Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham

On the back streets of Gotham City, ex-military operative Tommy Monaghan has set himself up as a hired gun. Surrounded by an odd assortment of friends and allies, the Hitman with a heart must deal with personal conflicts over honor and morals as he makes a living with a gun. But even with the telepathic ability to read his targets' minds, he still finds himself well over his head when he runs into some of Gotham's most notorious citizens such as the Demon, the Joker, and the Dark Knight himself, the Batman.

Plus, a vindictive mob boss from his past puts a contract out on Tommy. With his friends caught in the crossfire, he must find a way to take out the hired assassin and exact retribution against the mafia head. But even with his extrarodinary powers, the Hitman may find that a trained killer and a mob army is just too much for one man.

Tommy Monaghan is an assassin; that's right, he's your standard, grade-A hit man. Well, maybe he's not so standard. Tommy also happens to have super powers--just telepathy and x-ray vision, mind you. But let's face it, those are pretty super. Writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea have come up with a character that has surprising complexity. By all accounts this hit man should be an antihero, and yet, Monaghan has strict rules for himself: he doesn't shoot anyone he considers "one of the good guys." Naturally, there's a lot of subjectivity here, possibly even hypocrisy, but this murky area between good and evil, right and wrong, is one of Ennis's strong points. In what is essentially a superhero setting (Gotham City, home of Batman), this book delivers elements of action, adventure, crime, and horror, all held together by Ennis's funny and believable dialogue. The blurb on the back cover sums it up nicely: "No fancy costume. No magic tricks. Just plenty of ammo, a pack of cigs, and a pitcher of beer." --Jim Pascoe