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Hitman #2
Hitman 2: Ten Thousand Bullets
Ex-military operative Tommy Monaghan's adventures as a Gotham City-based Hitman for hire continues. In HITMAN: 10,000 BULLETS, Monaghan uses his powers of telepathy and x-ray vision to survive an all-out attack on him and his friends. Then, a vindictive mob boss from Tommy's past puts a contract out on him. With his friends caught in the crossfire, Tommy must find a way to take out the hired assassin and exact retribution against the mafia head. But even with his extrodinary powers, the Hitman may find that a trained killer and a mob army is just too much for one man.
Collects HITMAN #4-8 and HITMAN ANNUAL #1.
Collects HITMAN #4-8 and HITMAN ANNUAL #1.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
4 people are currently reading
168 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,615 books3,161 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 7, 2018
I read the first Hitman book a few years ago and didn’t like it much but decided to revisit it and give it another shot - maybe I initially read it wrong/wasn’t in the right frame of mind? After all, it’s Garth Ennis writing a character who’s essentially DC’s Punisher and Ennis’ Punisher was fracking awesome! But no, I was right the first time: Hitman is complete drivel!
In Volume 2: Ten Thousand Bullets a mob boss wants Tommy dead so hires a hotshot assassin to take him out - no prizes for guessing whether he does or not. There’s an overlong one-shot where Tommy and his boring buddies sit in a bar and share boring war stories, and then the book closes out with a derivative story of Tommy going to save some one horse town being terrorised by gangsters.
Ennis’ writing is flat and uninteresting, the jokes aren’t funny, the stories are uninspired and generic, full of predictable cliches and are as dull as dull can be to read. I hated John McCrea’s shitty art which was hard to look at and annoying in how the characters changed proportions from one page to the next. I usually enjoy Carlos Ezquerra’s art but unfortunately here he’s modified his style to match McCrea’s so it too ends up looking like crap on a stick.
It’s stunning how Ennis went from this to the high quality of The Punisher in just a few short years. Hitman is a dated, amateurish and utter snore of a comic while his Punisher run was the polar opposite. I recommend checking that out over this garbage nothing. I said it about the first book but it applies to the second as well: Hitman is shit, man!
In Volume 2: Ten Thousand Bullets a mob boss wants Tommy dead so hires a hotshot assassin to take him out - no prizes for guessing whether he does or not. There’s an overlong one-shot where Tommy and his boring buddies sit in a bar and share boring war stories, and then the book closes out with a derivative story of Tommy going to save some one horse town being terrorised by gangsters.
Ennis’ writing is flat and uninteresting, the jokes aren’t funny, the stories are uninspired and generic, full of predictable cliches and are as dull as dull can be to read. I hated John McCrea’s shitty art which was hard to look at and annoying in how the characters changed proportions from one page to the next. I usually enjoy Carlos Ezquerra’s art but unfortunately here he’s modified his style to match McCrea’s so it too ends up looking like crap on a stick.
It’s stunning how Ennis went from this to the high quality of The Punisher in just a few short years. Hitman is a dated, amateurish and utter snore of a comic while his Punisher run was the polar opposite. I recommend checking that out over this garbage nothing. I said it about the first book but it applies to the second as well: Hitman is shit, man!
April 4, 2022
Tommy Monaghan is an assassin for hire. So usually, he's the one who takes bounty's on others. In this volume, we get the reverse. After what happened in the last book, one of the gangsters that Tommy didn't quite kill (only his Siamese twin brother who is rotting next to him) puts out a contract on Tommy in the tune of 100k. So he has to deal with living his normal life while people come for him.
Garth Ennis is one of my favorite modern day writers, so to go back and read some of his older stuff is very much a treat. And here, we see the seeds of modern day Ennis take place. Because the first volume, while entertaining, was a bit... introductory and less mature. Of course every first volume of any series is basically introduction, so volume two usually gets the series kicked into high gear. I've never read this series before, so I don't know if the events in this book will reverberate through the series, but the tone definitely changes from the first one. The story feels more real, the consequences more tragic. And there are certainly consequences in this one.
I'm eager to see where he takes the story from here, as it seems he really found a good footing in this volume.
Garth Ennis is one of my favorite modern day writers, so to go back and read some of his older stuff is very much a treat. And here, we see the seeds of modern day Ennis take place. Because the first volume, while entertaining, was a bit... introductory and less mature. Of course every first volume of any series is basically introduction, so volume two usually gets the series kicked into high gear. I've never read this series before, so I don't know if the events in this book will reverberate through the series, but the tone definitely changes from the first one. The story feels more real, the consequences more tragic. And there are certainly consequences in this one.
I'm eager to see where he takes the story from here, as it seems he really found a good footing in this volume.
