Just reread this. This is Hawkman now. This is THE Hawkman run.

Here me out. This is the DaVinci Code of Hawkman.

This might be the best opening volume of Hawkman ever. Take the concept about Hawkman that confuse most people/make him a challenge to be popular- his confusing nonsensical past and plot inconsistencies. Here Venditti decides "Why not make an absolute banger and just resolve all those issues by making the best mystery-solving plot about Hawkman? Venditti respects all the past lore, no matter how crazy it is, and encoperates it into ways that make sense to give a much more complete picture of Hawkman. This helps make sense of decades of Hawkman comics.

This is a legendary start. Very few character are as complex/confusing/hard to write as Hawkman, but Venditti instead takes it as a challenge and works to unravel all the mysteries wrapped up in this character. Hop on for the ride and enjoy it. It is amazing.