Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham [Paperback]

Garth Ennis (Author), John McCrea (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 9, 1997

On the back streets of Gotham City, ex-military operative Tommy Monaghan has set himself up as a hired gun. Surrounded by an odd assortment of friends and allies, the Hitman with a heart must deal with personal conflicts over honor and morals as he makes a living with a gun. But even with the telepathic ability to read his targets' minds, he still finds himself well over his head when he runs into some of Gotham's most notorious citizens such as the Demon, the Joker, and the Dark Knight himself, the Batman.

Plus, a vindictive mob boss from his past puts a contract out on Tommy. With his friends caught in the crossfire, he must find a way to take out the hired assassin and exact retribution against the mafia head. But even with his extrarodinary powers, the Hitman may find that a trained killer and a mob army is just too much for one man.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Tommy Monaghan is an assassin; that's right, he's your standard, grade-A hit man. Well, maybe he's not so standard. Tommy also happens to have super powers--just telepathy and x-ray vision, mind you. But let's face it, those are pretty super. Writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea have come up with a character that has surprising complexity. By all accounts this hit man should be an antihero, and yet, Monaghan has strict rules for himself: he doesn't shoot anyone he considers "one of the good guys." Naturally, there's a lot of subjectivity here, possibly even hypocrisy, but this murky area between good and evil, right and wrong, is one of Ennis's strong points. In what is essentially a superhero setting (Gotham City, home of Batman), this book delivers elements of action, adventure, crime, and horror, all held together by Ennis's funny and believable dialogue. The blurb on the back cover sums it up nicely: "No fancy costume. No magic tricks. Just plenty of ammo, a pack of cigs, and a pitcher of beer." --Jim Pascoe

Review

"An unmissable treat" - BrokenFrontier.com "A hilarious yet very human character" - IGN.com "Enjoyable on multiple levels" - PopMatters.com" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 9, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563893142
• ISBN-13: 978-1563893148
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garth Ennis is the award-winning writer of Hellblazer, Hitman, Punisher, Preacher, Pride and Joy and War Stories. He is much in demand for his hard-edged, wickedly humorous style.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More goodies by Ennis, July 15, 2001

By 

Ron Tothleben ([e-mail]) (Tilburg, Netherlands, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham (Paperback)

People who are looking for a second Preacher, this is not it. This book (which collects Hitman #1-3, Demon annual #2 and Batman Chronicles #4) is the first collection of a far more uncomplicated title, but therefore not any less fun, and the writing-style of Ennis is very recognizable here (and that's a good thing). Uncomplicated humurous (great oneliners) action, that's the best way to describe it. Tommy Monaghan is a Hitman with a conscience (who works in Gotham) who is blessed with powers like X-ray vision, telepathy and a incredibly high skill-level. Powers he likes to "abuse" in his interaction with other people, which makes for some hilarious scenes (btw, don't be fooled by him having powers because this is definately NOT a superhero title). He is different from your regular Hitman in the fact that he only takes on contracts to assassinate meta-humans, no 'regular Joe's'. AND he must see a reason for the killing, he won't kill people who he doesn't see as 'the bad guys.'

A group of demons from Hell who call themselves the 'Arkanonne' want to recruit him to be their representative on earth and send out an agent to go get him. Then Tommy gets hired to kill the Joker and he can make a million bucks with it, but he'd have to go into Arkham Asylum to do so. Meanwhile Batman is keeping an eye on the case (because he is naturally interested in everything that involves the Joker) which turns out to be something a little different from what Tommy had first expected it to be.

Like I said, this book is not as complicated as Preacher was. It doesn't really have a continuity where you have to know everything that has gone before to know what's it's about. It is an action-packed, lighthearted read about a group of Hitmen who are close friends (well some more than other) and it's filled with typical Ennis humor and oneliners (which work very well). The artwork of McCrea also needs to be given some credit because after reading it I can't think of anyone I would have liked to see in his place. The scenes follow up fluently and his facial expressions are really good, a very important factor in the book. So for people who want a deep, complicated story where you need to notice everything to see what's going on, this is not the best choice for you. For people who like Ennis' sense of bizar humor, oneliners and a lot of blood-and-guts packed action this would be more than welcome. One of MY favorite series at least.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hitman, Vol.1, October 30, 2003

By 

nico_laos "nico" (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham (Paperback)

Garth Ennis is usually at his best when he has total creative freedom on his titles. His character, Hitman (sort of meant to be a super-hero name like BatMAN, SpiderMAN....HitMAN...hehe) was created and debuted in a story involving demons. In fact Hitman's first issue was in The Demon Annual #2. At the time there were other issues to address. Mainly the Demon and whatever thing he's up to. In order to wrap all this up, Ennis first had to continue a similar storyline with demons throughout the first few issues of Hitman's ongoing title. Although very good, it still reads like Ennis really just wanted to get it over with. Hitman, Vol.2 is more the Hitman that we all love. Once the character was established, Ennis had the freedom to move the story arcs into a more 'organized crime' vein. But to know Hitman, you have to start at the beginning which is right here. Garth Ennis' best? Oh, heavens no. But still a worthy read. However if you're new to Garth Ennis, try picking up his best: Preacher.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The other Ennis masterpiece, April 5, 2001

By 

Benjamin Denes (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham (Paperback)

Just like his awesome series 'Preacher', Garth Ennis manages to create a story that deals with morality, comradery, and bucket loads of bloody violence in 'Hitman'. This first book collects all the major issues that deal with the characters origin; two Batman books and the first three issues of the Hitman series. Although his origin is a bit weak (he receieved telepahty and x-ray vision after being attacked by a demon...go figure) the story quickly skips passed it and gets to the heart of the action. Ennis' usual gallows humour is strongly evident (what happens at a mobsters funeral in the last few issues is hilarious) as is his penchant for nasty head wounds. Albeit, the violence is nowhere near that of the 'Preacher' - he had to tone it down for DC - the writing is strong and McCrea's artwork is great. A fun read from the Irish wonder writer.