Polite Dissent

A pun cover! When’s the last time you saw one of those? They just don’t do them enough anymore.

Hawk & Dove #4 is a quick and dirty done-in-one story and a nearly perfect introduction to the characters for new readers.

A gang of criminals dressed as John Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde have been robbing banks throughout the city. Hawk and Dove stumble across one of their robberies, and while they are able to thwart the heist, the criminals escape. The gang has special equipment that allows them to become intangible and they ditch Hawk and Dove by literally driving their car through a wall.

Hank tracks the gang down by figuring that thieves pretending to be 1930s criminals would make their hideout in an abandoned speakeasy. He hangs out with some off-duty police officers who tell him the location of all the old speakeasies. To find the right one, he stands outside each and says “Hawk.” He knows he’s at the right one when he transforms into Hawk, because danger must be present for the transformation to occur. Once he finds the hideout, he calls Dawn, and Hawk and Dove are able to take the gang by surprise.

The story is fast moving and manages to highlight the strengths of both Hawk and Dove. Hank also shows that he has some brains and is not just a muscle-bound oaf. The Hank-Ren-Dawn love triangle rears its ugly head, with Ren convinced that Hank loves Dawn while Dawn tries to convince her otherwise. The Kesel and Kesel writing is engaging and light-hearted while Greg Guler and Scott Hanna provide their usual outstanding art.