Hawkmoon
Encyclopedia
Dorian Hawkmoon, Duke of Köln is one of the fictional characters created by Michael Moorcock
in his series of the Eternal Champion
books.
Elric of Melniboné
, or the alienated and tragic Corum
, or the sometimes savage Erekosë
, Hawkmoon is described as being very much close to an all-around "good guy", despite lacking some subtlety (or perhaps, for this very reason).
Hawkmoon is captured by the evil forces of Granbretan who implant, by means of arcane, baroque technology (devised by a caste of 'sorcerer-scientists'), a sinister black jewel in his skull. He is sent to The Kamarg (a future version of the southern French region of Camargue
) to perform reconnaissance prior to invasion. The black jewel transmits (and may record) all that Hawkmoon sees to Granbretan's capital, Londra. Temporarily freed from the curse of the jewel by The Kamarg's Protector, a grizzled warlord called Count Brass, he falls in love with the Count's daughter, Yisselda, and embarks on a quest to find and implement the will of the Runestaff, a magical item which preserves the Cosmic Balance. During his adventures, he has to collect two more magical items; the Red Amulet held by a mad god somewhere in future Ukraine, and the Sword of the Dawn, winning many battles in which he is hopelessly outnumbered, but helped by loyal companions, by mysterious allies who arrive in the nick of time, and by dissension, scheming and treachery in the ranks of his foes.
The Runestaff is one of the major artifacts in Moorcock's multiverse
. The Black Sword (whose aspects in Elric's milieu are the soul-stealing swords Stormbringer
and Mournblade) is another. The Black Jewel, which manifested itself in the world of Hawkmoon as the Jewel implanted in Hawkmoon's skull, is akin to the Black Sword. Another artifact, the most powerful, is the Cosmic Balance: it powers the Runestaff to produce Order. The Horn of Fate is still another artifact or power. Often artifacts are carried by the Champion Eternal.
Some of the artifacts have servants. The enigmatic Warrior in Jet and Gold serves the Runestaff, as does Orland Fank of the Orkneys.
Hawkmoon's struggle with the empire of Granbretan was treated in The History of the Runestaff
, which consists of four books ("The Jewel in the Skull
", "The Mad God's Amulet
", "The Sword of the Dawn
", and "The Runestaff
"); the setting of this tale is a post-holocaust Earth.
Hawkmoon later returned as the main character of a sequel trilogy, the Chronicles of Count Brass ("Count Brass", "The Champion of Garathorm", and "The Quest for Tanelorn") that branched out into Moorcock's Multiverse
proper. The second Hawkmoon series brought the Eternal Champion
cycle to a conclusion of sorts—though not exactly a finale, as subsequent Eternal Champion books show.
was adapted into comic book form in two books published by Savoy and drawn and adapted by James Cawthorn and a series by Gerry Conway
, Roger Salick, and Rafael Kayanan
. The adaptation was published by First Comics
in 1986
.
In 1985, Kerie Campbell-Robson created a role playing game based on the Hawkmoon series, published by Chaosium
and using its Basic Role-Playing
system. While never attaining any lasting level of popularity among English-speaking gamers, the game became hugely popular in France.
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
in his series of the Eternal Champion
Eternal Champion
The Eternal Champion is a fictional creation of the author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his novels.-About the Eternal Champion:...
books.
Overview
Dorian Hawkmoon is one of the less "problematic" characters Moorcock ever created a series around. Unlike the anti-heroAnti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné
Elric of Melniboné is a fictional character created by Michael Moorcock, and the antihero of a series of sword and sorcery stories centering in an alternate Earth. The proper name and title of the character is Elric VIII, 428th Emperor of Melniboné...
, or the alienated and tragic Corum
Corum Jhaelen Irsei
Corum Jhaelen Irsei is the name of a fictional fantasy hero in a series of two trilogies written by author Michael Moorcock.- Plot summary :...
, or the sometimes savage Erekosë
Erekosë
Many of Michael Moorcock's heroes are aspects of one all-encompassing hero, the Eternal Champion. Erekosë is the title character, so to speak, as the fantasy novel The Eternal Champion and its sequels feature him. He is a unique aspect of the Champion, in that he can remember all of his previous...
, Hawkmoon is described as being very much close to an all-around "good guy", despite lacking some subtlety (or perhaps, for this very reason).
Hawkmoon is captured by the evil forces of Granbretan who implant, by means of arcane, baroque technology (devised by a caste of 'sorcerer-scientists'), a sinister black jewel in his skull. He is sent to The Kamarg (a future version of the southern French region of Camargue
Camargue
The Camargue is the region located south of Arles, France, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône River delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western one is the Petit Rhône....
