# Hitman (DC Comics)
**Hitman** is a comic book series published by [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics) about Tommy Monaghan, a lightly superpowered contract killer working out of [Gotham City](https://www.edgepedia.org/gotham-city)'s The Cauldron neighborhood; it was created by writer [Garth Ennis](https://www.edgepedia.org/garth-ennis) and artist John McCrea.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) The series ran for 60 issues (plus a DC One Million tie-in, Hitman #1,000,000) from April 1996 to April 2001.[2](https://www.comics.org/series/5510/)
Monaghan has telepathy and X-ray vision gained after an encounter with a Bloodlines parasite, along with permanently solid black eyes he hides behind sunglasses.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) • [3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun) He works as a hitman in the Cauldron, a rough multi-ethnic neighborhood, taking jobs and drinking at his local watering hole, Noonan's Sleazy Bar.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) The series is firmly entrenched in the [DC Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-universe), set largely in Gotham City, and includes appearances by characters such as Batman, the Joker, Catwoman, the Demon, the Justice League of America, Superman, and Lobo.[4](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/hitman-comics) • [5](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-book-one) • [6](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-7-closing-time)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creators | Writer Garth Ennis and artist John McCrea; Ennis and McCrea stayed with the book through its entire run[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) |
| Publication dates | April 1996 to April 2001; 61 issues published (Hitman #1–60 plus Hitman #1,000,000)[2](https://www.comics.org/series/5510/) |
| Protagonist | Tommy Monaghan, an ex-military operative and Gulf War veteran turned contract killer with telepathy and X-ray vision from a Bloodlines parasite bite[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun) |
| First appearance | The Demon Annual #2 (1993), part of the Bloodlines crossover that ran through DC's 1993 Annuals[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/) |
| Setting | Gotham City's Cauldron neighborhood, with much of the action at Noonan's Sleazy Bar[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) |
| Awards | National Comics Award for Best New Comic (International), 1997[2](https://www.comics.org/series/5510/) |
## Origin and the Bloodlines event
Hitman was born from a 1993 DC crossover called Bloodlines, which ran through the publisher's 1993 Annuals and was built for the sole purpose of creating new characters.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) In the story, alien parasites come to Earth to drink spinal fluid; the consequence is usually painful death, but on rare occasions the attack awakens the metahuman gene in the victim.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun) Bloodlines gave DC writers the space to create their own characters, with the hope that DC would then have a fresh batch of characters for subsequent series; the creator of each new Bloodlines character would retain some rights and get royalties if the character was used elsewhere.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/)
Tommy Monaghan first appeared in The Demon Annual #2 (1993), written by Ennis and drawn by McCrea, as part of that crossover.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/) According to Dan Raspler, a senior editor on The Demon and Hitman's first 25 issues (with Archie Goodwin as Bloodlines co-editor), the event didn't work as well as people hoped, with the single exception of Hitman, who was created in The Demon's annual.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/)
Ennis and McCrea were fans of [John Woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-woo)'s Hong Kong shoot-'em-up movies at the time, and fancied something in that vein.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/) The influence carried into the series itself: Ringo Chen, an assassin Monaghan faces in the later part of the run, is a direct lift of the tragic gunman character usually played by [Chow Yun-fat](https://www.edgepedia.org/chow-yun-fat) in those films.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/)
## The series
Before launching his own title, Tommy Monaghan appeared in a couple more issues of The Demon before that book's cancellation, and made a guest appearance in The Batman Chronicles before debuting in his own book in early 1996.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/) All of these appearances were done by the creative team of Ennis and McCrea, who stayed with the book through its entire run.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/)
The series was a main line DC comic that had very little to do with superpowers.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) Its first issue features Monaghan throwing up on Batman.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) Monaghan is notably not called "Hitman" by the protagonist himself; he never once uses that name for himself in the book.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun)
