dr_hermes (dr_hermes) wrote in scans_daily, @ 2009-08-21 23:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | char: hawkgirl/shayera hol, char: hawkman/katar hol, creator: gardner fox, creator: joe kubert, era: silver age, publisher: dc comics, title: the brave and the bold |
Katar and Shayera know ALL your dirty little secrets
Some bits from 1961 and 1962 issues of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. Script by Gardner Fox, art by Joe Kubert.
One of the most off-beat but underused aspects of the Silver Age Hawkman strip was that Katar and Shayera Hol had prepped for their arrival by using a device called an Absorbascon to transmit all memories and knowledge from the brains of Earth people. (There has to be a limit to the depth and type of information fed into the Hols' brains, I think. Probably they started with intake of language, geography, history, that sort of thing and cut off before they started getting into what size shoes Trotsky wore or how to make haggis. But you never know. The text says "everything" and perhaps the information was stored in compressed form in their brains, sort of like cerebral MP3s.)It was a slightly eerie touch that made our Hawks seem "other," not just everyday humans in costumes. They would sometimes sit in the dark and concentrate to try to bring out just the bit of knowledge they needed. One limitation was that (as I recall) they only did this Absorbascon process once. So if a Mad Scientist invented a reverse evolution ray while the Hols were here, they wouldn't have any information on it. Whether they would know about Green Lantern's weakness or Alfred's collection of antique keys is debatable. On the other hand, they would be great to have around when trying to do the SUNDAY TIMES crossword.