) to perform reconnaissance prior to invasion. The black jewel transmits (and may record) all that Hawkmoon sees to Granbretan's capital, Londra. Temporarily freed from the curse of the jewel by The Kamarg's Protector, a grizzled warlord called Count Brass, he falls in love with the Count's daughter, Yisselda, and embarks on a quest to find and implement the will of the Runestaff, a magical item which preserves the Cosmic Balance. During his adventures, he has to collect two more magical items; the Red Amulet held by a mad god somewhere in future Ukraine, and the Sword of the Dawn, winning many battles in which he is hopelessly outnumbered, but helped by loyal companions, by mysterious allies who arrive in the nick of time, and by dissension, scheming and treachery in the ranks of his foes.
The Runestaff is one of the major artifacts in Moorcock's multiverse
The Multiverse
The Multiverse is a series of parallel universes in many of the science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock. Central to these works is the concept of an Eternal Champion who has potentially multiple identities across multiple dimensions...
. The Black Sword (whose aspects in Elric's milieu are the soul-stealing swords Stormbringer
Stormbringer
Stormbringer is the name of the infamous black sword featured in a number of fantasy stories by the author Michael Moorcock. Created by the forces of Chaos, it is described as a huge, black sword covered with strange runes carved deep into its blade...
and Mournblade) is another. The Black Jewel, which manifested itself in the world of Hawkmoon as the Jewel implanted in Hawkmoon's skull, is akin to the Black Sword. Another artifact, the most powerful, is the Cosmic Balance: it powers the Runestaff to produce Order. The Horn of Fate is still another artifact or power. Often artifacts are carried by the Champion Eternal.
Some of the artifacts have servants. The enigmatic Warrior in Jet and Gold serves the Runestaff, as does Orland Fank of the Orkneys.
Hawkmoon's struggle with the empire of Granbretan was treated in The History of the Runestaff
The History of the Runestaff
The History of the Runestaff is an omnibus collection of four fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock, consisting of The Jewel In The Skull, The Mad God's Amulet, The Sword Of The Dawn, and The Runestaff...
, which consists of four books ("The Jewel in the Skull
The Jewel In The Skull
The Jewel in the Skull is a fantasy novel by Michael Moorcock, first published in 1967. The novel is the first in the four volume The History of the Runestaff.-Plot summary:...
", "The Mad God's Amulet
The Mad God's Amulet
The Mad God's Amulet is a fantasy novel by Michael Moorcock, first published in 1968 as Sorcerer's Amulet. The novel is the second in the four-volume The History of the Runestaff....
", "The Sword of the Dawn
The Sword Of The Dawn
The Sword of the Dawn is a novel by British author Michael Moorcock, and was first published in 1968.The novel is the third in Moorcock's four book The History of the Runestaff series, and the narrative follows on immediately from the preceding novel The Mad God's Amulet...
", and "The Runestaff
The Runestaff
The Runestaff is a novel by British author Michael Moorcock, and was first published in 1969 under the title The Secret of the Runestaff....
"); the setting of this tale is a post-holocaust Earth.
Hawkmoon later returned as the main character of a sequel trilogy, the Chronicles of Count Brass ("Count Brass", "The Champion of Garathorm", and "The Quest for Tanelorn") that branched out into Moorcock's Multiverse
The Multiverse
The Multiverse is a series of parallel universes in many of the science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock. Central to these works is the concept of an Eternal Champion who has potentially multiple identities across multiple dimensions...
proper. The second Hawkmoon series brought the Eternal Champion
Eternal Champion
The Eternal Champion is a fictional creation of the author Michael Moorcock and is a recurrent feature in many of his novels.-About the Eternal Champion:...
cycle to a conclusion of sorts—though not exactly a finale, as subsequent Eternal Champion books show.
Other media
The History of the RunestaffThe History of the Runestaff
The History of the Runestaff is an omnibus collection of four fantasy novels by Michael Moorcock, consisting of The Jewel In The Skull, The Mad God's Amulet, The Sword Of The Dawn, and The Runestaff...
was adapted into comic book form in two books published by Savoy and drawn and adapted by James Cawthorn and a series by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
, Roger Salick, and Rafael Kayanan
Rafael Kayanan
Rafael Kayanan is a Filipino-born naturalised American comic book artist and Filipino Martial Arts master in the Sayoc Kali system.-Biography:...
. The adaptation was published by First Comics
First Comics
First Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable...
in 1986
1986 in comics
-Year overall:* Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, a four-issue limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller and published by DC Comics, debuts...
.
In 1985, Kerie Campbell-Robson created a role playing game based on the Hawkmoon series, published by Chaosium
Chaosium
Chaosium is one of the longer lived publishers of role-playing games still in existence. Founded by Greg Stafford, its first game was actually a wargame, White Bear and Red Moon, which later mutated into Dragon Pass and its sequel, Nomad Gods...
and using its Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing
Basic Role-Playing is a role-playing game system which originated in the fantasy-oriented RuneQuest role-playing game rules...
system. While never attaining any lasting level of popularity among English-speaking gamers, the game became hugely popular in France.
External links
- Moorcock's Miscellany (formerly Tanelorn, Multiverse.org & Moorcock's Weekly Miscellany)
- Michael Moorcock's Comics Compendium, incl. Hawkmoon adaptations