''Blackhawk'' was a

comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

strip appearing on the British magazine ''

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

'', created by

Gerry Finley-Day Gerry Finley-Day (born 1947, Broughty Ferry, Dundee) is a Scottish comics writer, prolific from the 1960s to the 1980s, best known as the creator of "Rogue Trooper". Career He began his career at D.C. Thomson & Co., before becoming the edito ...

. It was one of three strips to transfer from ''Tornado'' to '' 2000 AD'' after the two merged.

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. Blackhawk 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 ''The Dirty Dozen'' is a 1967 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Lee Marvin with an ensemble supporting cast including Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, George Kennedy, Ralph M ...

'' with Blackhawk'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. Blackhawk adopts a

Wookiee Wookiees () are fictional humanoid aliens in the ''Star Wars'' universe, native to the forest planet Kashyyyk. They are distinguished from humans by their gigantism, hirsutism, and physical strength. The most prominent Wookiee is Chewbacca, c ...

type alien as a sidekick (ironically the Hawk that gave him his name was left behind on earth). Blackhawk manages to escape but ends up stranded on a planet orbiting a black hole. Here a creature called "The SoulSucker" removes Blackhawks 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 Blackhawk complains how long they have been waiting as Ace Garp is selected for a revival."Whatever Happened to... Ace Garp?" in ''2000 AD'' #451, January 1986 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.

Characters

*Blackhawk *Ursa *Batak *Zog

Bibliography

* "Blackhawk" (with

and Azpiri, in ''Tornado'' #4-22, 1979) * "Blackhawk" (with Alan Grant/

Kelvin Gosnell Kelvin Gosnell is a British comics writer and editor. He was involved in the founding of the long-running comic '' 2000 AD'' in 1977, and was its second editor (1977–1978). He also edited '' Starlord'' (1978) and ''Tornado'' (1979). Biography ...

as "Alvin Gaunt" and Alan Grant (2-34); Massimo Belardinelli, Ramon Sola (5, 16, 17),

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist of t ...

(6) and Greg Guler (17), in ''2000 AD'' #127-161, 1979) * "Blackhawk" (''Tornado Annual 1981'') * "Death-Dive" (''2000AD Annual 1981'') * "The Longest Walk" (with Alan Grant and

, ''2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1982'')

Collected editions

All the stories are collected in one trade paperback: *''Blackhawk'' (288 pages, November 2011, )

Notes

References

Blackhawk
at Barney * {{Refend Comics characters introduced in 1979