By Toren Chenault — The Black Hammer Universe is filled with superheroes. When it debuted in 2016, it was clear from solicits that writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dean Ormston wanted to change superhero comics with Black Hammer. And that’s exactly what they did. I worked at a comic book shop for most of 2018 and part of 2019. The first Black Hammer trade was one of the books I sold the most. I would pitch it to comic readers and say “Imagine if Watchmen expanded into a full-blown universe. But was a bit more modern.” And that would work most of the time. But to be honest, most of the sales came from people who had never heard of the title or read any of Lemire’s other work. That’s the beauty of this comic. It bridges a gap between people who love superhero comics and indies. It also is a great comic to start with as a new reader. We all love the memorable costumes, connected universes, huge battles, cheesy villains, and other tropes of superhero comics. They show us that people can be better to each other and help us escape everyday life. And many of us also love indie comics. The boldness, the rawness, the vulnerability and limitless freedom to create. Black Hammer is the perfect marriage of the two.

If you’ve never read Black Hammer before, the story follows a group of superheroes from Spiral City, who are now on a small farm. They don’t know how they got there, and they can’t leave. If they try to, they die. It’s an interesting concept and from that, Lemire and Ormston built a compelling story about family, identity, and moving on from the past. 

Black Hammer has its main title, where we learn about the heroes and grow with them as they live on the farm and try to discover ways to leave. But the farm story in a lot of ways, is the end of their journey. The heroes have all lived adventurous lives and have been heroes for over decades. There’s an entire history before the farm. As well as what’s happening in Spiral while they are gone, and what happened in the future when they are long gone. And that’s where we get the extra miniseries focusing on key parts of the world. Sherlock Frankenstein focuses on one of Black Hammer’s most notorious villains. Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows shows us an emotional and heartbreaking story of a golden age BH hero from the 40’s. The Quantum Age throws us far into the future to show us an entire superhero legion that was inspired by the farm heroes. And the current series, Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy is a brutal tale of a hero surviving with the heroes gone from Spiral City. Each one is unique, has amazing artists that bring each title to life and overall, they add great depth to the universe. 

But each of these stories is superhero-centric. Nothing wrong with that, it is a superhero universe after all. And each story has that unique blend of superhero and indie vibe. But where Black Hammer truly elevated itself as a fully-realized world was with Black Hammer ’45. This story about a group of pilots during WWII was about normal people rising up to do what’s right. They are some of the best pilots around and the story centers around their last mission. It was also the first BH story that wasn’t written exclusively by Jeff Lemire. Ray Fawkes wrote the script here with Matt Kindt on art, his wife Sharlene Kindt on colors, and Marie Enger on letters. Each creator brought something completely unique to the title that gave it a life of its own. But like I mentioned earlier, this is the only title to not feature superheroes. That decision along with Fawkes on main writing duties, made this the riskiest title yet from the universe.

There’s another element that made this title very risky. I have no idea what inspired Lemire and Fawkes for Black Hammer ’45, but when I saw the solicits online I immediately thought of the legendary real-life pilots, The Tuskegee Airmen. They even sported the same red and gold colors of the pilots and Tuskegee University. And just like the original group, the cover for issue 1 sported a diverse group of pilots. This is also one of the aspects I appreciate so much about the Black Hammer Universe. It’s incredibly diverse and that diversity seems to increase with every title and creator they announce. To have your first title not about superheroes feature a group of black and brown men is impressive. And to set it during a time where black men weren’t necessarily welcomed in the military was a bold move too. It also shows how forward thinking Lemire and crew are, and I appreciate that. A risky move considering this universe was built on capes and cowls. 

This comic isn’t without its craziness though. There are elements of superhero comics blended in throughout, but it doesn’t feel overdone. That sense of realism is always there. That realism comes from the team of Matt and Sharlene Kindt. Matt Kindt’s art style is very different from traditional superhero comics, and some might even describe it as an acquired taste. His art shines with the 1940’s setting here and Sharlene’s colors provide a nice breath of life throughout the comic. It’s very different from any other comic in the wider Black Hammer Universe, but I feel that was kind of the point. And Matt is an artist who can do realism and comic book wackiness extremely well. I don’t want to get into heavy spoilers because you should experience it for yourself, but I’d be doing the story a disservice if I didn’t mention it. There’s an elusive, almost ghost-like pilot from Germany, and a Russian solider who does most of her fighting with giant mechs. Both serve as the main villains of this story and the way Fawkes and Lemire set it up is great. 

There is one specific scene from the comic I want to talk about. It’s the perfect example of this story standing on its own apart from the superheroes. Each title from Black Hammer frames the original heroes in a different light. Some good, some bad (especially Sherlock Frankenstein), and sometimes they aren’t featured at all. But Black Hammer ’45 is a rare time we see the ambiguous nature of being a superhero. Where a hero is forced to make a decision that doesn’t sit well with some, and could have a negative impact overall. And that moment comes when one of the main superhero characters, Abraham Slam, shows up to help the pilots. Slam is in his prime as a costumed hero at this point. I’d equate him to a Steve Rogers type. He’s the boy scout, the famed costumed hero that every guy wants to be and every girl loves. He makes a decision in this story that made him look like a glory hound. And gets called out for it by the main characters of the story. And that’s the end of it. There’s no explanation from Slam or even a sorry. We get to see in real time a famed superhero make a true mistake. Was it an honest one or was Slam really being a glory hound? I’m not sure that’s really important, just the fact that we get to see it is huge. It’s also risky to show such a big hero in this light. But that’s what makes this universe so cool. Abe Slam isn’t bigger than the story of these pilots and their struggle. That’s a powerful message that most superhero comics wouldn’t dare make. 

“From the world of Black Hammer” is becoming an iconic phrase in comics. It was recently announced that original heroes Colonel Weird and Barbalien will be getting their own mini-series this year, too. I can’t wait to read them. I know they’ll deliver the same type of quality we’ve come to expect from this line of comics. In Black Hammer ’45 though, Lemire proved that this world has limitless potential. Five spin off series and they’re just hitting their stride. This is truly the best time to be reading comics. Black Hammer embodies the beauty of comics through and through. I can’t wait to see what the future holds, but if Lemire ended it tomorrow, that’d be fine too. In the future though, the more this universe grows, and the more diversity it adds on and behind the page, we shouldn’t forget to mention Hammer Hawthorne and his Hammer Squadron.

Black Hammer ‘45 Vol. 1
Writers: Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes
Artist: Matt Kindt
Colorist: Sharlene Kindt
Letterer: Marie Enger
ublisher: Dark Horse Comics
Solicit: From the world of the Eisner Award-winning Black Hammer series comes a gripping World War II action-adventure tale! During the Golden Age of superheroes, an elite Air Force crew called the Black Hammer Squadron bands together to combat the Nazis, a host of occult threats, and their ultimate aerial warrior the Ghost Hunter. This volume collects Black Hammer '45 #1-#4 from the all-star creative team of Ray Fawkes, Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, and Sharlene Kindt, as well as a sketchbook section.
Release Date: October 9, 2019

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Toren Chenault, a native of the Cincinnati area, currently lives in Michigan with his girlfriend. A graduate of Michigan State University, he is a long-time superhero fan who counts Captain Atom, Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Divinity, Nightwing, and XO Manowar among his favorite heroes. Mystic Man is his first book. Buy it now here, and check out more of Toren’s Why I Love series here.