January 7, 2021
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the December 1997 edition with a theme of "Offbeat Superheroes":
INTRODUCTION
Even though the field of comic books is dominated by superheroes, I have yet to write a column devoted entirely to the superfolk. Well, let's get down to it, bunky. Here are a few of the more interesting supertitles being published. Not the best, mind you, just interesting. For the best, pick up Kurt Busiek's ASTRO CITY (Homage/Image Comics)(Grade: A+). Meanwhile, here's the good, the bad and the ugly of comic book superheroes: STARMAN, THUNDERBOLTS, and HITMAN. STARMAN is highbrow; HITMAN is lowbrow; and THUNDERBOLTS would be right in the middle if not for its sinister twist.
KILLER LAUGHS
HITMAN #1-20 (DC Comics)
"Okay," Tommy Monaghan begins. "Now, we got Green Lantern backin' us up -- an' that sounds so freakin' hysterical I'm just gonna say it again, 'We got Green Lantern backin' us up' . . . An' that's fine for special effects, but I ain't puttin' my life in the hands of some Keanu-lookin' goof with a magic ring. What I want is you -- with this [gun] -- at that window -- ready to whack anyone takes a shot at me. You cool with that?" (Hitman#12, page 3).
Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan is a superhero in only the loosest sense of the word. He does have super powers and a rigid code of morals that keep him from hurting people he thinks are good. He teams up with other superheroes, such as Batman and Green Lantern, but they generally end up despising him and his methods. Monaghan kills people, you see. Before getting his powers, he was an assassin. Since getting super powers, well, he is still an assassin. Only now Monaghan specializes in assassinating other people with super powers -- but only bad people. Monaghan doesn't fight bad guys so much as he fights guys worse than he is himself. Monaghan is the epitome of the modern day superantihero.
Monaghan received his powers when he survived a bite from, um, a space vampire during an unsuccessful hit. Now Monaghan possesses telepathy and x-ray vision. Not being extremely imaginative, Monaghan has decided to stick with his original occupation, hoping only to score higher fees so he can one day move to Manhattan from Gotham City. Between hits he hangs out with his fellow hitmen in a neighborhood bar. The only thing worse than Monaghan's luck at gambling is his luck at picking contracts: they usually blow-up in his face, sometimes literally.
In "Ten Thousand Bullets" (HITMAN #4-7) Monaghan agrees to hunt down and snuff a dirty superhero named Nightfist. Little does Monaghan realize (and you'd think he would be suspicious by now) that this is a set-up arranged by Moe Dubelz, the surviving half of a Siamese twin that Monaghan killed. To really complicate matters, Dubelz hires hitman-supreme Johnny Navarone to snuff Monaghan.
The repetitious simplicity -- simple-mindedness, even -- of the plots might make one wonder how this book could succeed.
What makes HITMAN special are the creators, of course. Writer Garth Ennis and illustrator John McCrea have pulled out the stops to make HITMAN a black comedy thrill ride. To build momentum, they had Monaghan appear for a short time in their previous collaboration, THE DEMON (DC Comics). When THE DEMON wrapped up, HITMAN was ready to rumble. Ennis is infamous for his ultra-violent tales of hitmen in such series as PREACHER (Vertigo/DC Comics, grade: A+), SHADOWMAN (Acclaim Comics, grade: C+), THE DARKNESS (Top Cow/Image Comics), and UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Vertigo/DC Comics). He mixes drama, humor and violence into a volatile chili that burns the roof of your skull. The inevitable comparison: Ennis is the Quentin Tarantino of comic books. McCrea, meanwhile, has a distinctive, outrageous style that suits Ennis' scripts perfectly. With HITMAN, Ennis and McCrea have achieved a level of violence so excessive it is almost cartoonish -- if you can overlook the gore and viscera splashed across every page that is.. That this bloodfest is set smack dab in the DC Universe is the ultimate twist.
The humor in HITMAN deserves special attention. Ennis loves to throw in sick visual gags: a Siamese twin lugging around his dead twin's decaying body, a dead cat thrown on a spotlight to create a "Cat-Signal" for Catwoman, a man bashing zombie baby seals with a bat. Ennis is not afraid to tweak the other heroes in the DC Universe. One issue has bar patrons signing a petition to have Superman cut his long hair. Monaghan pukes on Batman's boots and publicly humiliates Green Lantern. Finally, Ennis loads the books up with rowdy 'n' randy guy talk, focusing frequently on Monaghan and his friends hanging out over poker or pool. These scenes allow Ennis to segue into touching, guy-bonding comedy, such as the buddies talking about coping with death during the "Final Night" crisis in issue #8.
