Why Black Super Heroes Succeed- and Fail

[Michael24]

SHADOWHAWK was a great comic book about a black superhero. Paul Johnstone was not a stereotypical character, but had great depth and really changed as a character over the course of his 18-issue mini-series. (Wesley Snipes tried to bring that to the big screen once before--he wanted to Blade, ShadowHawk, and Black Panther--but it didn't work out for one reason or another.)

 

[NinjaJack]

SHADOWHAWK was a great comic book about a black superhero. Paul Johnstone was not a stereotypical character, but had great depth and really changed as a character over the course of his 18-issue mini-series. (Wesley Snipes tried to bring that to the big screen once before--he wanted to Blade, ShadowHawk, and Black Panther--but it didn't work out for one reason or another.)

Really whats the story? I think this is a good thread to tell it.

 

[Michael24]

Well, I don't want to give too much away because I think the real impact comes from reading it, but Paul Johnstone really changes throughout the 18-issue series as a character. He starts out as a tough-ass vigilante who breaks the spines of criminals, leaving them imprisoned in their own bodies as punishment for their crimes, but through his experiences over the course of the issues, slowly changes into a character where he actually has regrets of what he's done. There are times where he's questioning if what he's doing is even worth it all, and the etxra layer to the story is that Johnstone has AIDs, which he was given by criminals because he would not throw a case (he was a former DA). So there's a very personal element to the storyline of him not only facing the city's criminal element, but his own demons as well. His crimefighting tactics even take a backseat for awhile as he embarks on a journey to (literally) the far reaches of the world searching for a cure to AIDs, and the whole story does end the way you would expect.

Really, the series is much better than I can possibly describe it. Amazon.con carries the first two mini-series in Trade Paperback, OUT OF THE SHADOWS and THE SECRET REVEALED, and I think they're definitely worth getting. You can find more by going to creator Jim Valentino's site - http://www.valentinocomics.com - and checking out the SHADOWHAWK page.