Hawkgirl: Once Upon A Galaxy by Jadzia Axelrod, Amancay Nahuelpan and Driano Lucas (graphic novel).
I’ve always liked Hawkgirl. At least she had a better helmet to draw from different angles than her husband, Carter Hol. However, opening this graphic novel, ‘Hawkgirl: Once Upon A Galaxy’, it was obvious someone else was under the mask. Kendra Saunders is the latest reincarnation from Shayera Hol. I’ve always been a bit confused by the two Hawks/Hols’ continual reincarnation.
There has to be a discrepancy in age, let alone remembering and finding each other. Oddly, this 6-part mini-series collected here goes some way into sorting this out, more so as it’s linked to the source of the nth metal, which this time is incorporated into her body, allowing her wings to generate when needed.
Kendra is also a people person. She has an alien friend called Galaxy who is extremely powerful, an alien looking like a corgi dog called Argos and friends who run a coffee shop. She also has a mortal enemy called Vulpecula, who is habituated to going into the past, offering children their wishes so she has them enthralled as adults and extremely dangerous.
As Hawkgirl, Kendra battles alongside Galaxy in Gotham against Batman, and then they return to Metropolis to join Supergirl in fighting monstrous creatures. The main plot intertwines with Kendra’s gradual descent into madness as she confronts her past incarnations. As you might expect, some elements of this story contain spoilers.
Writer Jadzia Axelrod and artist Amancay Nahuelpan do a nice job with this intricate story, and you get drawn into the events in how to cope with both superhero and civilian lives. Unusual for me, it’s fairly recent and fits in after the Justice League has been disbanded.
GF Willmetts
May 2025
(pub: DC Comics, 2024. 144 page graphic novel. Price: varies. ISBN: 978-1-77852-510-9).
check out website: www.dc.com
