Comic Book Review: Kick-Ass 2 (Issues 1 and 2)

 Kick-Ass 2 (#1 and #2 of 6)

Written by Mark Millar

Art by John Romita Jr.

Published by Icon/Marvel Comics

So Mark Millar and John Romita Jr is back and so is Dave/Kick-Ass and Mindy/Hit-Girl doing their thing in the sequel of the successful first comic book series of the same name. 

What's up with our 'superheroes' nowadays?

A quick breakdown: 

You didn't imagine this could happen
the first time, did ya'?

Dave is being trained by Mindy so he could be a better superhero, but just like before, his ass gets kicked by the 11 year old.  But he is still going out at night in his costume and he loves the attention he is getting because everybody in the neighborhood knows his legend, including the bad-guys. Now, Millar took the next logical step in this vigilante story: he puts a lot of costumed vigilantes now and its natural that the villains would pile up too. Thus, we get some of these guys teaming up forming their own groups or teams - yeah just like the X-Men, Avengers, Hellfire Club etc - to assume superiority, because at this point, one or two guys can't just cut it anymore. So this whole 'superhero' thing has just become a widespread phenomenon, just like the criminals are also ready to raise hell in every corner of the street.

And because everybody wants a piece of his damn ass - Kick-Ass joins his first ever superhero group in order to have some backup and then... goes on to beat up some big time mafioso dudes with new found friends. Oh he is really taking this up another notch. 

Fuck you Dave. That little twerp
is still kicking your butt.

As for Mindy, she's got a new dad now - well, stepdad (remember that police guy at the end of the last issue of Kick-Ass?)  - and she's fucking grounded. Yeah, she is prohibited to wear the costume, go out at night, contact Dave, and even her stash of the most dangerous weapons available to human kind has been confiscated. That means, no vigilante work, no hacking-and-slashing, and no killing sprees for the little kid. I feel bad for her because she's so fucking bored to death. 

With all of that said, I wonder how Dave would fare in his vigilante quest without Mindy? Will Dave get some far more serious beating this time? How will Mindy react to this grounded predicament she's in? 

2 issues has just been released I'm pretty excited on what's gonna happen next in this saga. Millar takes our heroes into new twists in their lives, logically writing the whole background this sequel is going to have. I really liked he fact that he put Mindy in a little bit of a hiatus allowing more room for Dave to maneuver. More Kick-Ass and a little less of our cutie. Because if you have been reading this series before, you may have noticed that the title could have been "Hit-Girl" instead of  "Kick-Ass."

John Romita Jr has incorporated the same style he did on the first book, but he made sure that this would have a new, updated feel as well. He's got a really good artistic approach for this sequel and that is something to watch out for every single issue. 

Kick-Ass 2 has started on a pretty slow note mainly because Millar wants to establish the backdrop of the whole story first before getting in to more angst and violence. But don't get me wrong, this has not turned into a dramatic, boring and "clean" show. It is still bloody and violent as ever, I guaran-damn-tee you that. 

Comic Book Review : Kick-Ass Book #1

Kick-Ass
Issues: 8
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: John Romita Jr
Published by Marvel Comics under their Icon Imprint

My girlfriend and a co-worker of mine has been telling me that I should watch Kick-Ass - you know the movie starring Nic Cage. Well, I figured that I should read the source material first before watching the flick, so after 2 hours of reading eight comic book issues with about 30 pages in each, I am finally going to review it for ya'.

Written by Mark Millar and one of my favorite comic book artists in John Romita Jr, Kick -Ass  is a simple story of what could have been if a guy like me decides to go on vigilante/superhero mode just because I'm bored as hell and because I wanted to satisfy my inner fanboy. Admit it, we all have dreamed of becoming a superhero at one point in our lives (I still want to become one actually. No kidding), and thought of doing all these crazy stuff that comic book characters do. This book manifests that.

Is being a superhero cool? Yes maybe, but definitely not easy.

A 16-year old high school student named Dave Lizewski decides to become a superhero without any formal training in martial arts or whatever. He's just your ordinary guy. A nobody who just wants to live life to the fullest while satisfying his comic book nerdasm. After his first attempt at crime-fighting fell completely out of place, he continues his saga and for the 2nd time he succeeds. He becomes a Youtube and national sensation, inspiring a legion of wannabe-superheroes wearing masks and spandex costumes, all the while being christened as.... you guessed it: Kick-Ass. The new guy in town ready to uphold his own brand of justice.

"Pow!"

But then the quickly finds out that trying to be a hero, saving people's (and a cat's) ass(es ) and helping them resolves their issues/beef with others is not that easy. To add to the pressure, he also realizes that he is not alone. Oh no, absolutely not. He meets father/daughter tandem of Big Daddy and Hit Girl, who is planning on to take out the big mob syndicate, and they recruit him. These guys are sooooo bad-ass, especially the latter - only 10 and 1/4 years old (according to Millar), a martial arts and weapons expert, and kills bad guys like she was the freaking Punisher. She puts bullets in the skulls of thugs, and chops their limbs and heads off like she was just playing with plastic knives and vegetables.  How many little girls get to do that in their lives? Sick.

The lovable purple wearing Hit-Girl

Were they able to defeat the mob? I won't tell you the answer to that because that is definitely spoiling the whole thing for you. You've got to read the book to see all the happenings in between those things that I mentioned because there are so much - and I repeat - so much to discover as our "superheroes" go on their crusade. Putting them all here would be a complete waste of my and your time. But for sure, there are plot twists, 'aw-shucks' moments, and 'holy crap' stuff  that you would never thought would see in a comic book that features a sixteen year old teen and a ten year old Barbie chugging along with his Dad. Its absolutely crazy-insane.

"Big Daddy". Sounds like a wrestling moniker. Cool.

Millar is at his best again with this book, he shows off his simplistic story telling that captures the imagination with that fast-paced writing style. He gets to deliver everything in his arsenal in a span of 8 issues, which is remarkable because he was able to give almost anything you want from entertainment, violence, gore, drama, action, profanity, a lot of witty humor and an all original story in just -  more or less - 250 pages. His characters are easy to like, which makes the death of one character (yes someone dies towards the end) very very dark and sad. If you don't feel yourself feeling gloomy after you read that panel, then something's vert wrong with you. 

On the other hand, Romita's excellence in illustrating the gory details of Millar's story is nothing new, but I still can't help but be amazed with his very cartoonish-yet-powerful art. I have seen his work on Daredevil before with Frank Miller and I have to say that he totally upped his game in this book, giving it a more modern feel for the new generation of readers. I loved the way he told the story with his pencils, as he totally captured Millar's script and gave the original characters true justice. It is a nice thing to see.

If this is disturbing to you, wait till you get your hands on the book.

Kick-Ass is a fun, easy and a very enjoyable read, and one comic book that should include in your collection because it is that good.  By the way, go check out the tagline on the cover page above:

The greatest superhero comic book of all time is finally here!

You know what? For a minute I actually believed that line. And in all fairness... Kick-Ass almost lived up to that.

Comic Book Review: Daredevil - The Man Without Fear

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: John Romita Jr.

Published by Marvel Comics

Daredevil has been in the comics scene since the 1960's and his character has gone several revamps, but nothing truly captured the character's origin like Frank Miller's  Daredevil: The Man Without Fear released in 1993.

Collaborating with one of the greatest comic book artists of all time in John Romita Jr., this 5-issue mini series tells the whole story of one young Matt Murdock, of his life in  the dungy streets of New York City's Hell's Kitchen, and how he came about to be the man who dresses like a devil spawned from hell - who fights for justice and the oppressed.

The son of champion boxer "Battlin" Jack Murdock (who also works  for a mob boss known only as The Fixer), young Matt is just like any other kid in the neighborhood who gets bullied almost everyday by his peers. Until one fateful day, while trying to save a blind old man from being run over by a truck loaded with radioactive chemical drums, Matt Murdock accidentally became the victim with all the muck spilling all over him, rendering him sightless - but his remaining senses were heightened to near -superhuman levels.

A mysterious blind man named Stick shows up and decides to take Matt under his wing and hone his skills in order to take advantage of his new found abilities. But things we're not easy for Matt, and making it harder for him is an unfortunate event that would change his life forever.

Matt and Elektra's first time together

Matt's transformation into the hero he would become is a painfully slow process. But the story is more than just explaining the origin this superhero. Emotions were well shown and intricately examined all through out, and real aspects of society were also showcased such as organized crime and poverty. Themes of revenge, death and love are also imminent and proves to be a very important part of maintaining the drama that is necessary to make this a balanced, noir  kind of novel.

The Kingpin

And of course, we get to see Matt in his first adventure in "ninja" kind of suit before donning his iconic costume, thwarting an illegal mob operation but not without getting the attention of one New York crime boss, The Kingpin. Every good hero needs a good adversary and this is what the big bad mafia boss is adding up to the elements of an already good story.

There is nothing you won't like in this definitive work of art and literature by the team of Miller and Romita. Two of the greatest comic book personalities giving a dramatically stylized, well-illustrated, and fantastically written Daredevil origin while maintaining the realism that readers always want to see and feel.

I certainly enjoyed reading every bit of it right from the start. This is one Marvel classic that is definitely worth picking up.