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HITMAN (DC COMICS, Inc.) is one
of the few corporate-published books I continue to support, and
I choose to do so for at least one fairly selfish yet simple
reason: they printed my letters, and with only minor editing.
Vanity on my part? To some degree, but there's more to it than
that. This ongoing monthly effort from writer Garth Ennis (PREACHER, THE DEMON) and artist John McCrea (THE DEMON) chronicles the episodes of Tommy Monaghan, hitman extraordinaire. What puts him into a category beyond that of his peers, which includes most of his supporting cast, is the nature of his contracts. Monaghan specializes in offing the kinds of people that don't exist in our world (as far as I know), but that flourish in the digitally enhanced four-color world of comics: super-villians, zombies and monsters, mutants, demons. You name it, he's whacked it. And with no small amount of dark humor. Monaghan and company exist in the same continuity as all of DC's other headliners -- from Aquaman to Wonder Woman -- yet at times it feels like they're in a world all of their own. Constant running references are made to goings-on in the DCU, from what the JLA has done to avert this month's crossover disaster, to which meta-powered so-and-so might be gay, and so forth. And the characters themselves take up residence in a section of Gotham City (yes, The Batman's Gotham City) called "the Cauldron". |
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But consider the plotline from
the initial story arc, "A Rage in Arkham"; Monaghan
is contracted to enter into the infamous insane asylum, wherein
resides most of The Batman's most notorious and incurable (let
alone prone to escaping!) foes...to kill the Joker! Along the
way, his proficiency attracts the attentions of the Arkannone,
Hell's own Lords of The Gun, who want him to join them as a favored
agent. Sounds like a bit much, doesn't it? It's not. A large part of the fun is derived from the fact that Monaghan DOES exist in the mainstream DCU, and therefore comes across as a smart-ass anarchist. This is only fitting since the character owes at least as |
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much of his existence to DC's
profit-minded inclinations as he does to creative inspiration;
he's probably the only character to come from the company's 1993
crossover-event-of-the-moment, BLOODLINES, who's actually survived
to star in his own title. And rightfully so. (Does anyone else
out there remember Myriad or Loose Cannon...? Highly
unlikely.) In a move that typifies both the protagonist's personality
and the spirit of the book, when Monaghan makes reference to
his own super-powers (x-ray vision, and telepathy, which gives
him migraines) it usually takes the form of a joke. In the first
issue, he woos a female with a tale of his being attacked by
an alien, then left for dead, only to survive with his newfound
powers. She laughs; so does the reader. But it's true. As lighthearted as things get, however, the book does have its darker side, which it's not afraid to explore.The reader is made starkly privvy to the thoughts and feelings of the cast, in a way that's almost unsettling at times. Just after you find yourself reeling from a well timed punchline, a character will bare their soul in such a way that it leaves you in awe of Ennis's scripting talents. The cast of this book has personality to burn, particularly the book's star, and they're not just cookie-cutter comic-book characters. Despite appearances, this is certainly no PUNISHER-esque or Big-Guy-With-A-Gun title. |
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| When Monaghan's childhood friend is murdered well into the second major story arc, "Ten Thousand Bullets," we first get a chance to see how deep the hitman can be truly wounded, and how unmerciful Ennis & McCrea are in letting the ramifications of violence come full circle. The equivalent of this in another book would be Jimmy Olsen getting snuffed in one of the SUPERMAN titles, but readers would know (rightfully) that would be a reversible occurence; time and again, the supporting cast members are revived in most mainstream books, only to suffer infinite other indignities. In HITMAN, dead is dead, and each gunfight, bombblast, and knife wound puts the protagonists' mortality on the line. | |
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Although (and I know this'll get
me in trouble!), I have to confess, the violence displayed in
this title is rendered with such bravado and gusto, it's really
COOL! The easy comparison is calling this a Tarantino-esque book,
but that's really something of a cheat. HITMAN exists as a sort
of hybrid, blending the best elements of tough-guy-who-takes-no-crap
fiction with classic genre cliches These episodes take place solidly within the DCU, and stories have guest starred The Batman, Green Lantern, Catwoman, The Demon (in whose title the main character first appeared), and the top gun of corporate icons, Superman. As unusual as some of those pairings might seem, they've all been pulled off with finesse. Monaghan's meeting with the Man of Steel displayed some deft writing skills on Ennis' part; neither party dropped out of character for a second, and both managed to retain a streak of dignity throughout. The most interesting part of that tale (an ode to late editor Archie Goodwin) was that the definitive superhero and the unrepentant killer LIKED one another! Dare I suggest, it was a better Superman story than any of the SUPERMAN titles produced all year. But it was par for the course as far as HITMAN was concerned. |
