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Midnighter #1
Midnighter, Vol. 1: Killing Machine
Forced to go back in time to kill one of history's greatest mass-murderers, the Midnighter's final solution to execute his mission is interrupted by an unexpected intrusion that leads to a race for time.
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 2007
311 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,622 books3,174 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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 30, 2016
Surprisingly good for a spinoff comic. But Ennis is a good storyteller, so perhaps it's not that surprising after all.
I've mentioned in the past that I occasionally find Ennis' ultraviolence off-putting. But there isn't as much of it in this story. What's more, the Midnighter is the perfect place for violence, as it's core to the character.
I've mentioned in the past that I occasionally find Ennis' ultraviolence off-putting. But there isn't as much of it in this story. What's more, the Midnighter is the perfect place for violence, as it's core to the character.
November 24, 2019
I had never heard of this comic but I saw that it was penned by Garth Ennis and figured I'd give it a try. It wasn't bad.
Midnighter is an apparently unkillable anti-hero. A mysterious survivor of a Nazi Death camp forces Midnighter to travel back in time to kill Adolf Hitler. Hell of a premise isn't it? Ennis crafts a violent tale filled with his trademark humor, though less emphasis on the sheer graphic nature of his normal jokes. That is not to say this isn't violent, very much so, but the scatological jokes or such similar veins of humor are not present.
The humor that is present has that wonderful dark twist and I appreciated it. The parts with Midnighter running around Nazi Germany and the scene with the Hitlerjugend kids was great. An interesting comic with decent-good levels of art. While nothing amazing, this was a good Ennis comic. Any fan of Ennis should enjoy this comic, though it is by no means some magnum opus of his.
Midnighter is an apparently unkillable anti-hero. A mysterious survivor of a Nazi Death camp forces Midnighter to travel back in time to kill Adolf Hitler. Hell of a premise isn't it? Ennis crafts a violent tale filled with his trademark humor, though less emphasis on the sheer graphic nature of his normal jokes. That is not to say this isn't violent, very much so, but the scatological jokes or such similar veins of humor are not present.
The humor that is present has that wonderful dark twist and I appreciated it. The parts with Midnighter running around Nazi Germany and the scene with the Hitlerjugend kids was great. An interesting comic with decent-good levels of art. While nothing amazing, this was a good Ennis comic. Any fan of Ennis should enjoy this comic, though it is by no means some magnum opus of his.
January 15, 2019
Rep: gay mcs
lol u can tell a straight person wrote this huh
lol u can tell a straight person wrote this huh
April 19, 2019
Garth Ennis is very knowledgeable about WW2. In this story he throws one of the coolest Wildstorm characters into the past to kill one of the worst people in human history. Only this writer can take the bloodiest chapter of the 20th century and make fun of it. On a more serious note, Ennis humanizes Midnighter's target probably more than most writers have ever done.
Midnighter is captured by Paulus while using a door generated by the carrier. He wants Midnighter to work for him on threat of detonating an explosive device implanted in Midnighter's chest. His target is Adolf Hitler in whose camps Paulus's parents were killed.
Midnighter is captured by Paulus while using a door generated by the carrier. He wants Midnighter to work for him on threat of detonating an explosive device implanted in Midnighter's chest. His target is Adolf Hitler in whose camps Paulus's parents were killed.
March 6, 2023
The first story arc in this spin-off series from THE AUTHORITY is good one, entertaining and fast paced with a time-travel premise and a clever ending from the mind of Garth Ennis.
This is very brutal and ultra-violent in places but there is a better story here about the character and mindset of Midnighter that shines through between the battles. It's thoughtful and humorous without resorting to scatology references or over-sexualization as THE BOYS often does.
Midnighter is black-mailed into traveling back in time to murder a young Adolph Hitler and thereby prevent him from killing the parents of a mysterious and powerful Austrian with a life-long grudge and mission. Midnighter's secondary heart is replaced with a bomb that will go off if he does not complete the assassination.
He first encounters Hitler in the battle trenches of World War I but is unable to follow through with the execution. Ennis includes a bit of a dehumanized character reveal of Hitler, although it is not complimentary and Hitler gets kicked repeatedly by Midnighter right in the jewels. The potential altering of history gets the attention of the time police who interrupt his mission to engage Midnighter in battle with some humorous over-the-top scenes.
