Hawkgirl- JSA Legacies Project Day 14
In celebration of JSApril, I am creating art of JSA members and their legacies characters whether it’s their successor, former sidekick, or even their kids. This is the final regular JSA Legacies piece that showcases the incarnations of a particular mantle. With that I want to showcase a classic member of the JSA and JLA, a mantle that is somehow less confusing than her counterpart despite having similar conceits. That’s right we are talking about Hawkgirl today.
Hawkgirl (Shiera Hall and Kendra Saunders)
For folks of my generation, Hawkgirl is far more popular than Hawkman. This is thanks in part to the Justice League TV series where Shayera (the silver-age version of the character) was a prominent member. Her history is intertwined with Hawkman but never really spoken of like she is as complicated like Hawkman. I think this is helped by the fact DC has intentionally created a Hawkgirl that doesn’t attempt to be some sort of patch to continuity mess, but instead stands on their own with Kendra Saunders.
Hawkgirl (Sheira Hall)
I wrote about the Hawks pretty extensively back with Hawkman. I am not going to repeat myself too much here but I do think the decision to have Carter and Sheira fuse with Katar in Hawkman #13, actually spares Hawkgirl a lot of the problems that plague Hawkman. The problem of Katar and Carter fusing is that (eventually) Katar stops being Katar Hol and is actually just Carter Hall. This creates a weird ouroboros of continuity issues and makes it a mess to sift out for creatives. Hawkgirl really doesn’t do that too much.
The Process
The process here was fairly straightforward. Hawkman was a bit more difficult with the mask but I decided to go with her simpler one based on a Who’s Who model sheet. Only real complaint I have here is that I didn’t angle her mouth correctly and that creates a weird visual effect.
Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders)
Kendra is definitely the most popular of the Hawks currently and recently had a short-lived series that explored the character’s place in the reincarnation process amongst other things. I really like her design and I choose her over Shayera or other Hawkgirls for that reason alone.
The Process
Kendra was my last JSA legacy project drawing (until I decided to do the various special characters). I felt really in the zone here. Her wing design is more Nth Metal compared to the other Hawks’ organic looking wings but I think it turned out well.
What’s Next?
Well, currently I have two more pieces lined up and JSApril ends tomorrow. I do have six slots left in the sketchbook that I will likely fill out over the coming weeks, but I am definitely taking an art break for some time. I have painted over 30 characters and 18 different total pages in the span of just a few weeks. It’s been a lot of fun but just taxing on my body and mind. Today and tomorrow I will post the final two entries into the JSA Legacy Project for JSApril with Wonder Woman and The Spectre.
Have a character request?
Do I leave out a JSA member or legacy pair that you love and you want to see me add into the final six slots? Let me know in the comments or over on social media. I may complete them and add them to the sketch book and here on Extremelyuncanny.com.
What is JSApril?
The Justice Society of America made their debut in All-Star Comics #3 in 85 years ago. In celebration, the folks over at Fire and Water Podcasting Network have assembled bloggers, podcasters, and many more creators to honor the world’s first superhero team. Find the full list of participants and more over at Fire and Water Network’s webpage and I truly encourage you all to check out some of the amazing things people have been creating.
Social Media
You can follow along with JSApril all of the other creators on social media with #JSApril. You can always find me here or over on Bluesky and I contribute weekly to The Beat. If you are new here be sure to check out out the archives. Personally, I’m quiet proud of my History of Heroes Reborn posts. You can see my other JSApril posts here.
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