I had mixed feelings about whether I wanted to read this
comic. On the one hand, the New 52 version of Blackhawks updated the team to be
a high-tech covert ops unit, fighting enemies who use nanotechnology and
super-smart weapons. I like the high-tech spy novels of Tom Clancy, Brad Thor
and others, and I don't mind comics that feature characters without
super-powers. So there was reason to be hopeful.
On the other hand, I have read very few of the prior
incarnations of Blackhawk or the Blackhawks, despite DC Comics' many efforts to
revive the team over the past fifty years. And by the time I picked this trade
paperback up, I knew that the series had terrible sales and mixed critical
reviews. The first issue was the #48 seller among the 52 titles, and each of
the remaining seven issues ranked wither #51 or #52. So there was reason to be
doubtful.
To be fair, the book did meet my lowered expectations, but I
can't see for sure whether I would have picked up the next collection, had
there been one. There was not enough characterization for my taste, and for a
team book, that is necessary. The political intrigue involving the place of the
Blackhawks within the United Nations structure was interesting, especially
after the team's covert cover was blown. But I did not get to know all of the
characters in a manner that would have brought me back to future issues.
Reading this collection, I have not been convinced that the
graphic medium is the best way to tell a spy story. Maybe novels and movies,
and the occasional TV show, are the best formats for telling this type of tale.
I enjoyed this particular story well enough, but I don't know that an ongoing
series would have held my interest.
Mike Costa obviously knew in advance that the book would end
at issue 8. The adventure wraps up with explosions and battles, and then the one-and-a-half-page
denouement contains a nice metatextual conversation.
As the series wraps up, one character says "So the
Blackhawks program ends in catastrophe and failure." and the response
comes, "Don't be ridiculous. We saved the world a few dozen times over.
We're just resting our wings. Trust me."
Source: public library.
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