Hawi #1 is a comic created and written by Beserat Debebe with art by Stanley Obende. A young woman visits her homeland for the first time and makes an interesting discovery. This story is about distant family and unanswered questions. Emnet is a Ethiopian-born but United States-raised woman who lives with her mother and doesn’t know much about her extended family. Her mom is named Etete and after a tragedy she moved from Ethiopia and never went back. We meet a few others both named and unnamed but these are the most prominent. The plot gives us some significant story beats but for the most it seems focused on introducing us to the characters. The action scenes here are heavy but few. The dialogue is very realistic while featuring the conflict that comes from being raised in a different place from your parents. Some pages do get a little word heavy but most of it is conversational so you won’t notice. This is a well done intro to a new series that gives us a good look at the characters and their environment.

            This comic is drawn in a modern style with a wide range of colors. The level of detail here from the shadows to the backgrounds is very high. Location-wise this comic can’t stay in one place and it visits places like a lab, a funeral, and even homes that add extra weight to a scene. When it comes to expressions the level is somewhere around average; for a comic with such well-drawn faces the emotions are as strong as they could be. The faces have a lot of detail in them and are a delight to look at. As mentioned earlier there isn’t much action here so the scenes are very easy to follow. Jeans and t-shirts are the popular style here.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories starring black people dealing with secrets and the supernatural and taking place in Africa this is a good choice for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

PG-13. The action hit a little too hard.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“Hey, at least no one will butcher your name over there. Um-nut Lay-gassy.”

 

Physical Link: https://etancomics.com/product/hawi-issue-1-english-hard-copy/

Digital Link: https://etancomics.com/product/hawi-issue-1-english-digital-version/

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/etancomics/hawi-1-historical-fantasy-featuring-an-african-sup/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 24

Violent Pages: 5, for 21% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 2

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 1

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”