Title: The World of Black Hammer Media: A collection of comic book miniseries Approximate Length: For the nominated characters and relationships, reading ranges from five issues to twenty-eight (broken down below)
What It's About The World of Black Hammer is a line of comic book miniseries published by Dark Horse from 2016 to present. It imagines a world of superheroes that has existed since the Golden Age in a place called Spiral City, and skips the origin stories to jump straight into a very lived-in universe full of characters who are already grappling with the best and worst of the paths they've taken.
What happens when a shapeshifting Martian warrior takes a job as a police officer after arriving on Earth—only to realize through the lens of his queerness that the system he's upholding isn't the one he thought it was. Find out in Barbalien: Red Planet (5 issues) for the nominated relationship of Miguel Cruz/Mark Markz.
What about when an aging superheroine hangs up her cape and decides she wants to be with her former archenemy--only to find herself torn away from him and trapped in her old life? Black Hammer: Secret Origins (6 issues), Black Hammer: The Event (6 issues), and Black Hammer: Age of Doom (12 issues) have you covered for Golden Gail's side of the Sherlock Frankenstein/Golden Gail nomination, with a peek at Sherlock's point of view in Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil (4 issues).
What does intergenerational trauma look like played out between well-meaning vigilante heroes and their orphaned sidekicks, and how do you reckon with your worst instincts in a world where the evil inside you is demonstrably real and isn't going anywhere? Skulldigger/Original Male Character has been nominated for Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy (6 issues).
What I Love About It I love that the creators have launched a superhero universe where they can play with classic comic tropes in interesting and adult ways that don't ever diminish the tropes' source material. Despite many of the characters being clear expies for DC heroes, they are all fully formed in their own right and their adventures aren't satire, just Big Two type stories told with indie sensibilities and some loving homages. It all comes down to the characters, and these ones are well-drawn and human enough that it feels like you've known them forever, even when the universe is only a few years old.
I've Requested Romantic relationships, backstory, what-ifs, and a chance for some kinder moments and softer landings for my favourite characters.
Content Warnings Barbalien: Red Planet is set during the AIDS crisis and contains scenes of homophobia and police violence. Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy deals with trauma and child abuse, and contains scenes of violence between adults, including a short scene of torture.
Promo: The World of Black Hammer
Media: A collection of comic book miniseries
Approximate Length: For the nominated characters and relationships, reading ranges from five issues to twenty-eight (broken down below)
What It's About
The World of Black Hammer is a line of comic book miniseries published by Dark Horse from 2016 to present. It imagines a world of superheroes that has existed since the Golden Age in a place called Spiral City, and skips the origin stories to jump straight into a very lived-in universe full of characters who are already grappling with the best and worst of the paths they've taken.
What happens when a shapeshifting Martian warrior takes a job as a police officer after arriving on Earth—only to realize through the lens of his queerness that the system he's upholding isn't the one he thought it was. Find out in Barbalien: Red Planet (5 issues) for the nominated relationship of Miguel Cruz/Mark Markz.
What about when an aging superheroine hangs up her cape and decides she wants to be with her former archenemy--only to find herself torn away from him and trapped in her old life? Black Hammer: Secret Origins (6 issues), Black Hammer: The Event (6 issues), and Black Hammer: Age of Doom (12 issues) have you covered for Golden Gail's side of the Sherlock Frankenstein/Golden Gail nomination, with a peek at Sherlock's point of view in Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil (4 issues).
What does intergenerational trauma look like played out between well-meaning vigilante heroes and their orphaned sidekicks, and how do you reckon with your worst instincts in a world where the evil inside you is demonstrably real and isn't going anywhere? Skulldigger/Original Male Character has been nominated for Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy (6 issues).
Where to Find It
The miniseries are available in print and digitally wherever comics are sold, as both individual issues and as collected trades. I've linked to the trades on Dark Horse Digital, listed below by the nominated relationships.
• Miguel Cruz/Mark Markz is a canon relationship featured in Barbalien: Red Planet
• Kev Kevz/Mark Markz appears late and only briefly in the sequence of Black Hammer: Secret Origins, Black Hammer: The Event, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Part I and Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Part II, although Mark Markz features all throughout.
• Gail Gibbons/Sherlock Frankenstein is a canon relationship appearing in places throughout Black Hammer: Secret Origins, Black Hammer: The Event, Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil, Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Part I and Black Hammer: Age of Doom, Part II.
• Skulldigger/Original Male Character was nominated based on Skulldigger's story in Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy
What I Love About It
I love that the creators have launched a superhero universe where they can play with classic comic tropes in interesting and adult ways that don't ever diminish the tropes' source material. Despite many of the characters being clear expies for DC heroes, they are all fully formed in their own right and their adventures aren't satire, just Big Two type stories told with indie sensibilities and some loving homages. It all comes down to the characters, and these ones are well-drawn and human enough that it feels like you've known them forever, even when the universe is only a few years old.
I've Requested
Romantic relationships, backstory, what-ifs, and a chance for some kinder moments and softer landings for my favourite characters.
Content Warnings
Barbalien: Red Planet is set during the AIDS crisis and contains scenes of homophobia and police violence. Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy deals with trauma and child abuse, and contains scenes of violence between adults, including a short scene of torture.