Nakon obračuna sa SAS-ovcima i mafijom, Tommy Monaghan, skupa sa svojom braćom po oružju, Kapetinom Nattom, Hackenom i Ringom, odlazi u Afriku kao plaćenik. Ondje upoznaju supermoćnike, Lubanju i Grimiznu Ružu, a i neke druge koji ratuju za novac. Oružani obračuni na ulicama Gothama možda su Tommyjeva svakodnevnica, no ono što će doživjeti u Africi puno je strašnije od toga!
Ennis 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).
This writer has a habit of putting his characters through the wringer. After barely surviving multiple encounters, Tommy finally finds the truth about his past. It's a horrid affair that lands him in a deep depression. Not the best time to fight a vampire horde.
Ringo and Tommy have a falling out, partly because of a woman, but also because Ringo wants out of the hitman business. Because of his recent jobs, Ringo is being targeted by Chinese mobsters, one of which is superhuman.
Back to funny stuff, this time with references to the fast food market. Tommy and Natt stumble on a group headed for the dino-age. The two draw a dangerous dinosaur and are forced to return home without the others. The dinosaur follows them.
The mafia's granddaughter sends her assassin uncle to kill Tommy. While he recovers from a knife to the back, his friends barricade themselves against the mafia's thugs in Noonan's.
Enough background is provided that a reader could start here without too much trouble, but these stories focus on consequences of Tommy's past actions. Much better to read from the beginning.
The first two issue arc is set during the No Man's Land crossover, where Gotham is evacuated and left to rot. Ennis pokes fun at the annual catastrophic events unleashed on the DCU while providing a surprisingly good vampire tale. Tommy also tries to come to grips with the revelations and happenings at the end of last volume.
The four part titular story stars Ringo Chen, with Tommy along for the ride. Ringo's a great character and this a suitable spotlight. Several important plot threads from earlier in the series pop up and the constant underlying tension of who's the best come to a boil.
The Morning After the Night Before is a stand alone issue in which Tommy screws up. A lot. Serves both to clean up points from For Tomorrow and shake things up going forward. And show that Tommy's still capable of being an idiot. Fine for what it is.
Fresh Meat is a three issue story that sees Tommy and Nat travel back in time and accidentally unleash dinosaurs on Gotham. Uh-huh. Moving on.
The final four issues feature the three part The Old Dog plus an epilogue. Men's Room Louie's granddaughter hasn't forgotten about Tommy Monaghan, and asks her family's most feared killer (her too beloved uncle) to make a wedding gift of his head. A tense, tight roller coaster that builds incredibly to a climax and then provides a unique, perfect epilogue.
The signs of Ennis working towards a conclusion for the series are evident in this trade, with a lot of important backstory and big sacrifices. The filler tries too hard in both humor and gore, but the two longer, dramatic arcs are phenomenal.
Note: DC did the Hitman trades with earlier printings having certain issues, and later printings having different issues, so this review could be for Volume 5 or 6 depending on the printing.
Tommy's Heroes shows Hitman and his crew traveling to Africa to put down a rebellion. Of course, once there they realize they are fighting on the wrong side and soon join forces with the rebels. Over the course of things, however, they have to deal with some superpowered foes in the form of a second rate Superman type as well as a Poison Ivy type. Really good arc and pretty relevant.
Then we see Hitman have a heart to heart chat with Superman of all people. This story is sort of a vehicle for Garth Ennis to give us his views on Superman, which come across a lot less cynical than you'd think.
We have a silly but entertaining story focusing on the DC ONE MILLION Crossover, which Hitman really has no business taking part in but Ennis uses the crossover to tell quite a funny story.
This is a great volume. The background story is connected to the No Man's Land story arc that started in the Batman family of books and its ramifications have been felt throughout the DC Universe. After The US Government has sealed off Gotham City from the rest of the nation and world, people who have decided to stay are feeling the effects especially Tommy Monaghan and his fellow killers for hire.
Monaghan and company deal with Vampires, Dinosaurs, and a mob family who has a very personal vendetta against Monaghan. On top of that, Monaghan has to deal with relationship issues. The book has its really light moments and downright funny. 2 personal characters don't make it and I am not going to say who it is; You have to read it for yourself. The series is a turning point in the world of Tommy Monaghan.
All I can say is that this book gets better with each volume.
Oh boy, are you ready for Hitman to make you cry? Because “For Tomorrow” and “The Old Dog” will do it. I don’t think anyone, not even Ennis and McCrea, thought Tommy Monaghan’s story would be so emotionally moving when his series first began. But here we are. Issue 50, an epilogue to “The Old Dog,” might just be the series’ high point.
In between all the gut-punches are stories about vampires, time traveling dinosaurs, and lion pranks. Never let it be said that Hitman strays too far from its roots.
John McCrea has been the perfect artist for this series. He may not be the most technically proficient, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t consistent and reliable. Drawing every issue (interiors and covers) and delivering them mostly on time... My hat’s off to you, sir.
