Hawkgirl: Jadzia Axelrod Tried To Simplify The Character's Complicated DC History - Exclusive
Few characters in comics have such a complicated history as DC's Hawkgirl. After all, effectively being immortal and living many past lives throughout different timelines — thanks to reincarnating over and over again — will create a convoluted personal backstory. Readers trying to catch up on the character's past will have to learn about Kendra Saunders' previous lives, where she's been, and what has happened to her since she reincarnated from the very beginning of time.
So for the new "Hawkgirl" series by Jadzia Axelrod, Amancay Nahuelpan, Adriano Lucas, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, Axelrod made it a major priority to make the new book as reader-friendly as possible. While she isn't avoiding the tricky nature of Hawkgirl's past, she wants to make sure anyone can pick up the book and understand what's going on from the jump. In our exclusive conversation with the talented writer, we discussed all things Hawkgirl, including Axelrod's strategy for presenting Hawkgirl's history.
Bringing Hawkgirl's backstory back to basics
Jadzia Axelrod told us she understands why some people fear the Hawk's history; it's incredibly complicated when going back to the Golden Age. But she also said it's not as complex as people think. "The important thing is this is two warriors who have been reincarnated since essentially the dawn of time. That's it," she said. And while parts of Hawkgirl's long history will come into play, Axelrod also wanted to make the new series accessible to readers who haven't been exposed to Hawkgirl's stories before.
"I tried to write this to make it new reader friendly so that anyone could pick it up cold and understand what was going on," she explained. "We introduced things about her backstory slowly throughout the series so that by the time we hit Issue 5 ... you're all caught up and you're ready to understand who she is and what she does."
What's so special about Issue 5? Axelrod said that it contains "a lot that's heavily about who [Hawkgirl] is and her relationship to pretty much everything." But Axelrod assured us that the relevant information about Kendra Saunders' past will be easy for readers to understand due to strategically placed tidbits throughout the series. "That was a very conscious effort to do that slowly and to hold people's hands as we go through the tangled areas of her backstory."
Axelrod hopes more readers fall in love with Hawkgirl
Ultimately, it makes sense for the creative team behind the new "Hawkgirl" book to avoid making things too complicated from the start. While beloved by many, Kendra Saunders isn't an A-list hero — at least in the current comic landscape. By removing the complex story barriers for those who are curious about the new comic but might otherwise have been intimidated by Hawkgirl's past, Jadzia Axelrod hopes the hero will become more accessible to and beloved by a new group of fans.
"I hope they fall in love with Kendra the way I have always loved her," Axelrod told us. "I hope they read her and are like, 'This is my new favorite character,' because she's always been one of mine." That goal looks much more possible with the way the new comic allows readers to latch onto Hawkgirl and learn what makes the character great.
"Hawkgirl" #1 from DC Comics is available in comic book stores and online retailers now.