One of the better scenes occurs in Issue #4 of the story arc where a band of Hitler youth mistake Midnight for an elite Gestapo or SS agent and engage him in worshipful conversation. By the end of the story, Midnighter manages to extricate himself from his predicament and turn the tables on his present-day tormentors in a clever twist.
This is very brutal and ultra-violent in places but there is a better story here about the character and mindset of Midnighter that shines through between the battles. It's thoughtful and humorous without resorting to scatology references or over-sexualization as THE BOYS often does.
Midnighter is black-mailed into traveling back in time to murder a young Adolph Hitler and thereby prevent him from killing the parents of a mysterious and powerful Austrian with a life-long grudge and mission. Midnighter's secondary heart is replaced with a bomb that will go off if he does not complete the assassination.
He first encounters Hitler in the battle trenches of World War I but is unable to follow through with the execution. Ennis includes a bit of a dehumanized character reveal of Hitler, although it is not complimentary and Hitler gets kicked repeatedly by Midnighter right in the jewels. The potential altering of history gets the attention of the time police who interrupt his mission to engage Midnighter in battle with some humorous over-the-top scenes.
One of the better scenes occurs in Issue #4 of the story arc where a band of Hitler youth mistake Midnight for an elite Gestapo or SS agent and engage him in worshipful conversation. By the end of the story, Midnighter manages to extricate himself from his predicament and turn the tables on his present-day tormentors in a clever twist.
February 18, 2016
Garth Ennis es un gran escritor, pero siempre estara bajo la sombra de Preacher y Punisher, pero aun asi, hace varios años se marco unos números bastante entretenidos de Midnighter en solitario, en la que puede llenar de ideas locas y disparatadas a esa maquina de matar que es Midnighter, desde viajes en el tiempo, niños nazis que son supertiernos, sangre, gore, gore yt mas gore. El dibujo de Sprouse es de linea clara y muy dinámico.
September 28, 2018
Killing Machine (#1-5). Garth Ennis' first Midnighter arc is an amazing story where he's blackmailed to go back in time to kill Hitler. What a great premise, and Ennis just goes from there with time cops and the inevitable revenge. This is Ennis at his best, creating amazing high-concept stories. He's not afraid to detail gruesome violence, but this doesn't go overboard into sex and violence like his worst [5/5].
Flowers for the Sun (#6). An alternate reality story that is almost poetic, but almost pointless as well. Ennis' swan song [3+/5].
Flowers for the Sun (#6). An alternate reality story that is almost poetic, but almost pointless as well. Ennis' swan song [3+/5].
September 28, 2017
I have really come to appreciate Midnighter a hell of a lot. Most people see him as the ultra violet gay character. But there is so much more to him and this book really highlights that. How will Midnighter react when forced to travel back in time and kill Hitler? It really is one hell of a story.
The one-shot last issue in this book really amazed me. A tale of Midnighter and Apollo set in ancient Asia. This was really something special and something tells me a massively underrated story.
The one-shot last issue in this book really amazed me. A tale of Midnighter and Apollo set in ancient Asia. This was really something special and something tells me a massively underrated story.
January 26, 2019
Whizzed through this today after picking it up simply because of Garth Ennis's name. I had no idea that it was going to be a "killing Hitler" story which made it a lovely surprise. Ennis must be come kind of arsehole to have this much fun writing characters who are such arseholes. Lightweight but with a dark heart. Fun.
September 14, 2018
Midnighter's own series. In this volume, he was forced to travel back in time to kill Hitler. He's witty and violent, instantly likeable as an anti-hero. The story was really campy, like over the top campy. Nonetheless I was interested to learn more about Midnighter and his adventures.
Read
August 6, 2021A small gem from Ennis. Clever, well-plotted, and very entertaining. Midnighter is hired (read: blackmailed) to go back in time and kill Hitler. But the temporal police take issue with that. Chaos, shifting alliances, and revenge ensues.
April 25, 2018
Fun read, the Feudal Japan story gets a special mention.
