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Kick-Ass (Kick-Ass #1: 1-8)

by Mark Millar, John Romita Jr. (Illustrator), Rob Liefeld (Introduction)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 14,228 ratings · 488 reviews

Wolverine #58; Enemy of the State's team of Mark Millar (Civil War) and John Romita Jr. (World War Hulk) reunite for the best new book of the 21st century!

Have you ever wanted to be a super hero? Dreamed of donning a mask and just heading outside to some kick-ass? Well, this is the book for you - the comic that starts where other super-hero books draw the line. Kick-Ass is...more

Paperback, 216 pages

Published July 20th 2011 by Marvel Comics (first published April 2008)

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Apr 24, 2010 Kemper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comics, superhero

I’ve got to be one sick puppy. Only a twisted individual could find great entertainment in watching a pre-teen girl slaughter gangsters while wearing a costume and cursing like a sailor.

(As a bonus, I’m now scared of my niece. She is about that age, and she does gymnastics and dance so she’s got all these crazy flippy-flip moves. Thanks to being raised with video games, she’s also got reflexes like a fighter pilot. God help us all if she goes dark side.)

But while I loved the movie version of Kic...more

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May 13, 2013 StoryTellerShannon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, graphic-novels, need-reviewing

Like a a lot of people I had seen the movie before reading the comic and thought it would be redundant but that was nicely far from the truth. It's very similar to the movie but there were enough differences to keep me engaged.

Tale is about a high school kid who becomes an actual superhero but finds himself mostly getting beat up as he tries to protect people. His first incident is so bad he ends up in the E.R. But somehow he keeps going and inspires other people to later become superheroes and...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Stefan rated it 2 of 5 stars

This comic wasn't bad. But I finally found an example of something where the movie is better than the book. If it's a choice between this or the movie (which I give 5 stars), I gotta give it hands down to the movie for these reasons. NOTE: there may be a few spoilers.

1. Red Mist in the movie had more character development. Here he was basically a two-dimensional evil scumbag.
2. Big Daddy was much more likeable in the movie. I guess they weren't trying to make him likeable in the comic,but someho...more This comic wasn't bad. But I finally found an example of something where the movie is better than the book. If it's a choice between this or the movie (which I give 5 stars), I gotta give it hands down to the movie for these reasons. NOTE: there may be a few spoilers.

1. Red Mist in the movie had more character development. Here he was basically a two-dimensional evil scumbag.
2. Big Daddy was much more likeable in the movie. I guess they weren't trying to make him likeable in the comic,but somehow I just think he worked better in the film. Here he was basically a crazy redneck. Also, his back-story made a LOT more sense in the movie, and was frankly more engaging.That scene where he yells instructions to hit girl while Adagio in D Minor plays is epic and tragic and awesome all at once. There are no moments like that here. In fact, I'd say that this comic doesn't do as good a job as emotionally involving the reader.
3. The movie was violent, but this just overdid it. They had like six pages of a guy getting his testicles electrocuted and then punched in the face by gangsters. I mean ,really, come on.
4.This isn't really relevant, but I really missed the awesome music from the movie. One of the best soundtracks ever!
5. The plot was more complex in the movie. Here, they devoted way too much time to people's balls getting shocked and not enough time to the actual bloody plot. Seriously. A whole issue was people getting tortured. That happened in the Walking Dead, too, and there it felt almost as gratuitous. At least the Walking Dead is really long, so it's not like one eighth of it is people getting beaten by gangsters.

However, the story with Katie Deuxama, I felt (maybe because I'm just pessimistic and bitter) was handled more realistically and more originally in the comic book. Kick-Ass does NOT get the girl. It just felt less contrived than the romance in the movie. On the other hand, the romance in the movie didn't really detract from it.

Now, i maybe haven't looked enough at the comic on its own merits. But the thing is, the book and the movie were made at the same time. So it's like two takes on the same story idea. And I just liked one take more than the other. Since they're mostly similar, it's hard to look objectively at something when you know there's a better version of it out there. That's all.

