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The Big Shiny Robot! crew was privvy to the newest issue of Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass a full day early and present these quick mini-reviews of the comic from our most esteemed robot menagerie.
Without further ado:
Swank-mo-tron: Kick-ass is about a school age kid in the real world (read: a world with no heroes or vigilantes) who arbitrarily decides that he must be a superhero. He dons a costume and some billy clubs and takes the fight to the streets. Issue #1 documents his first loss, #2 his first victory. Issue #3 ends with the first great cliffhanger of the book and it would be an understatement to say that I’m enjoying this series immensely.
I wrote about issue one (read that here) and how excited I was to continue reading this series and after reading issue three, all the excitement remains. I was one of those comic nerd kids of the 80s who thought being a super hero would be pretty much the coolest thing ever (which is partly why I’m enjoying Millar’s 1985 so much as well, but that’s a different story) and it feels like this book is written specifically for me. Romita’s art is, as always, a pleasure to take in and lends to the realistic nature of the story.
In hindsight, it surprises me that it’s taken this long for people to start setting Superhero comics in the real world.
The only downside to this book? I want to get a costume of my own now…
Swank’s Verdict: If you’re not reading this book, what the hell are you reading?
Clang! Boom! Steam!: Had so much love for this book, this post couldn’t contain it. Check here for his separate review.
Dr. Cyborg Robot M.D Attorney at law: Wow, I thought I liked the first two, but the third one is the best yet. My favorite part is when he is trying on women’s hats as the gay best friend, and god, what an ending. Everyone should read this book, I can’t wait for the next issue.
Budgetron: I’m going to have to agree with D. Cyborg that the moments outside of the suit are just as intriguing and include some of the most fresh writing we’ve seen in a long time on a “comic book with a twist” in the super-hero genre. I know we’ve all been in a situation in High School where we’d keep up ANY ruse to get the attention of a girl we liked, but to have it written the way it was, Kick Ass’ reaction to the horrible rumors at school…plus the origin of those rumors–? Pure High School reality!
I gotta say, this really does remind me of when I first started reading reprints of early Spider-Man issues as a kid, and then Invincible in my early 20’s and that is because it has a brilliant newness that can only come from NEW CHARACTERS! I know I harp on this, but a big reason this book works is because it’s new and exciting. I only hope the creative team will hang in there, and wait to gain the audience the book deserves (and WILL get) so we can be blessed with many more future issues.
GO BUY THIS BOOK! I did, and I’m Budgetron: the bot who buys practically nothing.
M.C. Frogger: Holy fucking robot God of fire, issue three is good. I was not at all familiar with the work of Mark Millar, but I love John Romita, Jr., so I picked up the first issue of Kick Ass, and those dudes can tell a story. From the first issue to the bloody awesomeness of issue three this book has been geek heaven. The best part of it all is that it isn’t censored at all, we get to see swears, blood, and boobs.
My robot pieces tingle for this book.
(We’ll be updating these as they arrive, so check back often for the consensus opinion.)
Links to other reviews of this comic: