10 Criminally Underrated DC Comics You Must Read

Everyone knows about that cigar-munching, dolphin-loving bastiche, Lobo, but what if there was someone who was equally dripping with raw nineties machismo and a penchant for over-the-top violence?

Hitman was a book that spun out of the Bloodlines event, where a contract killer was given x-ray vision and minor telepathy after being bitten by a parasite. Since he’s already a contract killer, he decides to specialize in taking contracts against metahumans and superheroes.

The best way to clearly explain this book is in the first storyline, called A Rage in Arkham. An alien race hires Tommy Monaghan, the titular hitman, to take out the Joker in Arkham Asylum and Batman is on the trail to try and stop him.

Simple enough, right? Except it isn't the Joker, but a demon from Hell used as bait for other demons to try and have Tommy join their army because they feel he's such a bad guy, which complicates things somewhat.

Unlike Lobo, who evolved into being a parody of the whole thing, or much later with Deadpool and his insanity, Hitman was first and foremost trying to be a lighthearted book with some spectacular guest stars from the DC Universe. For fans of Garth Ennis, his style is clearly present here and it is one of the most criminally underrated gems from DC's archives.