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Oct 07, 2011 Web Exclusive By Kyle Lemmon

Blackhawks #1 is a poorly drawn and written action-military tale with a team focus. There are five main characters introduced here, but the most interesting things about them are their cool code names. The Blackhawks team may be familiar to comic book readers that know Lady Blackhawk from Birds of Prey or picked up Howard Chaykin’s 1980s miniseries.

Mike Costa (G.I. Joe: Cobra, Transformers) kicks the action off with a tense hostage situation. He’s fair at telling a typical action through-line. The team is tight and quick with their response, but the characterizations are flimsy. It doesn’t help that the art styles of inker Ken Lashley (Excalibur, Rising Star) and penciller Graham Nolan (Detective Comics, Hawkworld) clash throughout the book. Guy Major’s (Green Arrow, Robin) muted colors are excellent in parts, but the figures are sloppy and the action panels can be quite dull.

Essentially, Men of War was slightly better. Or, grab any of the main DC super-team titles. This “elite force of military specialists equipped with the latest in cutting-edge hardware and vehicles” will probably be one of the first teams to hit the chopping block. It’s not the worst of the New 52, but it’s very middling. Redesign or face a quick death. (www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 4/10