Introduced in DEMON ANNUAL #2, Monaghan is the only successful new character to come from DC Comics' big "Bloodlines" crossover event of 1993. The theory was that DC would introduce a dozen or two new superheroes -- the New Blood -- in their comics' annuals and all would become instant sensations making DC the number one publisher again. (That might be the ultra-optimistic theory, actually.) What they got was HITMAN -- a single on-going title featuring a single member of the New Blood. Considering how unsuccessful most crossover event spinoffs are, I suppose DC is probably quite happy with the results.
I know I am.
Grade: B+
INTRODUCTION
Even though the field of comic books is dominated by superheroes, I have yet to write a column devoted entirely to the superfolk. Well, let's get down to it, bunky. Here are a few of the more interesting supertitles being published. Not the best, mind you, just interesting. For the best, pick up Kurt Busiek's ASTRO CITY (Homage/Image Comics)(Grade: A+). Meanwhile, here's the good, the bad and the ugly of comic book superheroes: STARMAN, THUNDERBOLTS, and HITMAN. STARMAN is highbrow; HITMAN is lowbrow; and THUNDERBOLTS would be right in the middle if not for its sinister twist.
KILLER LAUGHS
HITMAN #1-20 (DC Comics)
"Okay," Tommy Monaghan begins. "Now, we got Green Lantern backin' us up -- an' that sounds so freakin' hysterical I'm just gonna say it again, 'We got Green Lantern backin' us up' . . . An' that's fine for special effects, but I ain't puttin' my life in the hands of some Keanu-lookin' goof with a magic ring. What I want is you -- with this [gun] -- at that window -- ready to whack anyone takes a shot at me. You cool with that?" (Hitman#12, page 3).
Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan is a superhero in only the loosest sense of the word. He does have super powers and a rigid code of morals that keep him from hurting people he thinks are good. He teams up with other superheroes, such as Batman and Green Lantern, but they generally end up despising him and his methods. Monaghan kills people, you see. Before getting his powers, he was an assassin. Since getting super powers, well, he is still an assassin. Only now Monaghan specializes in assassinating other people with super powers -- but only bad people. Monaghan doesn't fight bad guys so much as he fights guys worse than he is himself. Monaghan is the epitome of the modern day superantihero.
Monaghan received his powers when he survived a bite from, um, a space vampire during an unsuccessful hit. Now Monaghan possesses telepathy and x-ray vision. Not being extremely imaginative, Monaghan has decided to stick with his original occupation, hoping only to score higher fees so he can one day move to Manhattan from Gotham City. Between hits he hangs out with his fellow hitmen in a neighborhood bar. The only thing worse than Monaghan's luck at gambling is his luck at picking contracts: they usually blow-up in his face, sometimes literally.
In "Ten Thousand Bullets" (HITMAN #4-7) Monaghan agrees to hunt down and snuff a dirty superhero named Nightfist. Little does Monaghan realize (and you'd think he would be suspicious by now) that this is a set-up arranged by Moe Dubelz, the surviving half of a Siamese twin that Monaghan killed. To really complicate matters, Dubelz hires hitman-supreme Johnny Navarone to snuff Monaghan.
The repetitious simplicity -- simple-mindedness, even -- of the plots might make one wonder how this book could succeed.
What makes HITMAN special are the creators, of course. Writer Garth Ennis and illustrator John McCrea have pulled out the stops to make HITMAN a black comedy thrill ride. To build momentum, they had Monaghan appear for a short time in their previous collaboration, THE DEMON (DC Comics). When THE DEMON wrapped up, HITMAN was ready to rumble. Ennis is infamous for his ultra-violent tales of hitmen in such series as PREACHER (Vertigo/DC Comics, grade: A+), SHADOWMAN (Acclaim Comics, grade: C+), THE DARKNESS (Top Cow/Image Comics), and UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Vertigo/DC Comics). He mixes drama, humor and violence into a volatile chili that burns the roof of your skull. The inevitable comparison: Ennis is the Quentin Tarantino of comic books. McCrea, meanwhile, has a distinctive, outrageous style that suits Ennis' scripts perfectly. With HITMAN, Ennis and McCrea have achieved a level of violence so excessive it is almost cartoonish -- if you can overlook the gore and viscera splashed across every page that is.. That this bloodfest is set smack dab in the DC Universe is the ultimate twist.
The humor in HITMAN deserves special attention. Ennis loves to throw in sick visual gags: a Siamese twin lugging around his dead twin's decaying body, a dead cat thrown on a spotlight to create a "Cat-Signal" for Catwoman, a man bashing zombie baby seals with a bat. Ennis is not afraid to tweak the other heroes in the DC Universe. One issue has bar patrons signing a petition to have Superman cut his long hair. Monaghan pukes on Batman's boots and publicly humiliates Green Lantern. Finally, Ennis loads the books up with rowdy 'n' randy guy talk, focusing frequently on Monaghan and his friends hanging out over poker or pool. These scenes allow Ennis to segue into touching, guy-bonding comedy, such as the buddies talking about coping with death during the "Final Night" crisis in issue #8.
Introduced in DEMON ANNUAL #2, Monaghan is the only successful new character to come from DC Comics' big "Bloodlines" crossover event of 1993. The theory was that DC would introduce a dozen or two new superheroes -- the New Blood -- in their comics' annuals and all would become instant sensations making DC the number one publisher again. (That might be the ultra-optimistic theory, actually.) What they got was HITMAN -- a single on-going title featuring a single member of the New Blood. Considering how unsuccessful most crossover event spinoffs are, I suppose DC is probably quite happy with the results.
I know I am.
Grade: B+
March 8, 2015
This trade contains Hitman #4-8 and Hitman Annual #1.
The stories here stand well enough alone and vital information is provided so a reader could start here without too much trouble. That said, characters and event from earlier issues appear so it's best to go back to the beginning.
Ten Thousand Bullets opens with the four issue titular story. It begins with a shot of Tommy thinking about how bad things have gotten so quickly, then we rewind a bit to see it all happen. Tommy's actions start to catch up to him here, as someone with a serious grudge finally hires someone on, or beyond, Tommy's level to settle the score. The costs are high and the layered plot unfolds nicely. There are some ridiculous elements to it and the graphic violence goes overboard, but that's part of the comic the creators decided to make so has to be taken with the rest.
Issue #8 is a single issue tale with Tommy and the gang sitting around the bar telling stories about their closest calls and waiting for the world to end. This is one of the best of the series.
The annual that closes this collection features an old west style adventure complete with the main characters talking about their favorite Eastwood movies. A tightly plotted showdown with a good number of well done twists.
The art continues to be serviceable and usually enhances the desired atmosphere. The chosen perspectives and fluctuating body proportions can be distracting though.
While I'd prefer things toned down a notch I'm enjoying Hitman overall and Ten Thousand Bullets is a strong collection.
The stories here stand well enough alone and vital information is provided so a reader could start here without too much trouble. That said, characters and event from earlier issues appear so it's best to go back to the beginning.
Ten Thousand Bullets opens with the four issue titular story. It begins with a shot of Tommy thinking about how bad things have gotten so quickly, then we rewind a bit to see it all happen. Tommy's actions start to catch up to him here, as someone with a serious grudge finally hires someone on, or beyond, Tommy's level to settle the score. The costs are high and the layered plot unfolds nicely. There are some ridiculous elements to it and the graphic violence goes overboard, but that's part of the comic the creators decided to make so has to be taken with the rest.
Issue #8 is a single issue tale with Tommy and the gang sitting around the bar telling stories about their closest calls and waiting for the world to end. This is one of the best of the series.
The annual that closes this collection features an old west style adventure complete with the main characters talking about their favorite Eastwood movies. A tightly plotted showdown with a good number of well done twists.
The art continues to be serviceable and usually enhances the desired atmosphere. The chosen perspectives and fluctuating body proportions can be distracting though.
While I'd prefer things toned down a notch I'm enjoying Hitman overall and Ten Thousand Bullets is a strong collection.
May 10, 2015
The next volume in my 2015 comics reread list. :)
I'm trusting Wikipedia to be accurate about what issues are actually in this volume.
The main arc for this volume involves Johhny Navarone being hired to kill Tommy. Tommy then runs into his old marine buddy and the arc becomes a nice "let's murder all of them before they murder us" plot. It's a lovely time.
After that arc, we have an issue where all of the hitmen who gather to play poker tell stories of the closest time they came to dying. It's fine, but those types of flashback stories aren't for me. I just can't make myself care.
The Annual is a standalone story that takes place in a town straight out of an old western movie. The bad guys are bad. The good guys are corrupt. It's good, not great.
4-stars
I'm trusting Wikipedia to be accurate about what issues are actually in this volume.
The main arc for this volume involves Johhny Navarone being hired to kill Tommy. Tommy then runs into his old marine buddy and the arc becomes a nice "let's murder all of them before they murder us" plot. It's a lovely time.
After that arc, we have an issue where all of the hitmen who gather to play poker tell stories of the closest time they came to dying. It's fine, but those types of flashback stories aren't for me. I just can't make myself care.
The Annual is a standalone story that takes place in a town straight out of an old western movie. The bad guys are bad. The good guys are corrupt. It's good, not great.
4-stars
May 2, 2023
A over the top, almost looney toons feel to it except for the extreme violence and mayham. When a hitman is sent after The Hitman (The main lead here) he has to survive while also putting his lover and best friend in the crosshairs. I honestly can't even remember most of these people's names, but the action is highly entertaining, and it moves at such a quick pace that it's easy to enjoy these just flipping through. It's like a slightly PG-13 action film from Ennis.
February 10, 2016
I liked this even better than the first one and can definitely see the story setting itself up for something big. Tommy is an awesome protagonist. He's unbelievably down to earth for a character who has powers.
His circle of friend are loyal, and even when they get a little out of hand, they still seem to be there for one another. Natt is a great addition to the circle as that best buddy who doesn't questions your actions, but will have your back no matter what. He's a cool, copacetic character.
I was glad to see Tiegl (I think it's spelled, too lazy to spellcheck) still tangling it up with the big boys. Still not feeling her corset wear for a female detective, but she's a tough character. Still need some time for Wendy to grow on me, though. Great arc. I would've like to have known more about Johnny, but maybe in a later arc...?
His circle of friend are loyal, and even when they get a little out of hand, they still seem to be there for one another. Natt is a great addition to the circle as that best buddy who doesn't questions your actions, but will have your back no matter what. He's a cool, copacetic character.
I was glad to see Tiegl (I think it's spelled, too lazy to spellcheck) still tangling it up with the big boys. Still not feeling her corset wear for a female detective, but she's a tough character. Still need some time for Wendy to grow on me, though. Great arc. I would've like to have known more about Johnny, but maybe in a later arc...?
July 20, 2018
This continues to be a fun, albeit extremely violent, read. The actual "10,000 Bullets" arc was darker than previous stories but stronger for it. A story is better when there are consequences even though the reader may not enjoy those consequences.
Read
February 11, 2021“Ten Thousand Bullets” introduces Tommy’s war buddy, Natt the Hat, as the two engage in a hit that turns out to be a double-cross. Dublez, a new vigilante, and an overconfident assassin are all involved, and all get their due. You can see Ennis cackling over his keyboard writing this story. Yet underneath all the comic violence are real emotions, and real loss for Tommy. The last issue, a “Final Night” tie-in that barely has anything to do with that event, conveys similar emotions as Tommy and his pals swap stories at Noonan's about near-death experiences. I could read Ennis’ dialogue like this all day. Few writers can effectively balance outlandish violence with grounded humanity as Ennis does, and Hitman is proof of his ability. Sure, this series has clichés and not all jokes land (it's also more toned down than Preacher, which was going at the same time). But it's an entertainingly offbeat read.
February 5, 2020
4.5 Stars
This was a really good volume. We have the usual Ennis craziness with the main story, and there's also a Final Night crossover issue that isn't bad. My favorite story was the long Annual one. It was a tribute to the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, and it was great.
Really entertaining series.
This was a really good volume. We have the usual Ennis craziness with the main story, and there's also a Final Night crossover issue that isn't bad. My favorite story was the long Annual one. It was a tribute to the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns, and it was great.
Really entertaining series.
February 21, 2023
This one had a few amusing moments.
January 31, 2024
This right here is how you write a proper story. Varied and flawed characters that interact with one another using witty, but believable dialogue. Add them to a roller coaster of events that make sense, without deus ex machinas and senseless crap, and you have an engaging read. Sure, the violence and vulgarity might not be for everyone, but there is plenty of smart material in here too. This is what 5 stars are made of.
Moe, the remaining Dubelz simamese twin, is still gunning for Tommy. Every hitman has failed so far, so he hires the assassin Johnny Navarone next who promises results. Batman also has a mad-on for Tommy who is forced to lie low - good guys are a no-go for Tommy. He gets help from Natt the Hat, though the whole thing will end in tragedy.
Moe, the remaining Dubelz simamese twin, is still gunning for Tommy. Every hitman has failed so far, so he hires the assassin Johnny Navarone next who promises results. Batman also has a mad-on for Tommy who is forced to lie low - good guys are a no-go for Tommy. He gets help from Natt the Hat, though the whole thing will end in tragedy.
October 18, 2013
This is the second volume in Ennis' first take on ridiculing super heroes. And boy, he knows how to pick his victims.
The hero thats getting dragged through the mud here, is maybe not instantly recognizable to everyone, but if you've been into comics in the 90ies, when Image just started out, you have to applaud him, since they never came more ridiculous than Jim Valentino's Shadowhawk who gets the Ennis/McCrea treatment in this volume - troughly enjoyable. In those early days Image didn't put out quality books, like Chew or Fatale. Those were the times when everybody was competing in who has the darkest and grittiest hero (or sluttiest heroine,) thus creating a lot of involuntary comedy.
Ennis and McCrea put their finger on this with absolutely no mercy which makes for good laughs (if you never took those characters seriously yourselves, that is).
The hero thats getting dragged through the mud here, is maybe not instantly recognizable to everyone, but if you've been into comics in the 90ies, when Image just started out, you have to applaud him, since they never came more ridiculous than Jim Valentino's Shadowhawk who gets the Ennis/McCrea treatment in this volume - troughly enjoyable. In those early days Image didn't put out quality books, like Chew or Fatale. Those were the times when everybody was competing in who has the darkest and grittiest hero (or sluttiest heroine,) thus creating a lot of involuntary comedy.
