Kick Ass #5 – Review

By Mark Millar (Writer), John Romita Jr. (Pencils), Tom Palmer (Inks), and Dean White (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Mark Millar, John Romita Jr., and the rest of the creative team can rest easy knowing that Kick-Ass does indeed kick some serious ass (so far). And it’s a good thing that it does or else I would have to go on some sort of rant about how the wonky release schedule is testing both my patience and my memory. In all honesty, as long as Millar and company continue to prove the old adage about how good things come to those who wait, I can forgive the months between each installment.

The Story: Kick-Ass #5 is all about the new hero in town. He calls himself Red Mist and is the media/Internet darling taking up the spotlight once owned solely by Kick-Ass (A.K.A. Dave Lizewski). With frustration mounting and the feeling that his pride is at stake, Dave decides to reach out to Red Mist in order to find out what the deal is.

What’s Good: While a bit slower than previous issues, the latest (and greatest) chapter of Kick-Ass does just about everything right. Truth be told, I was a bit concerned about how Mark Millar would handle the other homemade superheroes in the series, especially considering how over the top the introduction of Hit Girl is, but he pulls it off spectacularly in regards to Red Mist. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the new character proves to be great for both the series in general and the title character.

For the series, Red Mist helps to keep the story grounded in reality thanks to personality traits that are all too relatable. As far as Dave Lizewski is concerned, the dynamic between him and Red Mist brings a lot of much-needed depth to the character. While I won’t go into detail in order to avoid spoilers I will say that I finally felt truly comfortable rooting for Dave the hero and Dave the teen by the end of the issue. And that, readers, is a pretty big deal.

Visually, I have no complaints at all. While I’m sure the style isn’t to everybody’s liking, I feel it’s a perfect fit for the tone of the series. John Romita Jr. and his team continue to do great things with both the action and the character work. Particularly impressive is how highly expressive the characters are, as it goes a long way towards making them feel (and look) that much more alive.

What’s Not So Good: While I definitely enjoy Dave’s narration throughout the book some of the namedropping in regards to comics and pop culture come across as a bit much from time to time. On the plus side, it adds to the sense that the story is taking place in “our” world. But on the negative side it makes it seem as though Millar desperately wants the series to get mainstream attention. A little subtlety in that regard would be welcome.

Conclusion: In my opinion, Kick-Ass #5 is the best issue of the series yet. While not as flashy, extreme, or shocking as the others it makes an impact by proving that the series has more than enough personality, character, and depth to be worth investing in. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again (and, if the creative team keeps this pace, probably again and again): Kick-Ass kicks some serious ass.

Grade: A

-Kyle Posluszny