Nighthawk is a new aviation hero/spy in the model of G-8. Created by Ron Fortier and published by Moonstone, his first adventure is out.
While clearly inspired by G-8, as far as I know, Nighthawk: Burning Skies was not written as a G-8 story. Some believe so, after the debacle with the planned Operator #5 shared novel that had to be renamed when the rights were lost. But Fortier has stated that this was never the case.
But there are a lot of similarities with G-8. Like G-8, we never learn Nighthawk’s real name. He is assisted by two wingmen. Flying Spad #7 is Dusty Hogan (a nod to Robert Hogan, the author of G-8?) instead of Bull Martin; flying Spad #13 is Brix Burton instead of Nippy Weston. The characteristics of the two are flipped (Brix and Bull are similar, as are Nippy and Dusty). Nighthawk has a butler, Brainard, instead of G-8’s Battle.
Joining them on this adventure is Major Richard Kincaid of Military Intelligence.
They go against with several German villains. There is Doktor Ungeheur, who is similar to Herr Doktor Krueger. But the main enemies are Count Otto von Scharf, the Black Knight, and his daughter, the spy and pilot Marlena.
The Black Knight is out of action, but still working behind the scenes. With a new terror weapon developed by Ungeheur: Fire Bombers, large flamethrowers attached to planes that can burn factories, planes, and villages. His daughter has taken his place as the new Black Knight.
Can Nighthawk and his team put an end to this new threat?
The epilogue of the story gives us the intro to another new pulp character. I won’t say more than that.
This is a good story and an interesting set of characters. There are a lot of possibilities. Many have wondered what a post-war version of G-8 might be like. Maybe with Nighhawk, we’ll see that.
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