Ennis and McCrea put their finger on this with absolutely no mercy which makes for good laughs (if you never took those characters seriously yourselves, that is).
July 23, 2013
The 2nd Volume of Ennis' Hitman has a little more depth to it than the 1st, probably because we have a little bit of info about him now. This volume also ends up bringing in new characters while saying goodbye to others, which is a nice way to change up the dynamics. The storytelling seems a little more interesting to me here, and the final story, which is a tribute to The Man With No Name Trilogy, is just great fun. Worth a read if you are into this, it's no surprise that Marvel later had Ennis write the Punisher for them.
December 5, 2018
Yeah, man, I don't know. This is all just fine. It's not that funny. It's not that engaging because the main character can just shoot everyone all the time.
It's fine.
It's fine.
April 16, 2022
This is perhaps a marginal improvement on volume 1, since four of the five issues included at least tell a single coherent story, but the story itself isn't that great. The conjoined twin gangster (whose on the nose name is Dubelz), still attached to the corpse of his twin that Monaghan killed back in volume 1, is out for payback. The idea of a guy walking around with his rotting conjoined twin still attached to him is slightly amusing, I guess, and I might have found it more interesting if Ennis hadn't used a similar gimmick of a mutilated mobster in the Punisher volume I recently read. This was the earlier iteration, but because I read the other first, it comes across as stale and repetitive. Anyway, he hires a hitman who for reasons unclear we are supposed to believe is super-special to take out Monaghan, and predictable action follows. There are occasional decent moments, such as when Monaghan's girlfriend discovers the truth about him, but it's mostly just ham-fisted and cliched, and Ennis's dialogue is often painful. Then, the volume ends with essentially a filler issue, Monaghan and cronies sitting around in a bar telling tales of their past to while away the time while whatever line-wide annual event was happening in the other books published that month. At least the story doesn't suffer from being tied into a continuity one needs to know anything about to understand what's going on, and my judgement of it as otherwise filler may be unfair, as perhaps some of the seemingly irrelevant stuff in it may come back to prominence later. However, I doubt I'll ever be able to confirm that, as I think I'll be giving the rest of this series a miss.
May 13, 2025
Another collection of hard-hitting, wisecracking fun from Garth Ennis and John McRea (and a dash of a couple of other artists).
This second Hitman collection sees the series start to settle a little more into what it would become, comprising the Ten Thousand Bullets arc (original issues 4 through 7), a standalone tale, and Hitman Annual #1. The title story introduces Natt the Hat, Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan's longtime buddy from the Marine Corps, who also becomes his main partner in crime for the rest of the series. Their dynamic is great "buddy story" vibes all over, and it's a blast watching them face off with hordes of cartoonish Gotham gangsters. There's also more than a little of Ennis' humorous irreverence towards the silliness of superheroes as a concept.
Issue #8 was a bit of a hitman anthology tale, being the series' entry into that year's DC crossover event, Final Night. It serves as a solid excuse for Ennis - a massive fan of war stories - to roll out some enjoyable (and one really funny) stories told by Tommy and his assassin buddies. The annual is another fun story, and one where Garth Ennis wears his love of Leone spaghetti westerns way out there on his sleeve.
The art is mostly by John McRea, who really was THE Hitman artist. The Annual's pencilwork was a tandem of Carlos Esquerra (of later The Boys fame) and Steven Pugh. Personally, I really dig Esquerra's style, though Pugh's unusual take on perspective and proportion isn't really to my taste.
If you enjoyed the first Hitman collection, you'll certainly like this one.
This second Hitman collection sees the series start to settle a little more into what it would become, comprising the Ten Thousand Bullets arc (original issues 4 through 7), a standalone tale, and Hitman Annual #1. The title story introduces Natt the Hat, Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan's longtime buddy from the Marine Corps, who also becomes his main partner in crime for the rest of the series. Their dynamic is great "buddy story" vibes all over, and it's a blast watching them face off with hordes of cartoonish Gotham gangsters. There's also more than a little of Ennis' humorous irreverence towards the silliness of superheroes as a concept.
Issue #8 was a bit of a hitman anthology tale, being the series' entry into that year's DC crossover event, Final Night. It serves as a solid excuse for Ennis - a massive fan of war stories - to roll out some enjoyable (and one really funny) stories told by Tommy and his assassin buddies. The annual is another fun story, and one where Garth Ennis wears his love of Leone spaghetti westerns way out there on his sleeve.
The art is mostly by John McRea, who really was THE Hitman artist. The Annual's pencilwork was a tandem of Carlos Esquerra (of later The Boys fame) and Steven Pugh. Personally, I really dig Esquerra's style, though Pugh's unusual take on perspective and proportion isn't really to my taste.
