Blackhawk Watch for April 2018

Starting today, I will try my very best to bring you this new monthly feature I have called "Blackhawk Watch."

The purpose of this ongoing blog series is to document the progress this project for posterity and share media links, information and commentary concerning the upcoming Steven Spielberg produced (and possibly directed) Blackhawks feature film. Also, I will post some personal comments from my own previous Blackhawks experience and thoughts on the film, as it develops.

First off, just who were/are the Blackhawks? The short answer is the Blackhawks was a long running comic book title, originally depicting a fictional, privately run and operated squadron (a forerunner of a modern Private Military Company that offers nothing but aviation services) made up of international pilots, mostly coming from German occupied countries of World War Two.

The Blackhawks first appeared in the Quality Comics title, Military Comics #1 in 1941. Fifteen years later, the rights, names and likenesses were first leased to and then eventually sold to DC Comics. Major changes came in 1964 and then again in 1967. Despite reversing these changes, the Black hawks were cancelled in mid-1968. A brief, six issue revival was seen on the racks for 1976-77 and gone again, just as quick.

 

Outside the realm of comics, Blackhawk was adapted into a 15 chapter movie serial (one of the last of this type, since TV was slowing taking over as a more convenient form of entertainment)....

Who is Steven Spielberg? His list of film credits include (but not limited to): Jaws, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Gremlins, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List and Ready Player One. Needless to say, he is behind a lot of the most profitable and easily memorable movies (and a hand in TV shows, like Amazing Stories, Falling Skies and Bull) of the last 40 years.

And these are two of the film companies he is involved with, producing quality entertainment (in my opinion, at least).

A little known fact that during the early 1980's, he expressed interest in a Blackhawk project, which in turn, promoted DC Comics to bring the title in late 1982 (if you click the link, use "Blackhawk" in your browser search function).

It's also during this time period I enter the scene, but more on that at later.

Here are a few links concerning the initial Spielberg/April 2018 movie announcements: Variety Hollywood Reporter CNN Polygon

For further reading, take a look at this exhaustive and fantastic fan made Blackhawks site, which has nearly everything you would want to know (and more) on the subject and can be found here. Sadly, it hasn't been updated in years.