Filed under: Comic Reviews, Marvel Comics | Tags: Chris Genovese, Dave Lizewski, Hit-Girl, John Romita JR, Kick-Ass, Mark Millar, Mindy McCready, Motherfucker, Red Mist, Rocco Genovese
After starting things off back in February 2008 with Volume one issue #1 of Kick-Ass, Mark Millar managed to create a real-world superhero and since then it’s been a mixed bag of highs and lows for me…..with movies, sequel comics and the kind of hype that only Mr Millar can generate with his creations…..big question as we move into this final chapter…..is whether it’s better or worse than what’s gone before.
For me, that first volume has been the pinnacle of the Kick-Ass releases and while the hype-machine kicked in for the first movie I thought it gave in to the Hollywood audience and sacrificed the very things that made it such a success – the sense of realism. It had me concerned about volume 2 and I think that concern almost forced me into not liking it. The saving grace, at least for me was the Hit-Girl mini-spinoff that seemed to try and capture the much more realistic elements of crime fighting in a modern world. This still hasn’t convinced me to rush to the cinema for Kick-Ass 2…….but with this latest release…..I’m coming around to the possibilities.
In Volume three we have Hit-Girl (Mindy McCready) locked up in jail and Kick-Ass (Dave Lizewski) revelling in his superhero life as part of the Justice Forever super-team….it’s a return to the more every-day feel of that first volume with consequences played out as they would be in the real world. A police ban on superheroes make that element more risky and at the end of the day, a vigilante approach to the world would be frowned upon at the best of times….be that for good or evil.
The supervillains and criminals seem to have faded away but that in itself is just a ruse – with Red Mist aka Motherfucker aka Chris Genovese recovering in hospital under 24-hour guard from the general public or anyone else that may make an attempt on his life – a visit from Rocco Genovese, the oldest member of the crime family and man in charge lays out the bigger plans for revenge the criminals have for these new vigilante protectors.
A big pay-off later and Chris is cleared of all wrong-doings and set free thanks to his Uncle Rocco, Mindy is top dog in jail as her own form of justice keeps the other inmates in check….and Dave?….well Dave has met a new girl and plans for a Super-team attack on the Genovese family goes all wrong forcing him to fight his way through some more bad guys on the way to what could be a welcome return to its roots for the Kick-Ass comics. Smart-phone photos of his escape continue that tie to pop-culture and the curse of celebrity keeps the vigilante’s on the run from cop and criminal alike.
Co-creators Millar and Romita Jr. have eased seamlessly back into their real-world elements in these first 3 issues and Romita’s artwork throughout has remained a constant highlight from the very first issue. While Millar’s direction with the writing may not have held my attention as much in that second volume – the dip has helped elevate this volume back to the highs its capable of, at least in those 3-issues so far. I’m interested to see how the next 5-issues work out…..and just whether the creative team will sustain that solid start – I’m ever hopefully that they will….and who knows…..maybe I WILL go see that 2nd movie for completeness.
8/10
G-Man
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
Comics Anonymous 