If you enjoyed the first Hitman collection, you'll certainly like this one.
August 5, 2023
We have a four parter and an annual. The four parter I had read before in a "Greatest Hits of Hitman" collection and I liked it again upon the reread. The annual was a ton of fun and closely mimicked one of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns (Fistful of Dollars IIRC) and the art was superior to Mccrea's.
To address some of the complaints from the other reviews - yes John Mccrea's art is below average but I am giving it a pass because it does the job and the stories rise above the art (they are good enough they don't need good art to keep you reading). Is the violence over the top? Yes. It is Ennis to the core in that sense and yes it is also earlier in his storytelling career so it doesn't have the finesse of his later stories (Preacher, Punisher) but it isn't that far removed from The Boys. So it is Ennis through and through. You either like it or you don't, and I like it.
The humour? Well it's not laugh out loud funny but it fits with the tone of the story and the character os I thought it worked well.
Overall, compared to his Demon run THIS series is the Ennis I know and would come to love. Yes his later works are better but I still loved reading this volume of a lesser known creation.
To address some of the complaints from the other reviews - yes John Mccrea's art is below average but I am giving it a pass because it does the job and the stories rise above the art (they are good enough they don't need good art to keep you reading). Is the violence over the top? Yes. It is Ennis to the core in that sense and yes it is also earlier in his storytelling career so it doesn't have the finesse of his later stories (Preacher, Punisher) but it isn't that far removed from The Boys. So it is Ennis through and through. You either like it or you don't, and I like it.
The humour? Well it's not laugh out loud funny but it fits with the tone of the story and the character os I thought it worked well.
Overall, compared to his Demon run THIS series is the Ennis I know and would come to love. Yes his later works are better but I still loved reading this volume of a lesser known creation.
December 12, 2023
Продовжуємо розбирати пригоди Томмі Монаґана і цього разу у нас сюжет під назвою "10000 куль".
Зав'язка полягає в тому, що один із сіамських братів на яких Томмі напав у щорічнику "Демона" вижив і тепер наймає елітного кілера для того, щоб він вбив Томмі. Паралельно нам також показують, що до Томмі приїхав його старий друг Нет Капелюх.
Друга арка піднімає планку яка була задана першими номерами. Тут Енніс трішки підвищує градус абсурду, так у нас тут є сцена де Томмі та Нет розстрілюють групу ніндзя. Також Енніс займається своїм улюбленим тролінгом тропів супергероїки, у цій арці проявом цього є віджиланте Нічний Кулак який зупиняє наркодилерів для того, щоб забрати собі наркотики. Однак на відміну від "The Boys" тут це не грає головної ролі і є смішним. Не забуває Енніс також і про драматичні моменти які вийшли досить такі емоційними. Момент коли Монаґан знаходить свого друга якого покалічив найманець дуже сильний, за той невеликий проміжок, що він був у серії він встиг запам'ятатися і мені його справді було жаль (я якось взагалі забув, що цей момент є в серії).
Після цієї арки йде 8 номер який є тай-іном до події "Final Night". У ньому Томмі разом з друзями під час зникнення сонця закриваються у барі Нунана та діляться історіями про те як вони ледь не загинули. Номер вийшов досить душевним та приємним. Енніс вкотре показав хорошу роботу з персонажами.
Зав'язка полягає в тому, що один із сіамських братів на яких Томмі напав у щорічнику "Демона" вижив і тепер наймає елітного кілера для того, щоб він вбив Томмі. Паралельно нам також показують, що до Томмі приїхав його старий друг Нет Капелюх.
Друга арка піднімає планку яка була задана першими номерами. Тут Енніс трішки підвищує градус абсурду, так у нас тут є сцена де Томмі та Нет розстрілюють групу ніндзя. Також Енніс займається своїм улюбленим тролінгом тропів супергероїки, у цій арці проявом цього є віджиланте Нічний Кулак який зупиняє наркодилерів для того, щоб забрати собі наркотики. Однак на відміну від "The Boys" тут це не грає головної ролі і є смішним. Не забуває Енніс також і про драматичні моменти які вийшли досить такі емоційними. Момент коли Монаґан знаходить свого друга якого покалічив найманець дуже сильний, за той невеликий проміжок, що він був у серії він встиг запам'ятатися і мені його справді було жаль (я якось взагалі забув, що цей момент є в серії).
Після цієї арки йде 8 номер який є тай-іном до події "Final Night". У ньому Томмі разом з друзями під час зникнення сонця закриваються у барі Нунана та діляться історіями про те як вони ледь не загинули. Номер вийшов досить душевним та приємним. Енніс вкотре показав хорошу роботу з персонажами.
