Comic: "Kick-Ass: Book One"
Published by: Marvel Comics
Written by: Mark Millar
Artist: John Romita Jr.

Reviewer: Protoclown
Posted: 2/8/2010

Plot: Dave Lizewski wants to live in a world of super-heroes. So he becomes one.

Review: Much like Mark Millar's other creator-owned property that got turned into a (terrible) movie, Wanted, Kick-Ass is the story of an everyman who gets whisked into a life of excitement and adventure (though the upcoming film for this looks to be much more faithful to the source material, if the trailers are any indication...fucking "Loom of Fate", my ass). The difference here is that while the protagonist of Wanted got sucked into the life against his will, comics fan Dave Lizewski wants to live in a world of super-heroes so badly that he decides to become one. He has no super-powers (nor does anyone in the Kick-Ass universe)--he simply has an indominable will and an overwhelming desire to avenge crime, masked vigilante style.

It's a simple yet compelling premise, and seeing our teenage hero dealing with things like how to approach the girl he likes, how to come up with a hero's costume, and how he gets his ass totally handed to him on his very first outing (which has him in the hospital for an extended stay) ground the story in reality but keep you coming back to find out what's going to happen next.

Characters like Hit-Girl and Big Daddy are barely more than Frank Miller caricatures, but since their role in the story is largely on the story's outskirts until the end, when they become quite pivotal, it's hardly something to hold against the book. The brief times where we see them at work in the earlier parts of the book are really fun to witness, and Hit-Girl's parade of unbelievable violence will have you voicing a "kick ass!" or two yourself. (Though I'm curious to see if the movie has the balls to take things as far as the comic regarding the horrors inflicted by such a young girl, and if they do, how such things will be accepted by a movie audience).

The exploits of Kick-Ass may be slightly exaggerated with regard to how much physical punishment he can take, but not by terribly much. There's little that goes on in this book that isn't actually possible, however unlikely. The main character is often wearing a cast or in the hospital between "adventures". If you're looking for a super-hero slugfest, you won't find it here--there are very few costumes in the book, since this is about how Kick-Ass himself starts the trend, but the sequel they've set up will no doubt offer up some costumed villains as well (there will definitely be at least one, as readers of the first volume already know).

The choice of John Romita Jr. for artist here is quite remarkable--he's not an artist I would have thought capable of drawing such extreme violence. Not because his style isn't suited to it so much as I've just never seen him do anything quite like this. But it works very, very well. His depictions of Hit-Girl's action scenes and their aftermath leave little doubt as to the degree of carnage taking place here.

It's hard to believe that two of the most well-known names in comics worried that they wouldn't be able to get this "little" creator-owned Icon book noticed, but they really went to great lengths to promote it, including making a viral YouTube video featuring the aftermath of one of Kick-Ass's fights, long before there was even the suggestion of an actual Hollywood movie being made from this. Well, it definitely got noticed, and with good reason--it may not be "clean" by any stretch of the imagination, but it sure as hell is plenty of fun.

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)