April 18, 2019
1-5, Killing Machine ☆☆☆☆
6, Flowers for the Sun ☆☆☆☆
(Read as single issues)
6, Flowers for the Sun ☆☆☆☆
(Read as single issues)
December 2, 2021
What a great book and that last story, moving it to ancient Japan, was as poetic as it was brutal.
January 18, 2025
Reichlich brutal, aber echt gut. Nicht gerade zimperlich...
November 5, 2011
Cuando Ennis está inspirado hace historias geniales rebosantes de violencia, mala leche y una misantropía digna del personaje de Molière, pero con muchas puteadas. Cuando Ennis está apurado hace hace historias que van de lo aceptables a lo muy entretenidas, rebosantes de violencia, mala leche y una misantropía digna del personaje de Molière, pero con muchas más puteadas. Acá nos encontramos con el segundo caso. Midnighter se ve obligado a viajar atrás en el tiempo y matar a Hitler, hasta que una policía espaciotemporal se pone en su camino. Mucha diversión, , paradojas y chistes de mal gusto durante cientoypico de páginas. Lástima que la edición en castellano tiene un capítulo menos que la estadounidense, aunque eso al menos ya me aseguró que me termine leyendo el tomo 2.
February 21, 2008
Garth Ennis never fails to disappoint. Besides, what character fits his hyper-violent storytelling style than the hyper-violent Midnighter. Basically, Midnighter gets sent back in time to kill Hitler, and does everything but. While the story itself isn;t special, it's nice to see the Midnighter given some serious character development here, and we come to understand who he really is at heart. This is followed by a tale of a medieval Japanese Midnighter, and only reinforces the themes of the first story. Great stuff.
Read
July 28, 2011Something just felt off for me about this book. Midnighter didn't feel right. It was like it had become too one sided in the violence and lost the core of the character. Also Apollo is barely in here except as a one note joke and the plot about Hitler was just not impressive. There were a few good bits, but overall I wouldn't recommend.
November 18, 2012
Never heard of this character before reading this-I doubt the series went on for long, since I haven't (just checked, 3 volumes-and the rest may not be written by Ennis, which means they might not be worth near as much as the first volume). However, I found it interesting, mysterious, and intelligent. I would like to know more. Also, I love the idea of having an openly gay, serious, main hero.
January 27, 2013
Going to go with Noah Soudrette on this one - the story itself isn't anything particularly spectacular, but the way Ennis handles it - and his aside on the difficulty of Midnighter's idiosyncratic "life balance" needs - is very welcome and only cements Midnighter in place as an interesting, complex persona. Highly enjoyable.
November 5, 2010
Fun, imaginative, gory and thoughtful. Funny in the right places. Does Ennis do it any other way? The art was passable - professional but nothing above the standard that any decent works I've spent time on have achieved.
Midnighter's religious joke? Awesome.
Midnighter's religious joke? Awesome.
June 8, 2013
Ennis never fails to entertain. I'd previously read A Man Called Kev and some Grifter comics (via Ed Brubaker's brilliant Sleeper and Point Blank series) and this brings the trademark Ennis humour and ultraviolent antihero. Sits nicely alongside The Boys, in my opinion.
July 25, 2014
Blah. When you've done so much better before, as Garth Ennis had with Preacher and Hitman, everything else is a disappointment. The Midnighter was a good concept, but Ennis wasn't the best choice for this spinoff series.
Read
August 1, 2010I actually liked it a lot. I wasn't able to put it down and go to bed so I stayed up till almost 2 hours past my bedtime since it was late when I started it...
December 13, 2011
Massive straight forward violent fun. Absolutely great fun with nice cartoony art.
And then came the stand alone story at the end. What a piece of crappy samura shit.
And then came the stand alone story at the end. What a piece of crappy samura shit.
July 2, 2015
A very silly Hitler story.
Johnny Alpha did this better in Strontium Dogs.
Herr Shiklgruber.
Johnny Alpha did this better in Strontium Dogs.
Herr Shiklgruber.
July 29, 2016
a mad vision of batman by garth ennis !!!!!!
August 18, 2015
Entretenido
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews