I also discovered a cool creator owned project he and writer Quinn Johnson (writer on TMNT, Kung Fu Panda and more) are working on called Elders of the Runestone. It has successfully cleared Kickstarter funding too and is set to be released digitally and then collected in print. Check it out!

Darkhawk Classic Vol. 1 Tpb

That’s right Bucketheads–you can finally get rid of those singles! (er… maybe not…)

So what’s in this first Classic Collection? The first nine issues focus on the journey of the teenage hero learning to become a responsible crime fighter with Spider-Man as his role model.

• Issue 1 to 3 setup Chris Powell’s discovery of the Darkhawk amulet and keeping it out of reach from the Hobgoblin with the help of Spidey.
• Issue 4 introduces Savage Steel, an armoured crime fighter akin to the Punisher but who works for a secret police cabal.
•  Issue 5 introduces the teenage native indian mutant, Charles Little Sky, form the pages of a quick Avengers story but this time with a Darkhawk armour of his own and calling himself Portal.
• Issue 6 continues the misunderstanding of Portal as ally of enemy as they battle it out with the U-Foes with the help of Captain America and Daredevil.
• Issue 7 focuses on Chris’s desire to be a crime fighter, develops the relationships in his highschool life, and introduces mob boss, Philippe Bazin’s,  magnetically powered enhanced human, Lodestone.
• Issue 8 features an all-out brawl with Lodestone and results in Darkhawk’s capture where he’s taken to Bazin’s lab in order to have his amulet removed.
• Issue 9 ends this collection with a cameo by Punisher who is tracking down Savage Steel for his crimes leaving Darkhawk square in the middle of it all.

And what’s next? Here’re my guesses for the next two collections:

Volume 2 will likely collect the 6-part “Heart of the Hawk” storyline which see’s Chris lose the amulet to tough-ass empowered gangster, Tombstone, who rips it from his chest! That’s followed by a 2-part appearance of Venom and will likely add the Annual #2 story with Dreamkiller, a character I’m quite fond of and wish to see return to the Marvel U!  (Prediction: Collects issues #10 – #17, Annual #2 Dreamkiller story)

Volume 3 will likely start with the introduction of Russian terrorist supergroup, The Perisrike Force; a 3-part storyline of Darkhawk’s confrontation with them to save his highschool! That will be followed by the return of Charles Little Sky, as Portal, who has the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants after him; Sleepwalker joins the mix as well as Spider-Man. This leads into possibly my favourite run in the series, the “Return to Forever” storyline that finally gives us the origin of Darkhawk, his connection to Null Space, the Osch Ship, and intergalactic gangster Dargon Bokk, and we get the introduction of archvillain, Evilhawk! (Prediction: Collects issues #18 – #25)

I can only hope that the series will continue after Volume 3, but seeing as that’s when Mike Manley left the series (issue 25)–and post-issue-25 tends to open up story-threads that the old-schooler fans seems to have either forgotten, or don’t care about–I’m not sure if support will be enough to sustain collecting the entire run. I remain hopeful!

I’m also not sure where the Annual #1 “Assault on Armor City”  storyline would be placed–or if it should as it’s entertaining on its own, but part of a three-parter that stretches into Iron Man Annual and West Coast Avengers Annual, thus losing its context.

Man, I just got hit with a wave of flashbacks! So excited! If you’re a fan: PICK THIS UP! We need to do our part to make sure they keep releasing these!

Here’s a page from Darkhawk #14, drawn by Mike Manley, featuring Darkhawk fighting Venom! It’s listed on Ebay with a reserve still waiting to be met. If you’re a huge Darkhawk collector (with fluid funds) then get your butt over there!

This animated-style Darkhawk is done by Shaun Ward (Devinat Art gallery). The design is asymmetrical like the classic armour, but this “animated style” design smooths out all the blockiness of the classic armour and adds clean and minimal alterations to the look of the suit.

It is based on an art piece by Shaun Ward.

Remove the Red Lantern chest insignia and replace it with a chest amulet, and change the colour palette to cool blues and gray, and I think this would still be a strong design for Darkhawk’s core “street level” armour.

Classic Darkhawk suit updated a bit. This piece of art created in Photoshop is by Joshua Allen (Deviant Art gallery).

The wing design here, I find really fascinating. The art suggests that they have a more feather-like look to them. It made me realize that NO Marvel design has ever shown the wings to look more natural–visually that is, clearly they’d still be metal and part of the android physiology. Sure, he’s had the long blade-like design fom League of Losers (my personal favorite), or the non-arm-based Archangel-style wings protruding from his back while in cosmin-armour-mode… but it’d be cool to see a suit design that embraced a more natural look for the wings (albeit with metal feathers).