PS: I see a ton of people agree with me on the movie being better. Really. It is. Go see it.(less)

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May 06, 2010 Ariel Acupan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Feb 15, 2012 Sam Quixote rated it 5 of 5 stars

A lonely young man decides to right the wrongs of the world the only way he knows how - by dressing up as a superhero called Kick Ass and wandering the streets for crime! News of his exploits spreads via YouTube and Facebook and soon he is a celebrity but not before he's beaten nearly to death during his first encounter with crime. He soon finds other "superheroes" though - the Red Mist, another young man with a costume but no real powers, and Hit Girl, a 12 year old girl with mad martial arts s...more

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Jan 22, 2011 Dylan rated it 2 of 5 stars

There’s a great line in Kick-Ass, the film adaptation, where comic-book-nerd turned vigilante-superhero Dave Lizewski proclaims to his friends “Jesus, guys, doesn’t it bug you? Thousands of people want to be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spiderman”. Dave’s query cuts to the core of Kick-Ass (still the film), which beneath all the flayed limbs and gored bodies, is about doing the “right” thing, about standing up for what’s right and trying to make a difference. The superficial pleasures of...more There’s a great line in Kick-Ass, the film adaptation, where comic-book-nerd turned vigilante-superhero Dave Lizewski proclaims to his friends “Jesus, guys, doesn’t it bug you? Thousands of people want to be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spiderman”. Dave’s query cuts to the core of Kick-Ass (still the film), which beneath all the flayed limbs and gored bodies, is about doing the “right” thing, about standing up for what’s right and trying to make a difference. The superficial pleasures of Paris Hilton’s life aren’t something to be aspired to – helping others is, and that superhero lore often doesn’t correlate with the real world is something Dave will have to learn along the way through his foray into vigilantism.

A similar line is featured in Kick-Ass, Mark Millar’s graphic novel, but it’s no longer so great. Mark Millar’s Dave Lizewski isn’t the same naive altruistic hero, but a self-absorbed loner whose ascent into superherodom is guided solely by the power-trips and ego-boosts he gets from running around in a mask at night. He isn’t in it for the “little guy”, he’s in it for the Myspace friends and press coverage, and says as much several times throughout the book. Dave would rather be Spiderman than Paris Hilton not because he wants to help people, but because shooting web is “cooler” than putting out sex-tapes. He fumes when the media find a new vigilante to follow; he gloats about how great saving a cat will be for his reputation. Millar’s graphic novel is the piece of nihilism critics unfairly derided the film as, not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that. Much of Kick-Ass is an examination of the delusions of fanboys, the obsessive loners who find solace and refuge from insecurity in the tales of superheroes. It’s also an exploration of what superheroes would be like in reality, not guided by near un-human levels of altruism, but by the same insecurities, fantasies and psychological issues the rest of us suffer from. While this may not be as feel-good as Matthew Vaughn’s approach in the film, it has the potential to be a much more thoughtful work.

Unfortunately Millar makes it quite clear from the off-set that besides a few brilliant moments, he’s content reveling in the gutter. Millar jumps from one bloody altercation to the next at breakneck speed, which is a shame because the real interest lies in the characters and the idea. Entire months of the storyline are condensed into a line or two, but the final battle extends for a good sixth of the book. This reads more like a blueprint to the film at times rather than a developed story in it's own right. There’s no sense of character beyond Dave, no sense of story beyond the most basic outline and no aspirations beyond mindless violence and shock-humor that could have been relegated to any number of lesser-ideas. The constant gore is tiring, as well as the lame attempts at shocking by any means (lets have a 9-year-old say the c-word!) and Millar’s fetish for testicular-violence is just strange, taken to the point where there’s even a character named “Ball-Buster Bobby”. Kick-Ass, the film, has Dave go after a mafia king-pin to atone for the consequences of his superhero shenanigans - Kick-Ass, the comic, has Dave go after a mafia king-pin to avenge his "balls". I know which one I prefer.

(less)

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Apr 12, 2013 Mario rated it 2 of 5 stars

Honestly, this books gives a bad name to geeks everywhere. I did not like the main characters, and this book is clearly not our "world,"like Mark Millar said Kick Ass was.The plot is rather trite, and uninspiring; anyone could had written this story.The only saving grace was the art team: John Romita Jr, Tom Palmer, and Dean White; all cheers for you guys. Others adore Mark Millar's writing style, but I found his style to be pretentious, unrealistic, and he relies on shock value way too much. I...more

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Apr 13, 2013 zxvasdf rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you wanted to offend and titillate hardcore comic book readers and then some, you'd write Kick-Ass. Mark Millar did, and this led to one of the most mainstream accepted offensive yet slickly made movies out there.

