Kick-Ass 2 #2 - Mobile Edition

Marvel Comics
Kick-Ass 2 #2
By Zak Edwards
March 31, 2011 - 23:22

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Writer(s): Mark Millar
Penciller(s): John Romita Jr.
Inker(s): Tom Palmer
Colourist(s): Dean White
$3.99 US

Some may complain about the tardiness of this issue of the Kick-Ass sequel, but considering the amount of work Millar has done since that last issue, I am willing to put it aside, only after mentioning it in this passive-aggressive way. To his credit, Millar’s extremely recent work, namely his Ultimate Avenger vs. New Avengers series and his creator-owned Superior story, have been stellar. They are smart, funny, entertaining, and, in the the former’s case, resonant of his strongest work from the early 2000’s. So while Kick-Ass 2 took a while, I feel the time away could only aid the book, especially considering the less than breathtaking first issue. A note for those in charge of younger readers: The Kick-Ass film adaptation was rated R. It was a toned-down version of the book. This book is the same. I leave it to your judgment.

I had some issues with the debut issue of the Kick-Ass sequel. It was stage setting and I felt, while most of the issue’s insights were cool and interesting, the issue kind of accomplished very little. Of course, this is, I presume, another eight-issue comic series, so judging the proverbial book by its cover applies here. This issue, however, gets more into things while filling up with little moments that Millar’s writing can have, which really help to flesh out a story and its premise. For example, this issue is mostly about protagonist Dave Lizewski wondering at the “Justice League” he has joined, which is a group of costumed heroes inspired by his Kick-Ass persona, but it is filled with woonderful small moments about the cultural shift resulting from the introduction of Kick-Ass into society as a whole. Dave and his friend wander the halls of their school, now also populated by something always there, goths, but now these goths are followers of the villain Red Mist. The same divides exist, they are just now written with a hero slant. This happens throughout. I also have to say, the keeping of Hit-Girl, the attention grabbing eight year-old who caused quite the stir at the movies last year for both her language and ability with dual katanas, mostly in the background is nice. With her in only tow panels, Hit-Girl is kept away from the role of breakout star who paves over the story and, while I know she will be back in a fuller capacity, keeping her sidelined is a bold move showing some intent and purpose to his storytelling.

And for those of you wondering if Kick-Ass has calmed down in any way, you have nothing to worry about. The issue ends with a bloody scene of baseball bats and the resulting blood. So while most of this issue is discussion and character interaction, all of which is very interesting, there is still the classic superhero action with the turned up volume this series has become famous for. The addition of new characters, ones who are actually competent (or seem to be), is refreshing. The story has moved past Kick-Ass and his crazy exploits of becoming a superhero and onto something focused elsewhere. We have two characters who look like Thor and Valkyrie knock-offs, a big former mafia hit-man turned born-again Christian turned superhero (complete with a dog!), a super fetishized girl in S&M gear, and a former cop who’s moonlighting as a Spider-Man rip-off. All are given a fairly brief amount of lines but are throughout the issue. I don’t think they are meant to have a lot of character outside of their quirks, the quirks outside their compulsion to dress up like superheroes and hit people with baseball bats, I mean. But the introduction of one of Dave’s childhood friends, who was with him all last year, gives him an additional eye into the situation. Marty “Battle-Guy” Eisenberg is a great character to have in the story just to have another perspective who knows both sides of the story. Overall, the story is stronger and gets places in a less frustrating manner. Millar’s space management is key in this issue and handled excellently. I highly recommend the doubters to hop onboard.

And of course the artwork of longtime artist John Romita Jr. continues to be spot on. His art, combined with the inks of Tom Palmer and the colours of Dean White, is fantastic throughout. However, and this is only because I have been reading Top Ten and some other comic series that really make use of the background, I kind of wish “JRJR” put more into the backgrounds. Everything is very much at the forefront, which could easily be argued as the point (very easily), I just feel things in the background could flesh out details in a similar fashion to Millar’s writing. But this is a minor and extremely subjective observation. I especially love his spreads and larger panels, the “Justice Forever” panel is especially outstanding, just the angle and the lights in the background, a rare exception to my previous observation, and the words on the page make the whole thing quite ridiculous. JRJR has been at this a long time and it shows. He knows how to panel, how to divide his time and divert the readers attention. The book reads with complete ease and his art shows why he is such a mainstay.

Grade: A- An improvement and a great issue. Naysayers shall be silenced!