When Steve Ditko joined DC at the start of 1968 with Showcase 73, the famous first appearance of the Creeper, it was clear that a new age was beginning. There was a young writer named Dennis O’Neil joining the company from Charlton, the company that created such characters as The Question, Captain Atom, and Blue Beetle. Ditko, O’Neil, and a young scribe known as Steve Skeates left the sinking ship to join the oldest company of them all. It was the beginning of the bronze age. DC finally felt brave enough to conquer social issues and famous runs such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow by O’Neil and Adams became masterpieces, encapsulating the mood of the time as a piece of critical literature. As for Steve Ditko, that strange and mysterious creator who conjured up Spiderman and Doctor Strange, the late 1960s was arguably a golden period. While the Creeper remains a classic in my mind, there’s another that stands out. In 1968, war was split. The Vietnam War was tearing apart families and society between anti-communist war-supports and conscientious objectors. That is where Hawk and Dove come in. Ditko writes a social battle between two very strong viewpoints. The characters were something of a novelty; extremely timely in what Ditko wanted to achieve with them. But it’s worth noting some biases. By the divided standards of modern America, Ditko is very much on the right. Writer, or more accurately dialoguer, Skeates, belongs to that anti-war leftist position. Perhaps now I can see the reason why this team produced only three stories, but, as you’ll see, they remain some of Ditko’s most memorable works during his time at DC Comics…
Showcase 75, along with Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 1-2 were published from June to November 1968, with all three stories written by Steve Skeates with art by Steve Ditko.
I’ve read the issues in the Steve Ditko Omnibus Volume Two hardcover.
The Hawk and the Dove
For over two decades, Showcase was the title that often spawned both new talent and new characters, like Brave and the Bold beforehand. In the latter years, these characters ended up in the second-rate list of heroes, with many falling even further. In the very early days, the Flash and Green Lantern are two key examples of the title’s success, but that faded by the late 1960s. That’s not to say that the Creeper was an unpopular creation (far from it), but it definitely didn’t spawn the same hype or fame which previous creations had. Was Hawk and Dove any different? On an all-too familiar college campus politicised by the events of the late 1960s, it’s a battle between war and peace. We’re immediately introduced to the gimmick Ditko is trying to sell, with brothers Hank and Don each picking their sides. While Don appears calmer and more rational, appealing for peace, his brother is far more vocal in his pro-Vietnam war views. Like all good protests of the era, a fight breaks out between the protestors and that’s the end of that. Meanwhile, we’re introduced to the character Ditko hopes to make the mediator. Irwin Hall, the father of Hank and Don, is a prestigious city judge who constantly makes enemies with criminals for the harsh sentences he gives out. In the case of this story, Judge Hall angers Dargo, a cook with a protection racket. Afterwards, Irwin returns to his usual life of trying to calm his two children down. Although I said he acts as the mediator between the two sides of radicalism, Ditko quickly ignores this idea as Irwin clearly falls more in line with Hank’s views. This relationship of ideals becomes the focus of all three Ditko Hawk and Dove stories. Out of the blue, Irwin is nearly killed by a bomb and is sent to hospital with his injuries. Expectedly, Hank is all for vigilantism as he attempts to chase after the crooks who attacked his father, but he nonetheless fails. As for Don, he simply believes the police will handle it. Clearly, Don isn’t too radical otherwise he wouldn’t trust the police either, but Ditko must have ignored that. Either way, soon afterwards, Hank and Don notice their father’s attacker in the street, and they (or more accurately, Hank) decide to chase after him. The relationship between the two brothers takes centre stage for the whole run and while it’s a gimmick that can easily become tired, for the first issue, it feels like a breath of fresh air. Despite Hawk’s brute strength and Don’s intelligence, the two prove themselves to be amateur vigilantes as they act stealthily around Dargo’s hideout. Despite the villain being in jail, he set up his own gang to take out Irwin, and it seems like the two Hall brothers are next. Suddenly, that is when the mysterious voice appears. This strange bodyless entity offers the brothers not so much superpowers, but the physical attributes associated with their characters. For instance, Hawk is given a strong red costume with large muscles and a heroic complexion, while Dove simply wears blue and that’s about it. Really, Don gets nothing for this apart from a meek appearance. Either way, these powers fire Hawk into action as he alone takes out Dargo’s men before heading to the hospital to take out the gangsters ready to take out Irwin. While this happens, Dove gets beaten up and nearly falls to his death. Sure, his powers help him evade and escape trouble, but he contributes very little. In the end however, Hawk’s powers as a double-edged sword. Although Irwin is grateful for the help of Hawk and Dove, he immediately outlaws them as vigilantes and believes they should be captured. Naturally, Dove thinks it’s time to call it a day. Hawk disagrees. When it comes to creating two distinctive superheroes, Ditko succeeds visually. Hawk and Dove look like classic heroes and they remain memorable for their colours and characteristic poses. As for the powers, the heroes receive very little as said. Sure, you get some drama as their powers only work when danger is present, and dissolve when the evil is gone. Apart from that, their powers are underwhelming and only serve to separate the two brothers further. As for the story, it’s clearly controlled by Ditko. You can tell by the layouts and plot that Hawk is clearly the hero Ditko’s sympathies lie with. The friction becomes apparent when you read Steve Skeates’s dialogue, which meshes well with the mood of the time and perhaps reflects the two brothers in a way better than Ditko could have achieved. However, that’s probably where Ditko disapproved of Skeates. Overall, he does a good job of balancing the two sides and gives credit to Dove’s character while keeping Hawk anything but pure. For an introduction, Ditko provides interesting characters and a decent plot, with some exciting dialogue by Skeates.
