"The first time I ogled myself in the bedroom mirror I realized how off the mark the comic books had been. It didn't take a trauma to make you wear a mask. It didn't take your parents getting shot, or cosmic rays, or a power ring. Just the perfect combination of loneliness and despair."
Yeah, you've heard the news by now. "Kick-Ass" kicks much indeed. Tons of it. It's ridiculous how much is kicked, really. Mark Millar is a psychopath. For a minute let us entertain the notion that I'm pitching a comic book to you and you are the great and powerful publisher contemptfully fanning yourself with hundred dollar bills as I, the writer, tell you what I plan to do with that money. I am going to create a comic book story about a stereotypical comic book nerd who decides to become a superhero who specializes in getting his rear end handed to him and in doing so I am going to tear into the medium the readers love, douse every page in so much blood that one will feel compelled to don raingear before opening each issue, and use language that could be considered a hate crime against political correctness and decency in every speech bubble. And oh yeah; there's a TEN YEAR OLD GIRL wantonly and brutally murdering people with swords throughout. How do you think it will sell, bossman? Can I have that advance now? Okay, okay; I'm leaving! No need to be rough about it.
Well, I bought it. Kick-Ass may not be a cerebral philosophical masterpiece like Watchmen, a game-changing reinvention of the way classic characters are portrayed like The Dark Knight Returns, or be as bleak and unrelenting as The Walking Dead, but it does one thing better than most any comic I've ever read. Yeah, that thing it says on the cover. The tale of Kick-Ass is a loving satire/tribute to comic book culture and a commentary on modern popular culture as well. After one near-death experience pointlessly attempting to stop some graffiti artists, our hero gains fame on Youtube when a flailing melee with a group of thugs is captured on a bypasser's cell-phone. This inspires other citizens to follow suit and indulge their inner geek and lots of garish comic cliches follow. Old-school meets new school when classical no-killing hero Kick-Ass meets the edgy vigilante executioner Hit Girl and her large father (known affectionately as Big Daddy). Time for a reality check.
The art is done by proficient Marvel artist John Romita Jr. and while it's not exactly revolutionary or eye-popping, it is exceptional where it counts: in personality and gore. Millar's writing is witty and filled with pop-culture references and hilarious dialogue. He even invents a new swear; a male version of the aforementioned dreaded C-word. Tunk. It catches on fast and can even be used as a verb. If you are cool, you will find a place for it in your daily vocabulary. Make it so. Highlights include Kick-Ass being mistaken for a flasher, Big Daddy and Hit Girl's definition of a Democrat (which is painfully true) punctuated by a sweet headshot from a sniper rifle, a protagonist who has no qualms threatening a group of mobsters while still pulling up his own pants, and Kick-Ass's pathetic origin story juxtaposed in one panel with the classical vengeance angle.
Kick-Ass doesn't do quite as much as I was hoping considering the GOAT hype around it, but issue-for-issue it mops the floor with most everything that is out there. And with a higher nerd-reference count than any comic I've read, this one is a definite winner if you know even the first thing about the medium and is about as graphic as graphic novels come so don't buy it for the kids. And yes, friends, there will be a sequel.
So here's the truth of it and the moral of our story. Superheroes and vigilantes are really a lame idea when taken literally. But as pathetic as our little escapist fantasies are, they help define who we are as people, what's right and wrong, and they inspire us to change our world. As vehicles for metaphor and allegory, you cannot beat comic books. Just don't go out and try to live them out 'kay? This is a definitive graphic novel not to be missed. Somebody should make a movie out of it or something....Get more detail about Kick-Ass.
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