Hitman: The Ace of Killers (Paperback)

by Garth Ennis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
As if Garth Ennis's Preacher series weren't cool enough, Ennis (backed by the tight compositions of John McCrea) mixes it up again with his brilliantly depraved Hitman series. Cleverly written, expertly paced, plenty violent, and wildly funny, this particular arc pulls together issues 15 through 22 of Hitman. The set catches Tommy Monaghan just as he's dodging a beatdown at the hands of Hell-sent, badass Mawzir, a 10-foot-tall skeletal demon with a contract on Monaghan's head and enough ordnance to keep all six of his bony arms blazing through most of the story. A cross between Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China and Chow Yun-Fat, Monaghan yet again bluffs, bumbles, and blasts his way from one frying pan into the next. Check out this installment to see the old gang, the Catwoman (Monaghan improvises a Cat Signal with a dead tabby), an extended appearance by Jason Blood/Etrigan, a "fistful of justice" from Section Eight (including the Dog Welder and the Defenestrator), and--but of course--unapologetically irresponsible amounts of gunfire. --Paul Hughes

Product Description
As if Garth Ennis's Preacher series weren't cool enough, Ennis (backed by the tight compositions of John McCrea) mixes it up again with his brilliantly depraved Hitman series. Cleverly written, expertly paced, plenty violent, and wildly funny, this particular arc pulls together issues 15 through 22 of Hitman. The set catches Tommy Monaghan just as he's dodging a beatdown at the hands of Hell-sent, badass Mawzir, a 10-foot-tall skeletal demon with a contract on Monaghan's head and enough ordnance to keep all six of his bony arms blazing through most of the story. A cross between Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China and Chow Yun-Fat, Monaghan yet again bluffs, bumbles, and blasts his way from one frying pan into the next. Check out this installment to see the old gang, the Catwoman (Monaghan improvises a Cat Signal with a dead tabby), an extended appearance by Jason Blood/Etrigan, a "fistful of justice" from Section Eight (including the Dog Welder and the Defenestrator), and--but of course--unapologetically irresponsible amounts of gunfire. --Paul Hughes

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563896141
• ISBN-13: 978-1563896149
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,257 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ennis and McCrea Strike Again, June 11, 2000

By	"the_brain" (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

The always excellent Garth Ennis and John McCrea strike again with another fine addition to the Hitman storyline. As with most of Ennis' work, this piece is violent, over the top, and of course, hysterical. John McCrea also does a great job with the art, which provides a more comical flare to Ennis' already hysterical writing. The story picks up right after the Hitman: Local Heroes story and it would be advisable to read the previous Hitman trade paperbacks before picking up this one. If you are a fan of Garth Ennis, this offering will not dissapoint!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best comic series ever, August 10, 2005

By	Larry Carney "LC" (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With characters informed by what seems to be every guy movie ever made, from Fistful of Dollars to Pulp Fiction, Garth Ennis and Joel McCrea created a remarkably deep comic book world with characters that genuinely grew on you.

Set in the murkiest back alleys and tenements of Batman's Gotham City, drawn with such vivid detail I swear you can almost hear the sirens in the background, Hitman featured a host of weird losers and twisted dreamers, from the hilarious to the profane, all struggling to survive their miserable circumstances (situations into which they admit they've gotten themselves).

The action here (and there is plenty of it, great, bloody ungodly amounts of it) is actually secondary to the stories of the characters - from the smoothly confident Chow Yun Fat-inspired Johnny Ringo to the hilarious Six-Pack (THE funniest character I have ever seen), to Natt the Hat and Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan, each one of these people lives and breathes...there are times when the characters are talking and you can almost hear their voices, feel their emotions. On the occasion of a main character's death, and there were many of them, there was an actual fatal resonance. Usually a character dies and you find yourself wondering how long it'll be before they bring him back - here there's a terrible finality to it, a strange sense of loss, difficult to describe until you've actually gotten into the series a bit, but once hooked, I guarantee you'll know what I mean.

That's not to say that the book is solemn - it's actually one of the funniest titles you'll ever find. In addition to the aforementioned Six-Pack, you'll also find his superhero team-mates Section Eight, a group of super-losers which include The Defenestrator and Dog-Welder (who...well...welds dogs onto evil-doers). Then there's the hilarious fellow hitman Hacken (who has one of the funniest scenes in the entire series when he's bitten by a zombified seal) and Baytor, otherworldly bartender whose name you cannot forget, no matter how you try. Just remembering these characters makes me want to go back and reread the whole series. I think the generous laugh-out-loud humor is, oddly, what made the serious moments more meaningful - it provided an unsettling contrast, a feeling of "laugh now 'cause tomorrow we die" that seemed to always be on the periphery of these stories.

I'm speaking in the past tense here because, lamentably, Garth Ennis ended this series after only 60-some issues, a decision I've read that Ennis himself now regrets. Although he's received a lot more praise for such worthy titles as Preacher and The Punisher, I think this is the one title that he should be best remembered for. People who believe that Bendis is the best 'talking heads' writer in comics really need to check this out.

I hope that one day DC will give Hitman the Preacher treatment and release the entire series. It's a shame that more people can't read this brilliant, bizarre series.

4.0 out of 5 stars Graphic SF Reader, September 3, 2007

By	Blue Tyson "- http://freesf.blogspot.com" - See all my reviews

A certain demon wants Tommy Monaghan to do his bidding and be his agent. When Tommy tells him to do you know want, the demon sends a six gunned killer monster to get him.

There are encounters with other send up loser types, and even an established character. Hitman is still very entertaining.