Hammerfist #1
/1.webp "Hammerfist #1")
| Writer | Rick Remender |
| Artist | Matt Hollingsworth, Steve Epting |
| Cover Price | $5.99 |
Meet MIKE DENTON: a dirtbag hitman, junkie, and absentee father who’s spent his life chasing the easy fix—drugs, cheap sex, and murder for money—while failing the one person who still believes he can be better: his daughter. Now, on the eve of BLACK NOON—an ancient darkness that erases the light in all things—Mike has to drag himself out of the gutter, awaken a supernatural weapon powered only by love, and fight his way through the living embodiment of evil to save her. Reservoir Dogs collides with Evil Dead in a filthy crime story that mutates into a savage splatter-horror nightmare from New York Times bestselling author RICK REMENDER more
CRITIC REVIEWS Back to Top
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10
Comic Book Clique - Russell Hartman
Aug 31, 2026Hammerfist #1 is that 1970’s action movie that you weren’t allowed to watch but did anyway when your parents were out. It starts out as a story of a broken man committing heinous acts for a bit of cash who can’t say no to his darkest urges and morphes into a story about a world that needs saving… and the dirtbag whose shoulders it now rests on. Remender, Epting and Hollingsworth deserve all their flowers and more. Read Full Review
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9.5
Lyles Movie Files - Jeffrey Lyles
Aug 26, 2026This was an impressive kickoff heavy on character drama with an intriguing mystery and the tease of a massive power in arguably the worst hands possible. Sign me up for this one! Read Full Review
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9.4
Fanlight Zone - Ken M.
Aug 26, 2026Bold, Raw and unapologetic. The world of Mike Denton is a dark look at the question of power and responsibilty in a gripping debut. Remender doesn’t shy away from the criminal element in his writing. Epting & Hollingsworth unlock views of a broken life tryng to find some semblence of purpose. Settle in for the long haul with this one. Read Full Review
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9.0
AIPT - David Brooke
Aug 13, 2026Hammerfist #1 is an impressively confident debut that lets its crime story breathe before revealing the stranger world lurking underneath. Rick Remender builds Mike Denton into a compelling noir protagonist whose many flaws leave plenty of room for growth, while Steve Epting and Matt Hollingsworth ground everything in gritty realism. That patience makes the late arrival of the supernatural elements hit considerably harder, resulting in a first issue that feels fresh, unpredictable, and entirely comfortable moving at its own pace. Read Full Review
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9.0
COMICON - Tom Smithyman
Aug 13, 2026A Bank robbery is a mystical twist and outstanding artwork highlight this ongoing series’ first issue. The story is interesting enough, but gazing at illustrator Steve Epting’s artwork is worth the price of this issue — and then some. Read Full Review
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9.0
Comic Crusaders - Al Mega
Aug 24, 2026Hammerfist #1 is a brutal, stylish, blood-warmed launch that delivers crime grit, supernatural horror, and action-packed visual storytelling with real swagger. Remender brings the damaged souls and nasty momentum. Epting brings cinematic muscle and unforgettable character design. Hollingsworth brings the heat. Wooton keeps the chaos readable. Image Comics has a savage one here, Crusaders. This book doesn’t knock politely. It breaks the door, takes the cash, wakes the demon, and leaves you standing there like, “Damn… issue two, please.” Read Full Review
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9.0
Comical Opinions - Gabriel Hernandez
Aug 27, 2026Hammerfist #1 finds a hopeless hitman thrust into a world of dark magic on the eve of a mystical happening. Rick Remender’s grimy crime thriller mixed with fantasy is instantly captivating, and Steve Epting’s art captures the grimy look and feel perfectly. Read Full Review
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8.5
Comic Book Revolution - Kevin Lainez
Aug 24, 2026Hammerfist #1 presents us with a deeply flawed series lead in a dark and gritty world of his own making. He is not someone who you are necessarily rooting for as the more we learn about him the more you understand his current life is the one he deserves. That said, it all works to create a compelling narrative that goes from another noir crime thriller to one that will transform into something much crazier. Read Full Review
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8.5
Graphic Policy - Brett
Aug 26, 2026The story and art combine to remind me of Brubaker and Phillips' crime comics in many ways and those who like those should Hammerfist #1 out. Read Full Review
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8.0
You Don't Read Comics - Russ Bickerstaff
Aug 26, 2026It's still really early to tell quite exactly where it is that the series is going. The mixture of mysticism and religion and the cheaper nature of a life in the lowest possible tax bracket feels like it could be really interesting if it's explored in the right way. It is, however, entirely possible that it could turn into less appealing art damaged mutation of Witchblade. Time will tell. Remender’s got a good track record, though. It seems likely that Hammerfist will go in a more interesting direction. Read Full Review
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7.7
Comic Watch - Theron Couch
Aug 27, 2026Hammerfist #1 is an intense comic, from its dark criminal story beginning to its bloody supernatural ending. Remender’s writing is captivating from the start, and overall the entire creative team produces outstanding work from beginning to end. Though it ends in the realm of the supernatural, fans of dark characters from real world criminal stories should definitely give this a look. Read Full Review
USER REVIEWS Back to Top
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9.0
Very good! Steve Epting’s art is the highlight.
+ Like • Comment -
8.5
What the hell was that? In the same issue we have the main character twisting a bowl (nobody is passing out after that btw), nunchakus, and magic. I don't know how sustainable that is but I'll be back for the next issue.
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8.5
Awesome debut. Looking forward to issue #2.
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6.0
Started off strong but got really weird and confusing by the end and I was ready for it to be done. I'm giving it one more issue and hopefully things start to be explained.
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Went in expecting the "Reservoir Dogs meets Evil Dead" pitch to front-load the carnage. Instead Remender and Epting spend the whole issue on patience, and it pays off.
We open on Mike Denton, a small-time hitman, addict, absentee father, taking a job to kill an abusive husband. Ugly, quick, unglamorous. And then the gut-punch: we find out afterward he did the whole thing for $60!!! That number is doing more character work than any monologue could. This isn't a guy who thinks of himself as dangerous or important, he's just cheap, efficient, and numb to it. It resets your read on him before anything else happens.
From there it escalates into a bank job, and the pacing never feels rushed getting there, more like a rope sl more -
9.0
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9.0
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9.0
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7.0
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