Czarny Hamot is one of the most interesting superhero series that can be found on the Polish market today. Screenwriter Jeff Lemire has created an interesting world that pays homage to many classic comic book heroes ... and then he let it all out. Among other things, thanks to such titles as Black Hammer '45.
Lemire is like that acquaintance who begins to tell a story, then deviates from the topic, delves into another anecdote, which leads to another digression to completely lose the main plot. And why do I say so? At the time of writing this review, three volumes of the main series have been published in Poland (The Secret Genesis, Events and Doom Era – Part 1 ) and as many as four spin-offs ( Sherlock Frankenstein and Legion of Evil , Doctor Star and the Kingdom of the Lost Future , Quantum Era and the reviewed here Black Hammer ’45 ). On the horizon, in turn, the second part of the Doomsday and the Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice, Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy are lurking.And more titles focusing on single heroes have already been announced – about Colonel Weird and Barabalien . I do not associate any other series in which a similar phenomenon would occur, where there are more side stories than those depicting the main plot. What’s even more worrying is that all of the extra items are clearly weaker. They are still quite OK readers, but without panache. With one exception, the ’45 reviewed here – the first spin-off, which is simply lame.
Between a rock and a hard place
Black Hammer ’45 takes the reader back to the Golden Age of comics and places the action at the end of an alternative World War II. The plot focuses on the Blackhammer Squadron, an elite team of ethnically diverse pilots serving in the US Army. They do not possess any supernatural powers, but this does not detract from their ability to fight in the air. The soldiers are sent on a rescue mission to recover the genius scientist and his family from the extermination camp. The Soviet Union is also exhibiting its team, this time in powerful mechs. And the Nazis themselves, headed by the Spectral Hunter, want to stop them. War scenes are also interspersed with modernity, where we see veterans gathering again for a specific purpose.
Low flights
Pop culture has already reached for the subject of black pilots who had to struggle not only with opponents, but also with prejudices from their own country. Just to mention the “Red Tails” Squadron , a 2012 film directed by George Lucas himself! It’s an interesting topic, so watering it with a fantastic sauce should only help. Yet screenwriter Ray Fawkes completely wasted the story’s potential. There is no interesting social background here, the heroes’ problems are discussed, but it does not coincide with the human resources at all. An example would be the quarrel with Abraham Slam mentioned by veterans, while in flashbacks, nothing like this is the case.
The conflict between the three nations is also not well written. The Phantom Hunter, the German Ace of Sky, is the squadron’s main opponent and the world’s best pilot, but has no personality. This is the more interesting opponent from the center of the comic: Die Fledermaus, who uses wings and a giant club instead of an airplane. The Soviet side – the so-called Red Tide, but also only because it uses lopsided mechs.
Oj, oj, oj…
By reading more and more comics, I have learned to appreciate the departure from the superhero cliché in favor of a more original approach. Not everything has to be aesthetic, pretty and appealing to my taste, but if it’s done well, such drawings can steal my heart. And I would love to say that about ’45but… this comic is just plain ugly. Blocky and lazy line looks more like hasty sketches made without proper technical background. More than one storyboard for a movie can look better. All of this was covered with some of the ugliest colors I have ever come into contact with. The images appear to have a Photoshop texture that bothers the eyes in the background, but the skin color is reminiscent of playing with graphics in the spirit of the 1990s. I would prefer to associate with this title only in black and white, as in the sketches at the end of the volume (which are also the only addition).
Somebody stop him!
The old adage is that quality is more important than quantity. I think someone should remind Lemire of them. The world of Blackhammer is quite conventional, a lot of things work thanks to very clear allusions to classic characters from DC, Marvel and other publishers. Therefore, you really don’t need to expand it that much and show us everything. Especially if you don’t have a good idea for it.