The artist/writer duo here obviously work well together, being seasoned veterans of the industry, and you get the sense that the collaboration isn't distinct to each role. The story emerges from Millar's script and becomes a mutable beast to come out a bloody and wicked satire on the...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Claire rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: puking-my-brains-out, never-again, volume-1, homicidal-rampage-ad

Urgh.....Now I remember why I usually read manga...and not M-rated comics. BUULLLLAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH>>>>>>>>>

I swear, this is really, really messed up.

So this apathetic teen decides to cosplay as a superhero and gets beaten up. Then, as soon as he recovers, he decides to go back and get beaten up more--except that this time, he makes it onto the internet, and receives his superhero name, Kick Ass. Reeling off his fame and popularity, he teams up with another, jerk-...more

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Mar 03, 2013 Nathan Herald rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-challenge

book 150 of 1000

Dave Lizewski has always wanted to be a superhero. Heck, everyone's wanted to be a superhero at some point or another, but Dave is willing to take it past the day-dreaming phase. Creating a suit for himself, he is almost killed the first time out. Beat up, stabbed, and then hit by a car, Dave is in bad shape. But the allure of being a costumed superhero is just too seductive - so he does it again. This time, his world goes crazy, and before he knows it, he's in over his head - p...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Danny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

Cool is the first impression that springs to mind. I adore the concept. It's not a reconstruction of the genre or deep reflection ala Watchmen as much as a simple tapping into the geeky teenage boy's dream and merging it with reality. For this alone, it's tremendously entertaining.

The style is not only over-the-top, it's past and heading towards the skies unlike the Armenian guy who did well to crash a car. A bit ambivalent about the style. On one hand, it's just ridiculous and quite quickly lo...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Cindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm not quite sure why everyone's so enthusiastic about this book. Maybe it's because they really identify with Dave's desire to be a superhero in a world gone to shit and his obsessive fantasizing. Maybe that really just taps into some primal fanboy feeling everyone has. I guess I don't have that.

Kick-Ass is not as intense as the reviews and introductions lead me to believe. It oscillates between Dave feeling like a depressed losing bargaining with an empty God and him freaking out/hulking out...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Ryan Mishap rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

This will be two reviews--one will be the four star version but we'll start with the one star review (spoilers):

One Star Review: An amoral, bloody mess that celebrates ignorance and values destruction over empathy. The bad guys are all gross caricatures bordering on racist. The good guys are stupid, venal, and liars.

Four Star Review: A violent, bloody take-down of super-hero worship. Takes the ideas of Watchman and applies them to a world steeped in video violence and kids who grew up on video...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Rod Hilton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

A painfully self-aware, meta comic book about comic books. Overall, a pretty enjoyable read, but not a very deep or introspective book, largely content to stand as an example and satire of comic tropes rather than delve into deeper issues. It often relies on violence in lieu of real content, filling panels with violence in what seems like a cynical attempt to be "edgy".

I've seen the film as well, and honestly I feel like the movie lost absolutely nothing of value from the book. For an 8-issue bo...more

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Mar 24, 2012 Ad Astra added it

This was so violent and graphic, and AWESOME! Ever since I watched the Eddie Izzard standup comedy "Dressed to Kill" I always feel guilty about enjoying violent things. Izzard said in Rome their culture escalated to one of sex, gore, blood, and huge massacres that pleasured the crowds. Then he eyed the audience and said, "You realize you're the next Rome, right? You ARE them." Oh boy. Anyway, I read this front to back in approx. 45 minutes. Literally opened the book when I got on the subway from...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 01, 2011 Helene rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teenagers, fans of graphic novels

Recommended to Helene by: Mike

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 16, 2011 Ken rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I just saw the movie last Sunday on HBO (I could just imagine all the scenes that didn't make it on cable TV) and it's an understatement to say I was impressed since I downloaded the comic right away (can't remember why I didn't see this in the silverscreen).

So instead of giving an independent review on the comic I have to compare some major differences between both media. I'll point out which one I like better.

