The coming of Kick-@$$

Ok, for those not in the know on comics, Mark Millar is basically the shiznit. He’s the guy that wrote Wanted (I’ll never understand how anyone could justify calling the film they did an adaptation), Superman: Red Son, and a few billion other stories that are just plain good. His most recent work Kick-@$$ (the censoring is an attempt to keep it PG, lol) is no exception. For censoring reasons, let’s just call it K-A.

K-A tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a typical comic fan/pop culture junkie. He’s an obsessive fanboy who questions “Why hasn’t anyone ever dressed up like a superhero and fought crime in real life?” So he puts on a costume, grabs a couple of fighting staffs for weapons and heads out to fight crime….only to have a massive beatdown uncorked on him and then get hit by a car. You’d think that would put an end to his dreams os superheroism, but nope. He keeps at it, and finally builds a reputation as the superhero K-A (still censoring, lol) after he’s caught on video keeping some people from beating a guy up in a parking lot long enough for the cops to arrive.

It’s not long before he’s an internet sensation and sets up a myspace to help people. Upon investigating a myspace message from someone needing help, he finds it’s a trap, and is nearly killed before a little girl dressed as a superhero leaps into the room….and proceeds to decapitate and dismember everyone. Calling herself Hit Girl, she is teamed up with a large superhero named Big Daddy. And not long after this encounter, K-A teams up with another wannabe hero who calls himself the Red Mist.

I will say that this is hands down one of the more brutal comics I’ve read in a long time. John Romita Jr.’s artwork is gorgeous, as always. The book reads like R-rated Stan Lee. There is only one major problem I have with the book. Dave just isn’t a very strong character. I mean, yeah, he’s an everyman sort of a character, which is fine. It’s just that Big Daddy and Hit Girl are the more interesting characters. When two supporting characters feel like they deserve their own book more than the main character deserves his, there’s a problem. Another problem is that Dave isn’t entirely likeable. I know what you’re thinking, “who is?” but how can we sympathize with a character whose sole reason for trying to be a hero is simply boredom? I understand that the comic comes with the learning curve for him, but he just doesn’t seem to be growing as a character. Maybe if Millar does a sequel story, that part can be fixed.

I’m not saying I don’t like the book or characters, mind you. I think this is one of the most inventive and fun comics to come out in a very long time, and I definitely reccomend it to any comic fans of any kind (except maybe the squeamish).

I feel I should also go on to mention that the comic is being turned into a movie (what comic isn’t these days?) directed by Matthew Vaughn, who directed Layer Cake and Stardust. Mark Millar has been very heavily involved with the film’s production (unlike with Wanted) and it is being very closely adapted from what I’ve read. The movie’s already been given an R rating for the script alone, which is to be expected. It’s expected sometime later in 2010, and I’m looking forward to it. It looks like a mix of the first Spider-Man movie and Superbad, which should equal some genuine hilarity. After seeing some footage with Nic Cage in it, I think this will be his comeback.