Виходимо на фінішну пряму у відгуках на Гітмена. Енніс та МакКреа продовжують дуже вдало балансувати між абсолютно навіженими та досить серйозними історіями приправляючи це все фірмовим гумором та чудовою роботою з персонажами. У цьому томі Томмі зіштовхнеться з бандою вампірів, які вирішили скористатися тим, що Ґотем проголосили нічиєю землею (події цього тому відбуваються як раз під час цього бет-кроссоверу) і захопити район в якому живуть наші герої, а також випадково потрапить у часи динозаврів.
З більш серйозних сюжетів ми отримали історію про Рінґо Чена, в якій він опиняється під прицілом кримінального босса за вбивство його сина, а в іншому за Томмі посилають найманого вбивцю через те, що йому приписують вбивство "чоловічої вбиральні" Луї з минулих номерів. На жаль для деяких персонажів цей том стає останнім і я скажу, що драматизм у цьому томі хороший і чіпляє, особливо тема з тим, що ми не завжди говоримо те, що хочемо близьким поки вони з нами.
Гітмен продовжує бути розкішною серією, яка тримає планку якості, в той час як персонажі сюжети, гумор та особливо драма продовжують бути на висоті.
Amazing. Each story is gold. The old Dog is one of the best arcs I've ever read. After Tyne last volume I thought nothing could top it but nope I was wrong. I hate how Wendy and Tiegel are drawn, but that's really it. This is violent, laugh out loud hilarious, moving, excessive and just straight up brilliant. Dinosaurs, vampires, the mob, an issue where tommy just has a bad day..he's a dirtbag with a conscious. This is just damn excellent.
"For Tomorrow" is the sixth volume of Garth Ennis' and John McCrea's Hitman series, which places Tommy Monaghan, the Hitman, back in Gotham. Following the events of the previous arc, Tommy is recovering from his wounds with copious amounts of alcohol abuse but never quite gets back into full form before things go awry for him once again. The events of this arc do somewhat coincide with the "No Man's Land" line of stories that dictated the events of Gotham across several DC titles, but Hitman slyly manages to maintain canon whilst also not fully engaging in the crossover. As Gotham burns in the distance, Tommy and Ringo end up on the wrong side of an incoming Yakuza boss who uses a mythical creature to clear the field. An action heavy romp akin to the great Hong Kong crime and action thrillers of the time, "For Tomorrow" is an absolute blast.
Following this is "Dead Man's Land", an irreverent, gothic vampire tale that has Tommy defending the Cauldron from the bloodthirsty Darius who seeks to annex the neighborhood during the calamity of "No Man's Land". Tommy's favorite hang out spot, Noonan's Bar, is set to be Darius' new base of operations, but Tommy isn't having any of it. A one off story follows with "The Morning After the Night Before", as Tommy deals with the very human aftermath of the "For Tomorrow" arc.
"Fresh Meat" has Tommy and Natt the Hat taking a job at a meta-human research facility but inadvertently set off a series of events that lead to them taking on a herd of tyrannosaurs. It's the best of Hitman distilled into one short three-issue arc - campy and irreverent, but never too edgy like some of Ennis' other works. McCrea is at his best here too. Closing out this volume is "Old Dog", where the Ferretti crime family calls in on their longstanding vendetta on Tommy, as told in the earlier "Tommy's Heroes" arc. This arc features three parallel narratives that all culminate in one glorious gun fight.
While the series initially had an odd tonal shift to it, at this point in the series it's clear Ennis and McCrea have a strong handle on how exactly to balance the drama and the campiness, and it shows. It's not common to see comic runs improve over time, but Hitman is one such series that manages to continue getting better.
Another volume comprised of a bunch of smaller stories, this one has the Tommy facing off against the mob, vampires, and dinosaurs... yeah comics!
So these were really entertaining stories, and just a blast to read. I think this volume is a bit more lighthearted than the previous couple, which is ok because Ennis has been hitting us with the emotional gut punches pretty regularly with this series lately, so it was good to take a breather and laugh at some more outlandish stories.
However, there is one story in here that is another one of those stories that is moving in the way that only Ennis can write. The story of Old Dog is probably one of the best of the series, and has Tommy dealing with yet another loss in his life. I don't want to spoil it, but after the events of the previous volumes, especially the one where he finds out who his father was, in this one he knows who his dad is. Great stuff.
One thing that doesn't get talked about enough regarding this book is the art. I'm getting a real kick out of seeing just how much John McCrea's art grows and evolves in this series. His art compared to the first volume is just night and day, and you can really see his line work and shadow work mature to a much more robust style. The only downside is the way he draws women, and particularly their fashion choices, but I'm gonna chalk that up to more "of the times" than anything.
Another great volume that you cant miss if you are a fan of this series.
Deborah Tigler surely is HOT as hell! Very well done John McCrea! As for the story, the first part is a bit difficult to get, but once it clicks the plot goes on and we see the relationships between Tommy Monaghan, his adoptive stepfather and his friend. And we get some dinasaurs too...it's a comic, so a little fun is always accepted. I don't usually like Garth Ennis writing, but all in all this was good. Very Good art too.