Film: Hit Girl bought a jetpack from eBay
Comic: Hit Girl bought a flamethrower from e...more

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Jul 06, 2011 Sara Thompson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was one of those books I picked up because I had seen the movie. It was rather entertaining. I am not sure I really liked it because I really liked the movie and they are not the same. The movie had more of a happy ending (though how can anyone say that ending was happy). The plot line of Big Daddy and Hit Girl was rather sad in the book. Instead of being a cop on a mission, he turned out to be a really sad comic book nerd who taught his daughter how to be a superhero just for fun. I think...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Leonardo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of intelligent AND fun comics

Shelves: 20th-century, anthology, cities, comics-and-graphic-novels, humour, illustrated-books, movies-and-tv, pop-culture

I must admit I became interested in Kick-Ass the comic, after I saw it's clever and entertaining movie adaptation. Now that I've read the comic, I can say that it was a most successful adaptation, despite the alterations in characters and plot that were "necessary" to have Big Daddy played by Nicholas Cage. While Kick-Ass perhaps may never attain the legendary/epic status of Watchmen, Sandman, Sin City (just to quote the obvious examples of comics -or graphic novels, for those who feel they need...more I must admit I became interested in Kick-Ass the comic, after I saw it's clever and entertaining movie adaptation. Now that I've read the comic, I can say that it was a most successful adaptation, despite the alterations in characters and plot that were "necessary" to have Big Daddy played by Nicholas Cage. While Kick-Ass perhaps may never attain the legendary/epic status of Watchmen, Sandman, Sin City (just to quote the obvious examples of comics -or graphic novels, for those who feel they need to justify their love of pop-culture- which are generally considered to have changed the medium), it certainly is a heart- (and gut) felt homage to superheroes comics and to every teenager who has ever dreamed of putting on a custom and going out to fight not only crime, but evil. To anyone who, like me, watched the movie first, the plot will not come as a surprise, though there are changes that significantly alter the implications of the work, and which were more likely the result of the need to have Nicholas Cage aboard. Nevertheless, as a reader one is certainly caught up with Dave Lizewski's transformation into Kick-Ass and the way reality seems intent on destroying his vision/quest, because this comic is truly immersed in a teenage angst/boredom and pop-culture world (though its Myspace reference will now seem dated in the Facebook era). Of course, Kick-Ass doesn't intent to merely be a cultural critique, but it's also a brilliantly drawn and executed comic in its own right, with a voice of its own, whether it's depicting an average teenager's life or the brutal ferocity of real-life combat. And it's one of this work's major points that violence and gore don't feel gratuitous or "masturbatory": broken bones and severed heads are depicted with the anatomical precision of a doctorate thesis on human anatomy. Anyway, besides pop-culture reference and ultra-violence, Kick-Ass is certainly one of the most important comic books of the last decade, a fun read and a love-letter to every boy or girl who has ever dreamed of putting on a custom and doing the right (or the wrong) thing, rather than let ennui or a mediocre life suck their joie de vivre. (less)

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Jun 01, 2011 Brendan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, adventure-thriller, comics, fiction, superheroes

What happens if an ordinary teenager decides he wants to be a superhero? What if he has no discernible skills other than his intense love of comics? He gets his ass kicked. A lot. But with gumption, he also get Internet famous and he accidentally runs into a real superhero team who have been slaughtering gangsters and mobsters all over the city. Bloody and funny, Kick-Ass prods us to think about that real scenario and combine it with the angsty angst that haunts teenage geeks. The comic works we...more What happens if an ordinary teenager decides he wants to be a superhero? What if he has no discernible skills other than his intense love of comics? He gets his ass kicked. A lot. But with gumption, he also get Internet famous and he accidentally runs into a real superhero team who have been slaughtering gangsters and mobsters all over the city. Bloody and funny, Kick-Ass prods us to think about that real scenario and combine it with the angsty angst that haunts teenage geeks. The comic works well, even coming up with a relatively good way to explain why the everyday kid can survive the beatings he takes.

It's also interesting to see how Millar takes the "comic-obsessed geek who becomes a superhero" trope and makes it his own. I couldn't help but think about the strange world of Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot, in which a comic book geek reads so many comic books that his mind melts and he comes to believe that he's a superhero. He's got a connection to a strange scientist who gives him an atomic pogo stick and a machine gun, and he actually kicks ass. Burden also came up with the Mystery Men, a bunch of superhero wannabes who mostly get killed because they don't actually have any skills. Burden crafts his comics for laughs, making them pretty absurd, whereas Millar writes the comic for the sardonic post-Watchmen audience who see the construction of superheroes in the same light as the hero of Kick-Ass does.

