20 – Shadowhawk by Beausephus

CHARACTER NAME:  Shadowhawk

DATE OF CREATION: Late 1980’s.

CONCEPT:  A fusion of Batman and Snake Eyes from GI JOE this silent character patrols the rooftops and hidden alleyways prowling for trouble and then descends to dispense street level justice with efficiency and high tech flair.

_______________________________

Shadowhawk was a character that starred in many small comic strips and hand stapled pamphlets.  In the original design, the costume was very basic – a boulbus helmet, metallic bracelets covered in mini-missles, and a bandolier of weaponry resembling Batman’s utility belt in an act of overt swiping.  Shadowhaek, if I remember correctly, was a cop by day (complete with full on 1980s moustache) and vigilante by night.  In his numerous adventures he fought character in scenarios inspired by GI JOE cartoons and “KRAVENS LAST HUNT.”

In the reinterpretation of my elementary school design, I kept the color scheme (toning down the bright teal a bit) and the characters giant “wings” that run the sides of his torso and allow him to glide along.  I’ve removed the missle launcher bracelets and stylized the helmet a bit to make it less like 1950s Sci-Fi pace helmet and a bit more predatory to in some way refer to the Shadowhawk name.

The best thing about this character was in the early 1990s when IMAGE comics first formed.  Founding Image Creator, Jim Valentino, had been writing one of my favorite serie, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, for MARVEL and had just relased his own creator owned IMAGE property, Shadowhawk.  At a regional comic convention I brought him some color copies of the Shadowhawk character and comics I had made years earlier.  He was very gracious and really liked my childhood zeal for superheroes comparing the work to that of his son who was close to the age I had been when I drew my first Shadowhawk comics.  Whether he was just being a pro or really appreciated my attempt to share my fanboy appreciation for his work, I’ll never know, but his friendliness made a big impression on me as to what it means to apprecaite positive compliments and how to act when someone is being genuine even when there is a line growing behind them.  Mr. Valentino made a life-long fan of me that day, and no matter wht I always buy a comic with his name on it to in some small way show my appreciation for his five minutes of time when I was a kid.

Thanks for checking out my stuff.

-Beausephus

Category: 2011, Superhero