Preacher writer Garth Ennis teams with Amanda Conner (artist of the Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special) to show their sick and demented side in this twisted tale of a hooker-turned-hero, originally released in 2002 and now, finally, back in print.

80 pgs. FC; $7.99

(W: Garth Ennis; P: Amanda Conner; I: Jimmy Palmiotti)

On the fifth page of Garth Ennis and Amanda Conner's The Pro, the prostitute of the title bottle-feeds her infant child while sitting on the john and smoking a cigarette.

Sold. I'm there.

The Pro is a celebration of living down-and-out, on the Schneid, with humiliation, beatdowns and back-alley BJs marking time through a black comedy. The prostitute, thanks to intervention from a bored alien, is given superpowers, which she insists on using in her own no-class style.

She uses her super-speed to do a thousand blowjobs in one night—her knees are raw from kneeling, but she finally has some real money to her name. A supervillain pisses off the Pro in a battle, so the Pro smashes her face in, straddles her fallen body, and then—no lie—pees on her face. Garth Ennis is unreal.

Any time Ennis sees a chance to rip on the superhero genre, he jumps on it with extreme prejudice. When a botched attempt to rescue a group of people held hostage by terrorists results in body parts and gore flying everywhere, you can hear the author's criticism of the sanitized cartoon violence found in most superhero comics shouting from the panels.

Amanda Conner's art is above reproach. The subtle comedy of the Pro's hopeless expressions—and the not-so subtle comedy when she digs her hand into her panties to free them from her asscrack—is a wonder. Her enthusiasm for the R-rated material meshes just right with Ennis' perverse story and utterly blue tone.

After a JLA meeting, you'll never hear Aquaman say "Great. Meeting over.  I have to go take a shit." The Pro, who elects to share this thought, is not exactly shy. Long live this take-no-shit, unpretentious, callus-kneed hooker heroine. | Byron Kerman

Check out more of Ms. Conner's artwork at http://www.amandaconner.com/!