Broken Frontier

As one of the fathers of American pulp fiction, Robert E. Howard is best known for his creation of Conan the Barbarian and helping establish the fantasy genre of sword and sorcery narratives.  Adapted from Howard's shorter, historical fiction, Hawks of Outremer is a brutal and gore filled twenty page exploration of one man's quest for vengeance to satiate his bloodlust in the twelfth century.  Unfortunately, as first issues go, new readers unaccustomed to this genre or unfamiliar with Howard's literary canon may find the story disappointing.

Scripted by Michael Alan Nelson, BOOM! Studios' most prolific writer and author of numerous series and adapted stories, Hawks of Outremer focuses on Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, an Irish chieftan and crusader who has returned from a battle in the Mediterranean where many soldiers fell and rumors of his own death surfaced.  The story begins with Cormac regaling his comrade Sir Rupert de Vaile of Rouen with tales of his many exploits against the Moslem forces of Saladin.  One of these tales centers on Cormac's first encounter with the historical figure King Richard of England.   Yet, when Cormac learns that his former leader Sieur Gerard de Gissclin has been slain, he is infuriated to discover that a fellow crusader refused to aid the besieged Gerard.  Tracking down Baron Conrad Von Gonler in his stronghold, Cormac lays insults on the various castle guards and trades verbal barbs with the Baron himself.  Although outnumbered and at a strategic disadvantage to assault the Baron and avenge his fallen liege, Cormac delivers his revenge brutally and barely escapes with his life.

Grabbing readers' attention should be the goal of first issues and how restrained in language and style Nelson was by Howard's material is uncertain.  However, apart from gratuitous gore and violence, Hawks of Outremer lacks a central narrative that locks audiences in and keeps them wanting to read more, let alone stick with the series itself for the four-issue mini-series.  Apart from its setting in the Crusades and the thematic device of Christian versus Moslem, there is very little story to tell apart from Cormac's solitary journey of vengeance as a soldier of fortune.  Absent any character development, many of the faces are interchangeable in terms of language, dialogue, and motivation.  Sadly, this is reinforced by the somewhat inconsistent art of Damian Couceiro.  Although the covers to Hawks warrant attention on the racks beside numerous other books, the interior art does not reflect this style or emotion.  Yet, as the tale progresses, the art does improve from the rather stale or static portrait approach that undermines the story's pacing to one that overcomes the limitations of the story itself and increases the pacing and development towards the end. 

If the fantasy sword and sorcery genre is your fare where story takes a backseat to action, then Hawks definitely delivers.  Yet, as a first issue to attract new readers to the genre or to the style and writing of Michael Alan Nelson, Hawks unfortunately comes up short.