I also can't help but read Kick-Ass in light of the comics who focus on the celebrity of superheroes themselves. Of course, this was always a part of early comics (viz Superman and Spider-Man), but in the last couple decades, the idea of celebrity as the goal of superheroing has become an undercurrent in many comics. Off the top of my head, the Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Boys have both spent a lot of time on this, but the comic that gave this idea the real treatment is The Authority, which wrestled with both the fascist tendencies of super-heroism and the media celebrity that would inevitably become part of the equation.

Finally, Kick-Ass really works in conversation with Spider-Man, as the main character works like an everyboy stand in for Peter Parker, with all his teenage worries about girls and his desire for fame. It's a solid story with good humor and excellent violent mayhem. Worth a look, for sure.(less)

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Apr 09, 2011 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel

Massive love!

I absolutely loved the film and I have been meaning to read the graphic novel for such a long time! Then the Hit Girl cover of the graphic novel took me by surprise one day I was browsing in Waterstones and I just couldn't help it! I read it immediately and I really adored it!

So there is a lot of bad words and it is a wonder the graphic novel isn't dripping with actual blood from all the gory scenes present inside but what a masterpiece!

The story is about young Dave who is your ster...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Veronica rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 16, 2010 Elisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction, graphic-novels

What a sad reading experience. I saw the movie last spring the weekend it opened and I loved it so much that I dragged my sister to see it again only days later. It's totally tied with Scott Pilgrim for second best movie of the year (with the not yet released Deathly Hallows Part 1 taking the top spot, obviously.)

Much of the story started out quite similar to the movie, but still not quite as satisfactory. The biggest problem I had initially was with the illustrations. When you've got a certain...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Mykle rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was totally blown away by the movie. By childish ultra-violence, yes. With reservations regarding a totally unbelievable character, yes. But still, the movie seemed to aspire to all the great and awful heights of real superhero comics, while simultaneously investigating the comic fandom mindset and the nature of real vs. comic book violence, and it was really interesting intellectually while also totally, hard-core-pornographically stimulating to that awful part of me that rejoyces in movie vi...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Krystl Louwagie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: comic book geeks

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Like a lot of the population I'm sure, I saw the movie before reading the graphic novel on this one. I saw the movie, and immediately had to go out and buy it, add it to my list of favorite movies of all time, and had to stop myself from watching the movie with any free time I had for about 2 weeks.

I'm a person that usually likes the book more than the movie, so I had to read it. It might be just because I saw the movie first, but, I liked it better. The comic, in comparison, is a lot sadder to...more Like a lot of the population I'm sure, I saw the movie before reading the graphic novel on this one. I saw the movie, and immediately had to go out and buy it, add it to my list of favorite movies of all time, and had to stop myself from watching the movie with any free time I had for about 2 weeks.

I'm a person that usually likes the book more than the movie, so I had to read it. It might be just because I saw the movie first, but, I liked it better. The comic, in comparison, is a lot sadder to be honest. I felt a little depressed after reading it, while the movie just amped me up. I would say the graphic novel is probably more realistic in all ways except perhaps the violence-which there is more of in the graphic novel. Some of the original I liked more than the movie-(small spoilers coming)some of the unique violence was cool, I liked it better that he didn't get the girl (I'm bias-I never want the guy to get the "popular" girl, because I never was one and I never liked them-and if the guy's not popular, why should he get the popular girl? It's stupid, just like a 300 lb. woman getting an in shape hotty). I also enjoyed more details on the beginning relationship of Kick-Ass and Red Mist. However, the novel didn't even have my favorite line of the whole movie-call me cheesy, but..."The three assholes, laying into one guy while everybody else watches? And you wanna know what's wrong with me? Yeah, I'd rather die..." Aw, I melted, and knew I'd forever love this movie.

And Big Daddy's origin in the comic vs. the movie? That was the most depressing thing of all. Plus, Hit Girl going to be a normal kid? Uh-uh, that's a cop out and if Kick-Ass is gonna go on (oh, 'cause he's s guy?) then I want Hit Girl to as well. She's better than normal, and I didn't want to see her revert to that. I'd like a mix-yeah, go to school, but still be cool.