February 19, 2024
Following the events of the first volume where hitman Tommy Monaghan is suddenly imbued with powers including X-ray vision and a light form of telepathy, he finds himself back in the crosshairs of the Dubelz crime family who haven't forgotten his role in the demise of their leader. The bounty on Tommy's head calls in Miami-based hitter named Johnny Navarone who has cultivated a sinister reputation in the criminal underworld. Tommy finds that he needs every bit of advantage his powers enable him to get out the hairy situations he finds himself in during the events of "10,000 Bullets".
The story is stupid but it is a lot of fun too. Ennis doesn't take things seriously here, so the edge factor actually works to add a lot of charm to Hitman. Coupled with the silly designs by John McCrea, this is an absolute blast of a comic book. It's a nice balance of grim and cheesy that just works somehow.
The story is stupid but it is a lot of fun too. Ennis doesn't take things seriously here, so the edge factor actually works to add a lot of charm to Hitman. Coupled with the silly designs by John McCrea, this is an absolute blast of a comic book. It's a nice balance of grim and cheesy that just works somehow.
September 13, 2018
Garth Ennis find his stride, and Tommy Monaghan and his buddies find their voices in this second Hitman collection.
A pleasant touch of (relative) normalcy in a world chock full of super-this and wonder-that.
A pleasant touch of (relative) normalcy in a world chock full of super-this and wonder-that.
March 3, 2019
Loads of fun. Dark and gritty characters and concepts, and the goofy but expressive art to match. Ennis and Mccrea are Tabasco sauce and tequila: an uncomfortably good time.
November 2, 2020
Liked this much more than volume 1.
July 1, 2021
An enjoyable read with some genuine emotion. Funnily, I enjoyed the quieter story (the one-shot Final Night supposed "tie-in") the most.
June 5, 2022
This was so fun and enjoyable to read for any dc fans like me.
February 17, 2024
Bit of a step up from the first volume with the introduction of Natt the Hat and Ennis/Ezquerra’s tribute to spaghetti westerns.
November 5, 2022
Ennis's ability to write meaningful platonic relationships is really underappreciated. People always write him off as edgy, crass, etc., but there's so much heart to his best work, a real emotional intimacy that is vital to this art form.
July 29, 2018
Volume 2 collects "10,000 Bullets", "The Night the Lights Went Out" and "Coffin Full of Dollars".
These stories show a progression after a rather mediocre start, both in writing and the art. Especially the last story arc - dark, dirty, and heartfelt - which is the direction the later volumes will take with most stories.
These stories show a progression after a rather mediocre start, both in writing and the art. Especially the last story arc - dark, dirty, and heartfelt - which is the direction the later volumes will take with most stories.
April 16, 2012
The last time I reviewed a Garth Ennis book, I wrote that Ennis is a talented writer given to laziness and pandering to the LCD. Case in point: "Hitman." Ennis wrote the series concurrently with his (for lack of a more accurate term) masterpiece "Preacher," and every idea that was too stupid for "Preacher" (oh, and believe me, there was no shortage of stupid ideas in "Preacher") wound up in "Hitman." In "Ten Thousand Bullets," Mobster Moe Dubelz offers half a million dollars for the head of Tommy Monaghan, the titular hitman, who killed Dubelz's conjoined twin (still attached and dead and rotting). Meanwhile, a Batman wannabe named Nightfist is ... Oh, what am I doing? Why even bother? Any snarky recap of "Ten Thousand Bullets" that I could write would take more effort than Ennis spent on the book itself. I probably expended more effort just READING this nonsense. It's a lame excuse for Ennis to collect a quick and easy paycheck by writing "BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM" over and over again. John McCrea's art is equally sorry. He sketches childishly crude figures all out of proportion with themselves: big heads, little bodies; big bodies, little heads; mutant appendages; grotesque, leering faces. But I've never seen him do any better, so I assume McCrea's problem is that he's incompetent, rather than merely lazy like Ennis. Director Kevin Smith, who wrote the substanceless intro to this substanceless volume, thinks "Hitman" is pretty nifty, but then Kevin Smith also thinks it's a great idea to cast his girlfriends in his movies and let them sing. Garth Ennis is one of the most popular and successful comix writers, but for every rabid fan, he's got an equally passionate detractor. "Ten Thousand Bullets" gives the haters plenty of ammo.
January 20, 2016
It still amazes me that this was within the DC Universe proper. Garth Ennis' Tommy Monaghan is a vicious violent criminal who lives by a code, true, but within that code is an awful lot of violence. This collection is a kind of depressing story as another hitman targets Tommy, and several bystanders get lost or pushed away in the process. It's a well told story, with Ennis' trademark style and dialogue (and he manages several military tales as well). There's also a Final Night story that is very introspective, and then the Hitman Annual, with Tommy trying to be Clint Eastwood in a podunk western town. All of the stories are strong, and violent, and dark.
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