| As the issues have progressed, I've noticed a certain cadence developing in McCrea's pencilling and inking. There's an intensity and directness that suits the character and stories, but its rendered in a clean, broad style that makes the transition from slapstick to slam-bang flow smoothly. McCrea spots his inks in fair measure (quite often rendering blood in black, leaving room to only hint at the color red), and relies on heavy shadows enough to imbue the stories with a sense of menace. The linework itself appears broader than when he worked on this book's mother series, THE DEMON, yet the tone remains the same. It's a style that wouldn't suit most of the guest stars' books, but makes them look just fine while appearing in HITMAN. | |
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The supporting cast of this saga
appears to have been chosen selectively. Monaghan's literal partner-in-crime
is Natt the Hat, a fellow veteran from the Gulf War, who Tommy
refers to as "tonsafun" among other things, due to
his weight. Natt provides Tommy with a springboard for his thoughts,
and it's fun to watch the chemistry and banter between the two
characters. Often the humor is derived from their responses to
the most ludicrous situations, as they often react the way most
buds would. I liked how they stupidly drooled over Catwoman upon
encountering her, the same way my friends and I might over a
supermodel. I can't picture The Batman and Nightwing doing that. Their hangout is Noonan's, a most un-CHEERSlike hole-in-the-wall bar, owned by Sean, the father of Tommy's murdered friend. He and Monaghan are obviously close, and Sean has the paternal role of the cast. There's also Ringo, a mysterious hitman from the East, whose motives are always interestingly vague, yet who's generally regarded as one of the guys. And for sheer comic relief there's Hacken, a hitman who gets by purely on testosterone and love of the job. He's so bluntly dumb you wonder how he's never gotten caught, or why anyone might take him into their confidence. But even CHEERS had Woody... |
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Oh, and there's also Baytor, a
minimally conversant, mentally unstable minion from Hell, who
saved Tommy and Natt's life. In return they got him a job at
the bar. By comparison, this would be the resident Cliff Clavin... A more recent addition to the cast has been Monaghan's love interest, Teigel. This character impressed me initially when, in her first appearance in the title as a police detective, she got The Batman (a character who, in Tommy's opinion "needs to take a vacation") to say the word "Please." Since then, Monaghan and friends have lowered her status several notches, at least by prompting her removal from the police force. But in a story titled simply "Kiss Me," Tiegel's surrendering of her virginity(!) to |
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Tommy was told in such a sweet
way it actually prompted me to write my first letter to the editors.
They printed it too, all but unedited! ...I have this sneaking suspicion that Tommy Monaghan won't survive the conclusion of this series, whenever that day comes. Maybe that's just because I don't believe Ennis and McCrea would let their creation go out any other way. Rather, I picture him literally going out in a blaze of glory, guns at the ready. Demons beware when Monaghan enters the house. But I hope that day is a long way off though. I had a falling out of sorts with a high ranking editor at DC earlier this year, which left me somewhat disillusioned about the whole industry.To the degree that I chose to stop collecting most of the titles I had been. Including my SUPERMAN titles (and anyone who knows me will tell you, that's a tremendously BIG DEAL!). I decided the time had come for me to drop my personal sponsorship of these soulless corporations and their properties. Notice, I didn't say characters. I still love the characters themselves, and have nothing but respect for the creators who work in the industry. It's a tough gig, man. |
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But I have a problem with businesses
that only care about the money. I'm peculiar that way. So, there were a couple of titles I really didn't want to give up collecting -- HITMAN was one of them. And I left the choice of whether or not I'd keep collecting the book up to its editors; at the time I was waiting for my second letter to see print. If it did, I would continue to surrender $2.50 a month for it. Otherwise, it was gonna be "farewell." But it got printed, so until Ennis and McCrea stop working on it, HITMAN gets my support, from point blank range. |
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| Any Comments? Want Info? Write Me: MARLAMWAL@aol.com | |
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