and Shayera to be much more interesting that the original version of Katar and Shayera. I also found it interesting that Carter and Shiera (the Golden Age hawks) were now the JLA's hawk couple. It makes perfect sense that the JSA and JLA would have members who served as liaisons between the teams.

I find Hawkman's history to very clear today. I think many people who say his history is confusing either have not read the Hawkworld series or simply do not like that the Silver Age Katar and Shayera were reintroduced as new characters in 1990. Finally, I see Hawkman's history as a fascinating part of DC Comics and the changes have made the character more interesting than heroes who have straight-forward, boring histories.

Plus, Hawkman has wings and carries a mace. Who doesn't like a winged hero with a mace?

I am an owner of Halloween Hill, an online store that sells haunted house props, as well as Halloween decorations. I am also a comic book collector and have been for more than 25 years!

Visit me at http://www.halloween-hill-props.com/ (where I sell Halloween props and decorations) and at http://comicbooksandthings.blogspot.com/ (where I discuss Walter Lantz characters, cartoons and comics).

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Is Wolverine the Most Successful X-Men Character?

Wolverine was introduced in 1974 in The Incredible Hulk #180, before his first major appearance in the Hulk #181. He is born as James Howlett, but he is affectionately known as Logan. In 1975 Wolverine became part of the X-Men, but he played a lesser role than the other team members. Dave Cockrum even considered dropping Wolverine from the team, but it was Cockrum's successor John Byrne that kept Wolverine in the team. Some suggest that it is because Byrne is a Canadian like Wolverine. Gradually more and more information about Wolverine's murky past was revealed. Wolverine is a mutant, possessing extremely keen senses, enhanced physical power, tremendous healing abilities and of course the trademark retractable claws on each hand. During a secret government project, Weapon X, a near indestructible metal alloy adamantium was fused to his skeletal. Wolverine, probably due to his incredible healing abilities, survived this deadly process. Interestingly enough, it was shown that Wolverine has bone claws after his adamantium was ripped out by Magneto in X-Men #25.

Wolverine is highly intelligent, but his personality is a bit rough. He is usually shown to be a loner and his teamwork within the X-Men is often sporadic. Some other team members are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Gambit, Jubilee and Beast. Wolverine, being almost dropped from the X-Men team, became one of the most successful members of the team. His tough anti-authority mentality made him a favorite of many after the fallout of the Vietnam War. Wolverine became the breakout character and in terms of comic sales and appearances overshadowed his other team members.

On the Fandomania's website Wolverine is rated as number 21 of the 100 greatest Fictional Characters, before characters like Merlin, Robin Hood and King Arthur. Without a doubt Wolverine can be seen as the most successful X-Men character of all times. Perhaps it is due to his famous catch phrase: "I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn't very nice"

SJP Babrevian has been a firm fan of comic books since his youth. He enjoys writing online articles and creating different websites. Visit his latest website over at http://www.cottonyogamats.webatu.com/ which helps people find the best Cotton Yoga Mats and other yoga supplies available.

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