Hawkman is a cool character and I’ve really missed him having his own ongoing book. In “The Savage Hawkman” #1, Tony Daniel gives us a new take on a character that may have the most confusing and convoluted history in the old DC Universe. This is a simple and fresh start for Carter Hall. He’s a guy who has been Hawkman but doesn’t want to be. He takes the Hawkman suit to a remote location and buries it thinking that would kill Hawkman. But the Nth Metal busts out of it’s shallow grave in the form of a flaming hawk and consumes Carter, imbuing him with a new kind of Hawkman powers. That’s all the origin story you need.

Daniel does a good job developing the Carter Hall character as well as the mysterious effects of his new inner Hawkman powers. I particularly enjoyed the scenes showing him as a cryptologist called in to decipher symbols found on what’s believed to be an ancient alien shipwreck. Minus the overused and unneeded profanity, the dialogue is very well written and feels very natural. Things get crazy at the end and we see the Nth Metal kick in, all though there are still loads of questions surrounding it. The big threat we see is certainly interesting but it doesn’t really pack a big punch, at least until the final page. But as a whole, this was a fun story.

When just thumbing through the issue, Philip Tan’s art really didn’t impress me. But when reading the story, Tan’s art works pretty well. He does capture the overall tone for the story and some of his moody renderings are really effective. But he stumbles in some places particularly with the human character’s faces. They look decent in one panel but different in another. I also wasn’t that impressed with his early incarnations of the alien oil monsters. But he does draw a fantastic Hawkman and when the helmet, mace, and wings come out, the visuals pick up big time.

The old Hawkman was virtually impossible for a new reader to pick up and go with but not so here. This is one character that could really benefit from a relaunch if he can find the audience. I for one had a lot of fun with this issue. Daniel introduces a cool character and an intriguing story while Tan’s art needs to be smoothed out and a bit more consistent. Overall this is a fun and satisfying experience and an easy issue to recommend.