This was something of a surprise. Normally a dark story depicted in dark characters cloaked in darkness, shadowed in darkness, in muted dark colors, with bloodletting on nearly every page would be something of a negative for me. However, what can I say? Kind of liked it. Certainly not for everyone, but the story hangs together the characters although not your normal superheroes have depth and engender a certain sympathy. An irrefutably morbid topic well put together and executed.
There are a couple of short tales that feel throwaway, but the rest are all excellent and have strong emotional payoffs. Hitman has been one of the most consistently excellent titles from the late 90s - that was such a dry period for quality comics that it really is rare.
Tommy vs vampires, Tommy vs. a John Woo movie, Tommy vs his libido, Tommy vs dinosaurs, and as always, Tommy vs the mob. Starting to feel downright elegiac.
While HITMAN was a series much-beloved by many, I was just never able to like it as much as I wanted to. In theory, a gritty raunchy Vertigo-esque crime noir thriller set by odd contrast in the super-hero-laden DC Universe was an interesting concept. In execution, though, I felt like the desire to play into that marriage of genres prevented the series from ever establishing a consistent tone. The shared universe model can also occasionally hamstring a individual series' direction: witness this volume's somewhat grudging acknowledgment of the Batman "No Man's Land" storyline.
In this volume containing several short story arcs, we have romps involving vampires and dinosaurs alternating with hard-boiled tales of mob vengeance, making for a somewhat jarring and uneven read in one sitting. While I admire Garth Ennis as a capable writer, I've always felt he had an ugly penchant for crossing the line from "mature content" into being gratuitously crass. Although violence is expected in a series about professional killers, it's often over-the-top with gore here, and unfunny toilet humor abounds. HITMAN strives to be the comics equivalent of a Tarantino film, but unfortunately comes closer to Roger Corman.
Sadrži 4 storyarca, možda će vas sadržaj gore malo zbuniti jer je afrička pustolovina završila u prošlom trejdu...
Dvobrojčani okršajčić s vampirima kad dio Batmanovog eventa No man's land; brzo i eksplozivno. Zatim slijedi minisaga, origin story o Ringu Chenu, "Za sutra", u kome se Tommy i Ringo bore protiv zlog patuljka Watermana. Slijedi trobrojna zafrkancija "Svježe meso" gdje upoznajemo još jednog od neobičnijih Ennisovih junaka, dinosaura Scara koji dolazi u Gotham budućnosti nakon što ga neoprezni lovci dovuku iz prošlosti. I za kraj još jedan tragična priča "Staro pseto" o barmenu Seanu, gdje ekipa mora obraniti Tommyja od osvete unuke prerano preminulog Louieja Latrine.
Krvavo, nasilno, zabavno skoro u svakom trenutku... Tommy minimalno koristi svoje moći, sve se svodu uglavnom na dobri stari (gun)fight. Ratne priče, priče o prijateljstvu, gluposti i ljubavi. Više-manje.
Hitman; No Mans land is a graphic novel. This book is filled with suspense and action. I love this book because it never got boring and is fun to read.The book is about a group of friends that are like family protecting each other. But they are a group of killers and assassins. They kill for a living. The main character is named Tommy and his father was a monster who killed his sister and mother he was by a man named Sean wait what are you and he grew up in Gotham with no government or laws running the city. If the crew was messed with The crew would kill the threat. I would recommend this book to people who are tired of boring books and are looking for some action and suspense.
ORIGINAL GOODREADS REVIEW: Every volume of this series is better than the last. Brutal and touching and funny in all the right moments. Off to volume 7, the inevitable end...
Tommy's violent life is catching up to him now, quickly. Ennis crafts powerful, moving stories of Ringo and Sean's final days, but gives readers a chance to breathe and laugh with over-the-top, shoot-'em-up romps, as Tommy and the boys face vampires and dinosaurs.
In which it all starts to get a bit much, emotionally speaking. But there is still a hitmen versus dinosaurs story to stop the whole business turning into a sheer heartrending slog.
I binge read this book over a couple days. And it is a lot to take in. I had read part of the original series in single issue form in the before time. But I had never read the entire run. I have to say Ennis was very restrained. He is usually way beyond the norm on decency. But, here he was very PG-13. This is the story of Tommy Monaghan a freelance hitman from the Cauldron of Gotham. Which is reflective of a lot of Irish neighborhoods throughout America. He grew up in a tough neighborhood as a tough man. Years go by and his friend from the Marines Nat The Hat another tough kid from a tough neighborhood, this time Detroit, shows up and then things get weird. Starting with a fight with ninjas and ending with a standoff with the deadliest hitman in the world. and that's just the first story arc. This series about heartless killers leaving countless bodies behind them is ultimately about family. Not the one you are born to but the one you find. The Adventures of Tommy, Nat and their band of lovable murderers blazes across 60 issues of mayhem, insanity, magic, and mad science. By the end of the run it resembles the last reel of the Dirty Dozen no one gets out alive. It's a little sad when our hero's give their lives for each other, but what else did you really expect from a series called HITMAN? Bunnies and snuggles? Exciting and funny this book remains one of my favorites. But it probably should be consumed in smaller quantities than I did.