Story: 9/10
Art: 10/10
The Dove is a Very Gentle Bird
Please excuse the rather poor… actually… dreadful title for what was meant to be the first in a monolithic best-seller. Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 1 clearly showed that Showcase 75 had had some effect, but you have to remember that this was from the era when DC launched titles left, right, and centre. Either way, the first issue focuses on a gang named the Dropouts, a group of crooks who randomly pillage passers-by. One day, Hank and Don, with their father, encounter these colourful villains and already, Ditko forgets the powers of his own creations. Instead of transforming into their heroic counterparts at the sight of danger as originally intended, Don refuses to help and Hank secretly slips away to become Hawk. It’s more likely that Ditko simply forgot how his own characters functioned. Nonetheless, Hawk is humiliated by the Dropouts, but as they escape, a girl notices and recognises one of the members. Before Don can get his teeth into any detective work, Hawk reverts back to normality moments before the police capture him. For the first act, the enemies win and characteristically, Hank and Don spend their time arguing among themselves to the (continued)
anger of their father. The relationship between the two brothers is probably the most prominent issue of the series, but it never really changes by the end in any significant way. Honestly, part of the appeal of Ditko’s run is its length and how nothing overstays its welcome. Anyway, Judge Irwin demands publicly that Hawk is a menace and must be behind bars, leading to Hank and Don being harassed by students engaging in protest. Topical once again. No progress is made on the Dropouts front until the villains appear and raid an art exhibit at the school, leading to a lockdown. Hawk decides to take matters into his own hands and Don is left conflicted between his lack of strength and anger at his brother’s pig-headedness. The internal battle between the anxious Don Hall is something that Ditko could have played around with a bit more. Skeates performs well in displaying the inner thoughts of Dove, but I think there should have been more focus on the character. For much of the title, it’s more Hawk than Dove. Sure, Dove does his detective work and asks that girl from earlier about how she recognised one of the gangsters as he cheated on an exam (yes, that’s the reason to turn to crime), but by the time he finds Hawk taking on the Dropouts, they’re taken care of easily. It also turns out that the Dropouts aren’t students, just petty thieves with some bizarre costumes. Memories of Ditko’s disagreements with Stan Lee over the true identity of the Green Goblin at Marvel ring true here. Like then, Ditko opts for a less dramatic conclusion as the villains are nobodies, not recurring characters or a notable cast member. It was to be expected. Despite the anti-climatic end which makes little sense from a storytelling perspective, Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 1 does well in just expanding on their debut appearance. The relationship between the two heroes is displayed more and while the villains may be plain and forgettable, the sense of mystery here is strong. It’s just the lack of drama in the conclusion which bothers me as Ditko missed an obvious moment.