Still, the graphic novel was original, I got all the references and was beautiful in it's relate-ability in the real world. And the fact that it was depressing? Well, that just makes it all the more realistic, right? So, it was wonderful, just sad and not as inspiring as the movie.(less)

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Jul 18, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, graphic, dark, superheroes

It's hard for me to give this a fair review because I saw the movie first (twice) and didn't get to experience the book on its own terms--I'd already had my emotional experience with the story and characters and this was more of an analytical experience of comparison. Unlike a prose book that's made into a movie, they didn't have to cut out much of the book and the story, pacing, and details are almost the same. While I enjoyed the movie more on a visual level, there are a few small differences...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Hugh rated it 3 of 5 stars

Violent? Of course...it's Mark Millar! With the violence (as in Wanted) you get Millar's message that people (his audience) needs to get off their asses and DO SOMETHING. He pokes his target demographic in a number of ways.

I like that the book illustrates the main character getting his ass kicked but NOT quitting or backing down. That's an important message for young men with the domination fantasy of "kicking ass" with out paying any price.

It's more of a psychcological turning point for the mai...more

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May 02, 2010 Gabriel rated it 1 of 5 stars

"Kick-Ass... is a hollow exercise, a satire of the superhero genre that completely misses the point about what superheroes are....The problem is that Kick-Ass wants to be a superhero, but his conception of heroism is all wrong. "We only get one life," he says, "and I wanted mine to be exciting." He sees the thrills, the violence, but not the underlying sense of moral mission. He says himself that he has no real origin, that "It didn't take a trauma to make you wear a mask... Just the perfect com...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After seeing the movie, I decided to pick up the original source material and see how it holds up in comparison. Now, I'm normally not a Mark Millar fan. I found Ultimates to be tedious; too much over-the-top, look-how-clever-I-am dialogue, a real smug sense of its own coolness. I read the first issue of Wanted and thought the same. The only thing I've ever really liked of his was Superman: Red Son, which was entertaining, restrained, and thoughtful in a way his work almost never is. But, I real...more After seeing the movie, I decided to pick up the original source material and see how it holds up in comparison. Now, I'm normally not a Mark Millar fan. I found Ultimates to be tedious; too much over-the-top, look-how-clever-I-am dialogue, a real smug sense of its own coolness. I read the first issue of Wanted and thought the same. The only thing I've ever really liked of his was Superman: Red Son, which was entertaining, restrained, and thoughtful in a way his work almost never is. But, I really enjoyed the movie version of Kick-Ass, so I thought, maybe the book will be good too?

Well, it's pretty good. Compared to the movie, it is far more cynical, in particular about the whole wish-fulfillment aspect of being a super-hero. The ending for our "hero" Dave is not nearly as cheery in the print version, and Big Daddy & Hit Girl (the former especially) are way more disturbed and psychotic. In part, I liked this, but then again, Nic Cage's performance as Big Daddy was so great that any major deviations in his personality seem like negatives. While the bleaker tone of the book (which is still an ultra-violent comedy, mind you) detracts from some of the fun, it is more... realistic, maybe?

One thing that the movie has way ahead of the book is its overall crafting. The film was tightly written with a strong story -- everything fit into place. The book meanders quite a bit, with a lot of wasted material. This is partially just the nature of the media: in a book, even a comic book, you can go off on tangents, while in a movie everything has to fit together nicely. Even so, the characters and their relationships were a lot stronger in the film. What the film also had over the movie -- and again, this is one of the strengths of the medium -- was the repeated trope of watching through different lenses. The book stays on one level, which flattens out the experience a bit, while the film smartly moves among different levels of reality (from the story into the comic book, from the footage of a security camera out into the viewers' space, etc). The movie, then, was far more effective in playing up the experience of consuming media, which, after all, is what the story is all about.

I'd definitely recommend it for comics fans and fans of the movie, but it isn't earth-shattering. 3.5 stars(less)

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About Mark Millar

Mark Millar is an award-winning Scottish comic book writer born in Coatbridge. Now a resident of Glasgow, Millar has been the highest selling British comic-book writer working in America this decade. His best known works include: The Authority, Ultimates 1 and 2, adaptations of Jack Kirby's and Stan Lee's Avengers, Wanted, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Civil War. In Augus...more

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Trivia About Kick-ass

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Quotes from Kick-Ass

“Jesus, man. Why do people want to be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spider-Man?” — 37 people liked it

“It didn't take a trauma to make you wear a mask. It didn't take your parents getting shot...or cosmic rays or a power ring...Just the perfect combination of loneliness and despair.” — 14 people liked it

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Kick-Ass (Kick-Ass #1: 1-8)

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