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The Official Darkhawk Appreciation Thread
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689 posts in this topic

Thanks for the comments and compliments everyone. :foryou:

 

I'm going to reply to earlier questions, share more content and ramble on about Darkhawk later today.

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I'm going to talk about a few different things Darkhawk related, share content and answer previous questions in the next couple of posts.

 

My Darkhawk collection:

You may have noticed that I have large stacks of the earlier issues. I have been picking up HG copies of #1 for some time, but that doesn't explain why I have over 100 copies #5 and #8.

 

Last year, I was fortunate enough to find a dealer who recently acquired a 90's speculator collection of unread "investment stock". I cleared him out of all of his Darkhawk stock, along with a bunch of other titles including New Warriors, Sleepwalker, Silver Surfer Infinity Gauntlet tie-in issues, Infinity Gauntlet sets, Adam Warlock & the Infinity Watch, Rai, Magnus and ASM issues 361-363. I did not pay much with only a non bulk premium on the Valiant tiles, the ASMs and the Infinity Gauntlet sets.

 

It was an awesome score. The collection was all high grade unread product. The plastic bags that housed the comics were stuck together from a mix of bag degradation and being tightly stored next to each. You could tell that they sat untouched from the date of purchase. Luckily, that didn't adversely affect any of the comics outside of having to lightly peel them off of each other.

 

Condition wise, I couldn't have asked for more with that collection. The average grade is probably 9.6, with many many 9.8+ examples (approximately 40-50%). The condition isn't uniform between the issues. As an example, the average grade of #1 is closer to 9.4 with 15% 9.8 quality while issues #4 and 8 are closer to 80% 9.8.

 

So I didn't set out to have 100+ copies of Darkhawk #8, it just sorta happened.

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Claudio asked me why I like Darkhawk so much. It's not the best stories or artwork of the Copper age. But, I loved this character growing up and issue #1 was for a time my most valuable and prized comic. Re-reading it today, it's a cliched mess of perfectly ridiculous 90s pop culture, art and dialogue. It's nostalgic bliss.

 

Wizard and Darkhawk:

Wizard magazine. :cloud9: Another guilty pleasure.

 

 

From Wizard #5, the Diamond top 10 from the previous year.

RMA edit: "Just for clarity's sake, those are the PRE-ORDER rankings from Diamond. They weren't actually on sale until January of 1991".

 

wiz5_zps51d95fd3.jpg

 

 

 

Darkhawk #1 breaks into the Top 10 at #10 in Wizard #8!

 

wiz8topten_zpsd8075e12.jpg

 

 

 

Moving to Wizard #10, Darkhawk stays at #10. "Darkhawk kind of taken as a joke"? hm

 

wiz10topten_zpsbcc483c2.jpg

 

 

 

Wizard #11, still hanging onto that #10 spot. Now it's a second-rate joke? :roflmao:

 

wiz11topten_zps9e8ccd5d.jpg

 

 

 

A cool advert for Darkhawk #14 from Wizard #7

 

wiz7_zpsf45fee38.jpg

 

 

 

An early cancelled Wizard cover featuring Darkhawk with art by Wizard's golden boy Bart Sears.

 

bartsearsunusedcoverpencils_zpsc63b32db.jpg

bartsearsunusedcoverfinished_zpsd7f8449f.jpg

Edited by Boboset
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«but Darkhawk popularity began to dwindle…» – what deprecable individuals the guys at Wizard! lol

 

What's strange is that Darkhawk #1 entered the top ten at the exact time that Wizard cancelled the Sears cover due to decreased popularity.

 

I also tracked Darkhawk's Diamond top 100 performance. During this time period, Darkhawk hovers in the late 20s to mid 30s with big bumps for the Venom issues (13 & 14) and obviously #1. I don't see a decreased popularity in that time span.

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I've been waiting for the right venue to post this. It's the color guide for Darkhawk #17. At least I think it's a color guide. The colors you see are not printed, an artist actually created the colors using what looks like markers or water color over a scan of the original drawing. The "In your face" voice box is a stat which means that maybe it wasn't the original intent to have it there. I was floored when I saw this for sale and HAD to have it. It's one of my favorite covers!

 

darkhawk-17_zpsd080380f.jpg

 

Edited by justin
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Claudio asked me why I like Darkhawk so much. It's not the best stories or artwork of the Copper age. But, I loved this character growing up and issue #1 was for a time my most valuable and prized comic. Re-reading it today, it's a cliched mess of perfectly ridiculous 90s pop culture, art and dialogue. It's nostalgic bliss.

 

Wizard and Darkhawk:

Wizard magazine. :cloud9: Another guilty pleasure.

 

 

From Wizard #5, the Diamond top 10 from the previous year.

 

wiz5_zps51d95fd3.jpg

 

Just for clarity's sake, those are the PRE-ORDER rankings from Diamond. They weren't actually on sale until January of 1991.

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Is there a trade for darkhawk, other than the first one?

 

and/or fitted hats?

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would love to see him come back into the fray of things, would kill for a solo ongoing.

 

So would the other people here that have been stocking up and hyping this book the last few months.

 

I'm keeping my copies. :baiting:
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Is there a trade for darkhawk, other than the first one?

 

and/or fitted hats?

Just the first trade. He appears in some of the War of Kings TPBs and maybe others. No hats. We're left with a meager selection of comics, the one Marvel Universe action figure, OA and a handful of trading cards for our Darkhawk fix. Am I missing anything?
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I've had a strong sentimental attachment to this character since I was a kid. My older cousin who was somewhat like an older brother to me surprised me when I was little by buying me a stack of comics. It was a nice surprise since he didn't collect comics, but knew I did. A few of the books were Darkhawk #1 and #2. He laughed saying "It could be worth a lot of money - it's a #1!" I just :eyeroll: and thought - what the heck is this character? Is he trying to be Wolverine with the three pronged claw? This isn't a Daredevil, X-Men or Ghost Rider book. meh Then I read it and loved the character! I've bought a few raws through the years, but really wanted a nice 9.8 for my collection. Jason (comicalgems) was amazing and sent me one - for free :o as part of the Giving Tree thread. (worship)

 

Thanks again so much Jason! :foryou: Here is my Darkhawk #1 9.8! :cloud9:

 

 

30wp4q9.jpg

 

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I've had a strong sentimental attachment to this character since I was a kid. My older cousin who was somewhat like an older brother to me surprised me when I was little by buying me a stack of comics. It was a nice surprise since he didn't collect comics, but knew I did. A few of the books were Darkhawk #1 and #2. He laughed saying "It could be worth a lot of money - it's a #1!" I just :eyeroll: and thought - what the heck is this character? Is he trying to be Wolverine with the three pronged claw? This isn't a Daredevil, X-Men or Ghost Rider book. meh Then I read it and loved the character! I've bought a few raws through the years, but really wanted a nice 9.8 for my collection. Jason (comicalgems) was amazing and sent me one - for free :o as part of the Giving Tree thread. (worship)

 

Thanks again so much Jason! :foryou: Here is my Darkhawk #1 9.8! :cloud9:

 

 

30wp4q9.jpg

 

You're welcome! I've got more ;-)

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