Story: 8/10
Art: 10/10
Jailbreak
For Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 2, it appears as very different from the other two. It may begin usually, with a crook named Harker escaping from prison with a gang of unhelpful small-timers, but then we revert to the Hall household, where Irwin takes Hank on a trip after days of convicting criminals. The setting and type of story is different, but that doesn’t stop Ditko lecturing the readers about law and order and how it exists to primarily protect the innocent. If you want more of that, then definitely read his Question stories at Charlton Comics. Either way, just as Irwin and Hank head down the road in their car, they’re ambushed by Harker and his gang, effectively taken hostage until the police apparently arrive and the villains sprint away. This, however, is a rouse. One of the criminals stays behind and admits to Irwin that he lied so the others would escape and so he could give himself up to the law since he didn’t want to help in the break-out anyway. It’s an odd moment that shows Irwin with some compassion as he’s willing to help the man for his heroics, but things are much worse at home. Obviously, the closest home nearby is the Hall residence, and Harker takes Mrs Hall hostage. Yeah, she’s a character who’s barely featured or been mentioned in the previous issues. As was sadly true in every medium at the time, her time is spent being taken hostage by the villain. Meanwhile, Don’s hands are tied and as Hawk watches him from the window, he grows furious by his inactivity. It does make for a very entertaining moment. However, the worm turns, and Don manages to transform stealthily into Dove, allowing Hawk to enter and take out
Harker’s men. Now, this is where the cover of the issue might have a purpose. Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 2 features Dove being forced to fight Harker, with Hawk looming over them both. For the last few pages, that’s exactly what happens. Hawk watches as Dove refuses to fight against Harker, attempting to cheer them both on. However, Harker grows tired and so does Hawk, leaving Dove to succeed by simplifying pulling the villain’s shirt over his head. It’s not exactly true pacifism as Dove does use a very mild form of violence I suppose, but it’s intriguing to see Ditko at least contemplate the other side of the argument, but with some obvious jest. It makes for a silly but decent end to the final issue of Ditko’s very short run. What happened next? The title continued with Skeates and then Gil Kane, but only made it to the sixth issue before cancellation. If it wasn’t obvious, Ditko left abruptly because he believed that Skeates was ruining his stories with left-wing dialogue. The two simply didn’t get on creatively. However, that isn’t wholly obvious in the final product. I think Skeates actually adds some excitement into the stories, something which Ditko often lacks in some of his other works. Skeates aids not so much politically, but in making the characters of Hawk and Dove more accessible and natural. Ditko would have made them far too political and immovably so. I’m not saying for a second that Ditko is bad. The title is very much his both in terms of its main idea, the stories, and the concepts. However, Skeates adds a desirable flavour: humour. Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 2 features much of it and while, once again, the villain may not be much to shout about, the idea of the story is different and explores new areas. I’m thankful that the Hawk and Dove concept started to grow tired. Honestly, despite its success, a concept like this can only run successfully for about three issues.
Story: 9/10
Art: 10/10
It might come as no surprise to anyone of my complete fondness and love for Steve Ditko’s art. His sense of storytelling is strange, but unique and hugely gripping. Ignoring the obvious political bias, which is present through all stories, Ditko does a great job of making the title look visually memorable. As ever, he makes the villains look dreadfully evil and ugly, while the characters of the main heroes are conveyed well. For instance, Hawk is very forthcoming while Dove is meeker and more timid. Easily, my favourite scene of the run comes from Showcase 75, with the famous scene where the two brothers receive their mystical powers. The brush strokes and smoothly free lines give that brilliant fantastical image. It reminds me of his time on Doctor Strange at Marvel, where odd effects took centre stage and amazed everybody. This sense of brilliance continues through the core two issues. Ditko’s use of lighting is excellent here, especially in Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 1 which uses more grim locations effectively. As in Beware the Creeper (vol 1), the action is fast-paced and told from different angles which give it an amazing appearance, made better by Ditko’s incomparable sense of drama. The cover to Hawk and Dove (vol 1) 2 is a classic example, especially with that large Hawk hanging over Dove in his helpless situation. Overall, the art is near-flawless, but it was always going to be.
VERDICT
Overall, Hawk and Dove by Steve Ditko is a good run and one made better by its short length. The introduction of the heroes in Showcase 75 feels very niche and interesting, with Ditko and Skeates creating a complete world around the characters. As it continues however, the concept seems to run out of steam in spite of the decent stories. Anything as gimmicky as this has a limited lifespan and usually a short one. Perhaps a problem was that Ditko failed to discover new ideas and his love for the idea quickly faded. Either way, the three issues are more than enough, and they perform well overall. Steve Skeates certainly adds some good dialogue to the issues and as for the art, it’s Ditko yet again at his best. I may not hold Hawk and Dove as highly regarded as The Creeper, The Question, or even Stalker, but for three issues, it’s a concept that works effectively.
Stories: 8.5/10
Art: 10/10
Next Week: Justice League of America: The Tornado’s Path (Justice League of America (vol 2) 1-7. Written by Brad Meltzer with art by Ed Benes and Sandra Hope.
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