DC’s December solicitations have brought an early gift — the return of Hitman by Garth Ennis and John McCrea, as least for one issue.
It’s been 25 years since the acclaimed series ended and Tommy Monaghan met his final fate, and in the Christmas-themed special, Ennis and McCrea will return to the 1990s for a story featuring Christmas trees, ninjas and the true meaning of the holiday season. There’s also a back-up story featuring the demon Baytor, of “I am Baytor!” fame.
Here’s the full solicitation text:
HITMAN: IT WAS THE NINETIES SPECIAL #1
Written by GARTH ENNIS
Art and cover by JOHN McCREA
Variant covers by AMANDA CONNER and DECLAN SHALVEY
Foil variant cover by GERARDO ZAFFINO
$5.99 US | 48 pages | Variant $6.99 US (card stock) | Variant $8.99 US (foil)
ON SALE 12/9/26
It’s a Christmas miracle! Garth Ennis and John McCrea return to their quintessential DCU creation, Tommy Monaghan, and the world of Hitman after 25 years for two twisted tales of yuletide cheer, violence, irreverence, and…ninjas?! In the first story, we return to the DC Universe of the 1990s as Tommy is tasked with finding a star to place atop a tree but is targeted by all manner of killers, each of whom has a grudge and is looking to cash in on his head. And in the backup, Baytor mans the bar of a very familiar “café” and teams up with one of the World’s Finest heroes to save the day. Or does he?
Here’s a look at the variants for the issue:
Ennis and McCrea first began working toegther well before Hitman existed. McCrea illustrated Ennis’s earliest published work, the political drama Troubled Souls, in the British anthology Crisis back in 1988, following it with the farcical sequel For a Few Troubles More. When Ennis broke into American comics in 1993, he brought McCrea with him, and the two collaborated on DC’s The Demon And in The Demon Annual #2, a (heh) Bloodlines crossover annual, they introduced Tommy Monaghan, a hitman with X-ray vision and telepathy.
DC launched Hitman in 1996, with Ennis writing and McCrea on art for the entire 61-issue run (plus specials and annuals and the like). Set in Gotham City, Hitman followed Tommy as he took contracts on metahumans while drinking at Noonan’s bar with his friend Natt and navigating his very rigid personal moral code. The series became a favorite for blending slapstick humor with pathos and violent action. McCrea’s cartoony, elastic art style was perfectly suited to swinging between gags and heartbreak, and issue #34 won the Eisner in 1999 for Best Single Issue. That was the Superman issue, for those who remember, where the usual gags at superheroes’ expense were replaced with a genuine heart-to-heart between Tommy and Superman.
After the book ended, the two worked together on the Hitman spinoff Section 8, which brought the Hitman supporting cast back for another go. DC has continued mining the well, with recent omnibus editions collecting the full Hitman as well as spinoffs like All-Star Section Eight and Sixpack and Dogwelder.
This isn’t the only recent project form the creators, as they’ve also reunited for a comic called The Snail at Image Comics.
Hitman: It Was the Nineties #1 arrives in stores Dec. 9.