In the summer of 1968, DC pulled the plug on Blackhawk. Following the two remaining issues already in production, the title would be seen no more. Editor George Kashdan would be seen no more, as well. DC fired him in April.



To oversee the last two issues of Blackhawk, DC installed former Charlton Comics editor Dick Giordano. Giordano had been a Blackhawk fan since its days in Military Comics, and he decided not to let the title die…

Now we come to the part you’ve all been waiting for: the train wreck that was “the New Blackhawk Era”.



As I mentioned on the old message board, this period in the Silver-Age history of the Magnificent 7 is the easiest to critique. It’s ducks-in-a-barrel marksmanship. It’s the kind of thing that left that still leaves the fans scratching their heads and wondering---what were they thinking?



The cover of Blackhawk # 228 (Jan., 1967)…

In 1964, editor Murray Boltinoff and writer Arnold Drake pulled off a hat trick with three stories that restored a measure of drama and realism to the Blackhawks. Moreover, the Magnificent 7 had been streamlined for the modern era, now sporting less ominous-looking crimson-and-olive uniforms and flying sophisticated VTOL-equipped F-105 Thunderchiefs.



Boltinoff and Drake had jettisoned the old elements which had diluted the Black Knights’ image as gritty,…