I promise you that the above description is better than the actual comic book. Shadowhawk in in a dark room questioning life or something. Tower lady believes he couldn’t survive the fall. This bothers Shadowhawk, so he jumps from a window. Savage Dragon shows up to catch Shadowhawk. Tower lady recruits more baddies with attitude problems. Except Arson transforms into evil human torch. I hope the perfunctory description below reads like a David Lynch fever dream.
![shadowhawk 13 the monster within shadowhawk 13 the monster within](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gFvCgZzLdiM/VEBGvUJcWLI/AAAAAAABCaQ/kkviCBBxxFk/s1600/tallshadow.jpg)
I don’t really want to because it’s terrible. I guess I should talk about the actual story some. However, when he does show up he does his thing: he breaks the bad guy’s back(s)! So hardcore! So extreme! So Bane! He routinely shows up after some truly horrible stuff has already happened. Shadowhawk is fighting crime because, as the purple prose of each issue will tell you, he’s going to take back the night!īut from what I read, he’s actually kind of crappy at his job. Now, git!!!Īnd it’s not like the story and plot are giving you much to latch onto. Much to my surprise, and disappointment, the question wasn’t answered by the end of the fourth issue. Shadowhawk is presented to the reader only in his silver Wolverine armor. On to the book itself… the amazingly extreme cover squarely puts it out there: Who is Shadowhawk? That’s the big mystery of the entire series. It felt kind of cheap at the time, as it does today. Shadowhawk was the first hero to have HIV/AIDS. I don’t recall the whole AIDS subplot being an attempt to educate the youth of America about the disease. Some were willing to go with it, while others were leery of the AIDS subplot.
#Shadowhawk 13 the monster within series#
I don’t remember if it was being advertised by the time this first series ran, but I clearly remember other nerds being divided over the book. Though it’s not explicitly mentioned in the first miniseries, this was both a draw and an ick-factor for the book. The big take away that I have of Shadowhawk from that time was that he was the superhero with AIDS. Like a really terrible action flick, this bad boy had sequels. I read the first three miniseries that were released. Let’s first talk about my perceptions and remembrances of the book from back in middle/high school. Nail me in the Facebook comments if I am wrong.
![shadowhawk 13 the monster within shadowhawk 13 the monster within](https://i.imgur.com/UWjyRTG.jpg)
The character appeared in a backup of Youngbloods #2 that, if memory serves me correctly, is also the first appearance of Prophet. Shadowhawk was created by Jim Valentino, who also wrote and drew the miniseries at hand. It called to me and said, “Read me, Brandon, for I am extreme.” I would be further stupefied after reading it again. It’s silver armored Wolverine! Silver foil! On a comic book! SILVER! FOIL!Īs I thumbed through my collection, the silver enhanced cover stupefied me.
![shadowhawk 13 the monster within shadowhawk 13 the monster within](https://www.flayrah.com/sites/default/files/u/Fred/WereworldRageOfLions.jpg)
![shadowhawk 13 the monster within shadowhawk 13 the monster within](http://mmoraw.com/cache/preview/f4987ff8c07fb7421e1a236f405543d6.jpg)
Just look at that cover! LOOK AT IT, DAMN YOU! It had the same impact on me several weeks ago that it did when I first saw it on the shelf. So why am I reviewing Shadowhawk and not some lame Marvel book like Quasar, Avengers, or Excalibur? (Address all hate mail to Clave Jones) That’s right, I did read something besides Marvel in middle and high school, but not much! I took to Image because all of their characters were basically ripoffs of Marvel and DC characters, but edgier. This week’s book is the original Shadowhawk miniseries from 1992. Each week, I pick a book that I read during the decade of dot com, presidential interns, and grunge rock to reread. Welcome back to another edition of my insane 90s summer reading challenge.