**Story arcs and collected editions.** DC collected the series in multiple trade paperbacks across several volumes. *Hitman Vol. 1: A Rage in Arkham* collects Monaghan's early adventures, including his first post-powers job: a contract to kill the Joker, locked up in [Arkham Asylum](https://www.edgepedia.org/arkham-asylum), a mission that goes predictably but delightfully wrong and introduces the gun demon Mawzir, one of Monaghan's most persistent hellborn antagonists.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun) Later collections cover subsequent arcs: *Hitman Vol. 5: Tommy's Heroes* collects issues #23-36 and #1,000,000, featuring SAS commandos and mafia soldiers targeting Monaghan and his partner Natt, plus mercenary action in Africa against super-powered opponents.[8](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-5-tommys-heroes) *Hitman Vol. 6: For Tomorrow* collects issues #37-50, beginning when Monaghan heads to Ireland to learn the dark truth about his past and why his parents abandoned him.[9](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-6-for-tomorrow) *Hitman Vol. 7: Closing Time* collects issues #51-60, Hitman/Lobo: The Stupid Bastich #1, JLA/Hitman #1-2, and a story from Superman 80-Page Giant #1, in which Monaghan faces a plague of the undead, goes toe-to-toe with assassin Ringo Chen, and crosses paths with Lobo and the [Justice League](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-league).[6](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-7-closing-time)
## Legacy and adaptation
In 2024, DC began publishing two omnibus volumes collecting the entire run. *Hitman by Garth Ennis and John McCrea Omnibus Vol. 1*, released in 2024 (on sale 6/25/24, priced at $125.00 US, 1136 pages, hardcover), collects Hitman #1-33, Hitman Annual #1, The Demon #42-45 and #52-54, and The Demon Annual #2, and includes a brand-new introduction by Ennis, a foreword and cover by McCrea, and behind-the-scenes material.[10](https://static.dc.com/2024-01/DC-Connect_45.pdf?plid=675) *Hitman by Garth Ennis and John McCrea Omnibus Vol. 2* collects Hitman #34-60 and #1,000,000, Hitman/JLA #1-2, Hitman/Lobo: That Stupid Bastich #1, All-Star Section Eight #1-6, Sixpack/Dogwelder: Hard-Travelin' Heroz #1-6, plus stories from [Convergence](https://www.edgepedia.org/convergence-comics): [Harley Quinn](https://www.edgepedia.org/harley-quinn) #2, Superman 80-Page Giant #1, and DC: The Doomed and the Damned #1, and features an exclusive new story for that edition.[11](https://www.midtowncomics.com/product/2473334)
The character's world has carried over into other DC media: Noonan's Bar, the Cauldron watering hole central to the comic, features prominently in DC's animated series *[Kite Man: Hell Yeah!](https://www.edgepedia.org/kite-man-hell-yeah)*, and was slated to get its own spinoff.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun) A new one-shot from Ennis and McCrea called *Hitman: It Was the Nineties Special #1* was announced to arrive in time for the 25th anniversary of the final issue of the series and the 30th of its first.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/)
## Creative context
Ennis and McCrea were both born in [Northern Ireland](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-ireland); McCrea later opened Northern Ireland's first comic shop, Dark Horizons, while moonlighting as an artist for 2000 AD and British Marvel.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) Their first collaboration, the political comic Troubled Souls, was published in Crisis in 1989, followed by the comedic sequel For a Few Troubles More.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) Ennis took over writing [Hellblazer](https://www.edgepedia.org/hellblazer) at DC/Vertigo in 1991, something that put him on the radar of DC's main superhero line.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) Ennis then took over writing The Demon (which was selling poorly) with McCrea as artist, and the pair's Bloodlines annual became the seed for Hitman.[1](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/) Ennis is also known as the writer of Preacher (1995-2000) and, later, The Boys, a cynical take on superpowered figures with no accountability; DC's own coverage places Hitman somewhere in the thematic overlap between The Boys and Ennis's other 1990s comic opus, The Darkness.[4](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/hitman-comics) • [3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun)
## References
1. ["There Was Something About Tommy": An Oral History of Hitman - SKTCHD](https://sktchd.com/longform/hitman-oral-history/)
2. [GCD :: Series :: Hitman](https://www.comics.org/series/5510/)
3. [Hitman: A Rage in Arkham is Violent, Tasteless and Unbelievably Fun | DC](https://www.dc.com/blog/2022/11/11/hitman-a-rage-in-arkham-is-violent-tasteless-and-unbelievably-fun)
4. [Hitman (comics) | Literature and Writing | Research Starters | EBSCOhost](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/hitman-comics)
5. [HITMAN BOOK ONE | DC](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-book-one)
6. [HITMAN VOL. 7: CLOSING TIME | DC](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-7-closing-time)
7. [The Boys' Garth Ennis revisits his DC anti-hero Hitman | GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-hitman-garth-ennis-interview/)
8. [HITMAN VOL. 5: TOMMY'S HEROES | DC](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-5-tommys-heroes)
9. [HITMAN VOL. 6: FOR TOMORROW | DC](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/hitman-1996/hitman-vol-6-for-tomorrow)
10. [COLLECTED EDITIONS — DC CONNECT (DC-Connect_45.pdf)](https://static.dc.com/2024-01/DC-Connect_45.pdf?plid=675)
11. [Hitman By Garth Ennis And John McCrea Omnibus Vol 2 HC - Midtown Comics](https://www.midtowncomics.com/product/2473334)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Comic books and characters › Comic book characters and teams › DC Comics characters and teams*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license