For almost two years, Blackhawk fans had been subjected to...
(Thank heaven none of the middle-aged warriors were jammed into skintight suits!)
Sales had deteriorated to the point where the book, which had been continuously-published since 1944 and survived switching publishers without an interruption, had been reduced from monthly to bi-monthly publication and was scheduled to be cancelled.
But Dick Giordano, who had just replaced long-time editor George Kashdan, had no intention of just letting the old soldiers fade away...
Plotted by Marv Wolfman (his first professional comics credit), scripted by Bob Haney, and illustrated by Pat Boyette, DC's Blackhawk #242 (1968) was unlike any previous issue of the title.
It not only reversed the superspy/superhero revamp of the strip, but retold the origin of Blackhawk himself, making several changes to the long-established story, including allowing Blackhawk's brother (who died in the very first story in Quality's Military Comics #1) to survive!
Giordano, fresh from a long tenure at Charlton Comics came on board at DC to inject a new attitude into the comics line.
Besides introducing several new titles, he took over a couple of ongoing books, including Blackhawk.
Knowing that the series was being cancelled, Dick decided to return the strip to the basics that made it a favorite among Golden (and to a lesser extent) Silver Age fans.
The details of what happened can be found at the wonderful blog DC Comics 45 Years Ago.
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Loving this story. I've long wanted to read it and it's living up to my expectations. That Blackhawk is betrayed by his brother sounds terribly familiar since I've just been re-reading early SHIELD issues (Scorpio anyone?) but this outstanding Boyette artwork is too fine.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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