I probably should have saved this one for #warcomicsmonth, but I found all three issues in a quarter bin on FCBD and couldn’t wait to read it. I don’t have much experience with Blackhawk as a comic book beyond their appearances in other books and crossovers as well as some of their animated appearances, but I have known that Howard Chaykin’s take on the character was revolutionary for the time, part of a trend of DC taking some of its characters and giving them to a well-known “auteur” creator, especially those who had made a name for themselves with independent books during the 1980s.

Chaykin, of course, had a long history with both DC and Marvel by this point, starting with the company’s genre books (romance, war, adventure, horror) and most famously penciling the first six issues of Marvel’s Star Wars, which adapted the film back in 1977. He’d done a story in Blackhawk #260 in 1983 but by the time this miniseries rolled around, he had really gained critical acclaim for American Flagg! I’ve read maybe a story or two from that book and I know that it’s wholly different from Blackhawk, but the character had a look very much like the character of our comic, so Chaykin fit right in art-wise.

But story-wise, would he be able to write something that didn’t “ruin” the character in some way?

The book was published in three prestige-format issues, at a time when that format was starting to become the regular “special” format for DC Comics (they’d publish both Batman: The Cult and Gotham By Gaslight within a year of one another, the latter of which would be the template for the Elseworlds line), and I can see why it would have been used for someone on the level of Chaykin. It’s a gorgeous-looking series with dynamic art that takes full advantage of the glossy pages with Steve Oliff providing some beautiful colors that pop right off the page.

And the story matches the art. Instead of being a straight-up “let’s fly in and fight Nazis” mission, the series centers around a Nazi plot to steal the atomic bomb and then drop it on New York City, something that would have certainly turned the tide of World War II. In order to be successful, the Germans have a famous British actor as their agent and have successfully waged a public relations campaign to discredit Blackhawk, pointing out his affiliation with communists during the prior decade. His reputation isn’t completely destroyed because this is prior to the McCarthy witch hunt, but it’s tarnished enough that his job as the hero is significantly tougher. That allows for meaty roles from the supporting cast, including a female Russian agent who is his ally.

I’d heard so much about this title and its place among the well-regarded DC miniseries of the late 1980s when the company was hitting its post-Crisis stride, and I’m glad that it certainly lived up to its reputation. By keeping the book in World War II and not trying to give us a 1980s-era story, Chaykin gives us the characters in their prime, and shows that he not only has a feel for this type of book but for its historical aspects. It’s dynamic and worthy of the prestige format.

Keep, Sell, Donate, or Trash?

Keep.