Kick Ass Reviews
By Mark Millar and john Romita Jr [Icon]
The Invisible Inkster. David Milne
Web Of Fear. Jonathan Miller
And your favourite well mannered boy
Cast an eye over Kick Ass.
“The greatest superhero book of all time is finally here!” is what it says on the front cover of issue 1. Well, it’s a little early to make that judgement but the first two issues have been absolutely brilliant.
Remember “Marvels” and how we loved the idea of seeing the effect that superheroes had on the lives of ordinary people? This book goes one step further and looks at what it would be like if an ordinary person tried to become a superhero.
Now don’t try to kid me or anyone else that you haven’t fantasised about being a superhero. Well so has the main character, Dave Lizewski. Dave is an ordinary guy, Romita draws him and his friends in such a credible way – these are the guys you walk past and ignore at school.
Not that they’re not OK people or anything, they’re just not in your crowd and they’re nothing special so you just get on with your life and let them get on with theirs, you know, they’re just ordinary. Except Dave. Well actually Dave is ordinary but he decides to make himself a costume and fight evil.
Guess what? He gets his ass kicked! Majorly! He is the lamest excuse for a superhero you could ever think of – he hasn’t even thought of a superhero name for himself, for goodness’ sake!
Go and buy this comic, I’m not going to tell you any more about the plot. I will tell you that the characters are well conceived and the plot is fascinating, even if it does at times stretch our ability to suspend disbelief in what is, after all supposed to be a realistic story. I will tell you that the story is funny, gritty, engaging and compelling. I will tell you that the art is really fresh, the fight scenes are unlike anything I’ve ever seen in a superhero comic. I will tell you that I loved Mark Millar’s work on the Ultimates and Kick-Ass is already shaping up to be even better than that. I mean it.
David Milne The Invisible Inkster
Kick-Ass; or Mark Millar’s other comic
With the hoopla surrounding Mark Millar taking over writing duties on Marvel’s first family, the release of his creator owned title (with John Romita Jr) at the same time has been somewhat overshadowed.
I was anticipating Kick-Ass more than Millar’s FF. JR Jr’s been a favourite of mine since his Daredevil days, and the Millar/Romita combo brought us Wolverine’s “Enemy of the State” storyline, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The main character, Dave Lezewski, is a fairly average teenage school student. Out of nothing other than boredom, and with no special training or abilities, he dons a wetsuit and starts patrolling the streets. His first encounter, with three kids spray painting graffiti onto a wall, is a disaster, and he is beaten within an inch of his life.
He survives, and is hospitalised. After months of surgery, treatments and therapies, he’s back on his feet. Despite realizing he’s lucky to survive, he dons his home made costume a second time, and starts patrolling again. This time he’s caught up in a chase involving three gang members, and is more successful, managing to fight off the pursuing gang, but again taking a pounding. He’s also watched by a crowd cheering him on, and it looks like the mobile phone camera footage being taken by a crowd member is going onto YouTube.
Kick-Ass promised a realistic take on the superhero genre, and with the cover containing an “explicit content” warning, you could tell that take was going to involve bone crunching violence. Let’s face it, anyone taking on real life criminals will need a bit more than a fancy costume and a selection of witticisms to survive. In its two issues so far, Kick-Ass delivers what it says on the label.
The fight sequences are incredibly brutal, and you can almost feel every hit, but the question I find myself increasingly pondering is; why is Dave doing this to himself?
Issue #1 opens with Dave being tortured in a way that, chances are, will stop him procreating (probably no bad thing), with the current events being told in flashback. So far the events leading up to that have not been explained, but from what we’ve seen, Dave survives more by luck than anything else. I can accept boredom, and a wish to find out, as an initial motivation to become a have a go hero, but his desire to carry on, when he knows how lucky he was after the first time, is inexplicable.
Interestingly, Dave can ascribe no motive to his own actions either, suggesting that either Millar couldn’t come up with a motive, or he’s written a character who is, basically, nuts ….
Finding a plausible motivation for a character to dress up as a spider/bat/other and beat up bad guys has provided fertile grounds for comic book writers for years, and I don’t think that anyone’s hit on boredom, or being a bit strange, as a motivation before.
Probably for good reason, as (so far) Dave is a character whom I find it difficult to identify with, sympathise with, or even root for, as his actions are essentially meaningless.
Of course, as General “Buck” Turgidson says, don’t rush to judge before all the facts are in, and this is only the second issue. I’m still in for the next couple of issues at least to see where this goes. However, if Millar’s answer to the question “What would motivate a real life superhero?” is “They’re not playing with a full deck”, I’ll be very disappointed, as I knew that already.
Review by our very own Web Of Fear. Jonathan Miller
Kick Ass # 3
By (As if you need to be told)
Kick Ass become the celebrity of the Internet, gets a girl friend (well sort of) and gets what seems to be a nine year old stalker who knows how to say CUNT.
Yes very clever.
violence is used in a simplistic and pornographic fashion, which is neither clever or entertaining,.
and now the anti has been set to a much higher level, why, because there is a body-count.
Young Children with Knifes.... Hmmm, news at 10 anyone.
This comic like all others had 3 issues in which to prove itself, and the first 2 were good, not brilliant but good, issue 3 however takes a plunge into dark deep waters, it is neither brilliant or diabolical, entertaining or crap.
But i do feel that the slogan "the worlds greatest superhero comics" has been somehow lost here.
Will i continue to read it? sure as hell i will
Will i enjoy it? I dont know, if it continues down with its sick interest in garish voyeurism, then no.
but at this stage i cant see it going anywhere else.
So this issue plummets to a really embarrassing 2/10, and it hurt me to say so, but i am not one to go with the flow just because, and this is one i am going to say no to.
Just thought i would add a post script to this, Mark Miller is at the top of the tree at the moment and to butt against that would to all intents seem like suicide.
However just because its Miller, it doesnt mean its awesome, i would like to site The Mark Miller Unfunnies as a case in point.
Hey but when have i ever given a shit about the majority
your favourite well mannered boy
