Kick-Ass 3 #4 – Review

By: Mark Millar (writer/co-creator), John Romita, Jr. (pencils/co-creator), Tom Palmer (inks & washes), Dean White & Michael Kelleher (colors) and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Hit-Girl is still in jail and Kick-Ass has a problem within his own team.

The Review (with SPOILERS): This is a classic transitional issue; pieces are just being moved into place for the finale.  If this was someone’s first issue of Kick Ass, they’re going to be bored and wonder what all the fuss is about.  If you’re a long-time reader, you’re not going to find anything very memorable about this issue. But if you’ve stuck around for this long, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll drop the series when we’re only a few issues from the finish line.

I guess there are a couple of things worth noting in this issue just because it’s hard not to imagine them having some bearing on the final resolution of the series.  One is the the internal “Civil War” among Kick-Ass’ group of heroes.  After a couple of issues of annoyance, Kick-Ass finally drops the hammer on The Juicer and kicks him out of the heroes’ clubhouse.  It is kinda funny because this is exactly what would really happen if you tried to form a group of real-life, vigilante heroes. Some dude is going to take advantage, not contribute his dues, make a mess in the clubhouse, use up all the toilet paper, etc.  The clever thing about Kick Ass has always been the way Mark Millar is looking at our familiar superhero tropes through the prism of “real-life.”  One of my family members has a “10% rule” that states that in any group of people (priests, school teachers, dog-walkers, policemen, etc.) 10% of those people are complete assholes.  So, it makes sense that as Kick-Ass has expanded his group of heroes, he’s going to run into a few jerks, like the Juicer.  That’s just the way the world works.

And, I’m looking forward to how Millar will apply the classic superhero trope of what happens when the Juicer returns.  He’s gotta have some role to play in the big finale.

Kick-Ass 2 #4 – Review

By: Mark Millar (writer/creator), John Romita, Jr. (breakdowns/creator), Tom Palmer (finishes), Dean White & Michael Kelleher (colors), Chris Eliopoulos & Clayton Cowles (letters) & Aubrey Sitterson (editor)

The Story: Following the wicked crimes from the previous issue, Red Mist and his crew to continue run amok.

Review: This was a tough comic to read for some reasons that I’ll get into in the spoiler section.  It’s hard to say that it’s “terrible” due to the content because Mark Millar isn’t trying to write Watchmen here, nor is he trying to make it superhero funtime like Amazing Spider-Man.  He’s trying to punch you in the guts and get a reaction.  And he understands that comic readers and consumers of popular culture have been exposed to so much, that we’re just immune to normal mayhem.  He’s writing this comic to get a rise out of people like me, who just kinda shrug off beheadings, damsels in distress and big bombs blowing up piles of civilians.  *Yawn* Seen it before… Bring me something new.

So from that standpoint, Millar and Romita are very successful with this series and this issue in particular.  But, that doesn’t mean it was a fun comic to read.  This comic is kind of a train wreck, where you can’t take your eyes away because you know that something else shocking is going to happen next and you kinda want to see what it is.

From a technical standpoint, this comic hums along.  In fact, that’s why the shocking scenes are so shocking; they’re so well done.  The dialog flows smoothly and the storytelling is just impeccable even if it is a little shocking to see Mr. Marvel – John Romita, Jr. – drawing this kind of screwed up content.