Previewing ‘Hawk The Slayer’: Garth Ennis And Henry Flint Bring Us All The Swords And All The Sorcery

Hawk The Slayer, that ’80s sword & sorcery films beloved by so many, gets a comic sequel from super-fan Garth Ennis and one of 2000 AD’s great modern artists, Henry Flint

Oh yes, it’s time to revisit the sword & sorcery world of Hawk the Slayer, that cult-favourite movie, with five all-new issues, all of which you’ll find bagged with the Judge Dredd Megazine issues #440-444, January through May, before being released as a comic in its own right later in 2022.

Now, before we begin, an admission on my part – like Henry Flint, I’d never watched Hawk The Slayer.

(I know, a crime.)

However, unlike Flint, who made sure to watch it before he set about creating the sequel, I still haven’t seen it. Thankfully, if you’re like, not having seen it is no bar to entry here, as Ennis and Flint kick things off with a perfect recap of the movie here in this first issue.

It’s a couple of years after the movie, with Hawk still searching for those black wizards. Bringing together everyone that survived the events of the movie, plus a couple of new characters, Ennis and Flint introduce a new (well, you know what I mean) evil in the shape of Hawk’s villainous brother, Voltan.

So, what will this new series bring? Well, pretty much more of everything that’s made the film such a cult success. And it’s so obvious when you’re reading it that Ennis is just throwing all his love for Hawk into this, keeping true to the slightly gaudy and kitsch roots of one of the 80s most beloved and cultish sword and sorcery epics.

It’s also packed full of that familiar Flint artwork, showing us just how damn good he is and how he’s rightly considered one of 2000 AD’s best. He’s got the characters just right, very true to what you may have seen on the screen, but having the limitless SFX budget of comics allows Flint to go way further and way better than anything seen in the movie.

As for me? Well, I’ve still not seen the film but after having a blast reading the first part of the sequel, full of all the action and adventure you could want, I reckon I’ll give it a try.

HAWK THE SLAYER – Issue 1 – Written by Garth Ennis, art by Henry Flint, letters by Rob Steen.

Published by Rebellion as part of Judge Dredd Megazine #440.

Now… without further ado… a little preview for you and a perfect recap of what you might have missed…