Black Hawk (British comics)

Black Hawk was a comic strip appearing on the British magazine Tornado, created by Gerry Finley-Day. It was one of three strips to transfer from Tornado to 2000 AD after the two merged.

Black Hawk (British comics)
Black Hawk on the cover to 2000 AD Prog. 137, dated 3 November 1979.
Character information
First appearanceTornado (14 April 1979)
In-story information
SpeciesHuman
Place of originEarth
Publication information
PublisherIPC Magazines
Fleetway Publications
Rebellion Developments
ScheduleWeekly
Title(s)Tornado
14 April to 18 August 1979
2000 AD
25 August 1979 to 19 April 1980
Tornado Annual
1981
2000 AD Annual
1981 to 1982
2000 AD Sci-Fi Special
1982
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) Tornado
2000 AD.
Genre
Publication date14 April 1979  19 April 1980
Main character(s)Black Hawk
Ursa
Batak
Zog
Creative team
Writer(s)Tornado
Gerry Finley-Day
2000 AD
Alan Grant/Kelvin Gosnell as "Alvin Gaunt"
Artist(s)Tornado
Alfonso Azpiri
2000 AD
Massimo Belardinelli
Ramon Sola
Joe Staton
Greg Guler
Editor(s)Dave Hunt
Roy Preston
Steve MacManus
Reprints
Collected editions
Black Hawk: The Intergalactic GladiatorISBN 9781907992599

Creation

The lead character was inspired by Woody Strode's role in the film Spartacus.[1]

Plot synopsis

At the time of the Roman Empire a Nubian slave rises up against his captors and leads a rebellion. However his bravery is recognised by a Roman General and he is commissioned as a Roman Centurion. Black Hawk took his name from a Hawk that he adopted and assembled a crack platoon from hardened prisoners and other slaves. As with other Finley-Day war stories the basic plot was borrowed from The Dirty Dozen with Black Hawk's squad being singled out for the hardest missions.

In 2000 AD he is taken from his Roman captors by an alien species only to be entered into their own intergalactic gladiatorial events against other alien species. Black Hawk adopts a Wookiee type alien as a sidekick (ironically the Hawk that gave him his name was left behind on earth). Black Hawk manages to escape but ends up stranded on a planet orbiting a black hole. Here a creature called "The SoulSucker" removes Black Hawks soul and he pursues the SoulSucker relentlessly, eventually regaining it shortly before the end of the series run.

Eventually, Tharg the Mighty's race were written in, as a robotic "Kwark" created by the "Thargians", and the whole cast were sucked into a black hole. They are later seen in Tharg's desk drawer, full of other dead or discarded characters, where Black Hawk complains how long they have been waiting as Ace Garp is selected for a revival.[2]

In the 2000 AD Yearbook 1994 it was acknowledged by the editor that this was a poor series, and Alan Grant had written himself into a corner.

Bibliography

Collected editions

All the stories are collected in one trade paperback:

Title ISBN Publisher Release date Contents
Black Hawk: The Intergalactic Gladiator 9781907992599 Rebellion Developments 10 November 2011 Material from Tornado 14 April to 18 August 1979, 2000 AD 25 August 1979 to 19 April 1980, Tornado Annual 1981, 2000 AD Annual 1981-1982 and 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 1982.

Notes

  1. Berridge, Ed (9 December 2008). "Gerry Finley-Day: The Quiet Man". Judge Dredd Megazine. No. 278. Rebellion Developments.
  2. "Whatever Happened to... Ace Garp?" in 2000 AD #451, January 1986

References

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