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[Punchy]

Kick-Ass 2 #1 - Untitled, unless 'Taste The Awesome!' Counts - Millar, Romita JR. and Palmer

Story - I'm going to kick-start this review from a different point than everyone else has, before picking up this issue, I had already read the first 16 pages of it in Mark Millar's UK anthology title CLiNT, and I have to say, it's really surprising how well this issue worked really well as both a 22-page American-Format comic, and also in shorter 8-page chunks in CLiNT, often when stories are cut up and moved around, it can leave you feeling short-changed or let-down, but Kick-Ass 2 seems to have been written with both formats in mind, and Millar does very well at walking that pacing tightrope, if you only read CLiNT, you'd swear blind that the story was written for the shorter instalments, and if you only read this issue, you'll swear that it was written as a whole. Who's to say which is right? But Millar should get some praise for this feat.

The actual story of Kick-Ass 2 picks up really well from where the first instalment left off, and executes all the rules of sequels well. It escalates the stakes really, we have more heroes, a team of heroes, and more villains too. From the looks of Dave Lizewski's monologue, the personal stakes for him have also been upped. Bigger is better. You've even got a hero trying to turn their back on the life of crime-fighting, Hit-Girl is Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2. Some readers may find this a little cliched. But if anything, it's meant to be cliched. Kick-Ass has always been more of a commentary on superhero cliches than a realistic take on them, it's a parody. The movie especially achieved this, it was Spider-Man through a nihilistic lens of violence and social networking. Here we're getting parodies of not only superhero teams and team-ups, but of superhero movies themselves. How very meta.

Wisely I think, Millar has taken some cues from Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn's movie adaptation of the first book, such as bringing the character of Marcus, Hit-Girl's new dad into things. I may be remembering the first book wrong, but if he appeared at all, it was a very minor role compared to that of the movie. I like seeing this kind of symbiosis between comics and film, it shows that they can work together. Plus the Kick-Ass movie was actually better than the comic (whisper it quietly) so anything that brings the movie's tone into the comic is a good thing. But he hasn't softened the book, the humour is still sick, we get Rihanna beating jokes, and even a character fantasising over Aunt May, only in Kick-Ass.

Kick-Ass 2 is pretty much exactly what you would expect from Kick-Ass, it takes everything you loved from the original, and adds more. Yes, these are the rules of sequels, but they are golden rules, and hopefully Millar will play with them a little.

If you liked Kick-Ass 1, chances are you'll like this, it delivers all your Kick-Assy needs, and then some. If you didn't like Kick-Ass 1, then you'll probably hate this, and you'll probably let us all know at 100 decibels. But fans of Kick-Ass don't care about the haters, they're just having fun, just like Millar and Romita.

Art - John Romita JR, the sainted John Romita JR has actually been getting a lot of criticism lately for his work on The Avengers, which is apparently rushed, and apparently he can't draw Iron Man for toffee. I haven't really noticed it, I always enjoy his work, including Avengers. But I do have to admit his work here does look quite a bit better. Whether this is down to Tom Palmer's finishes or the fact that he cares more about his own property, I don't really know, but this is some of JRjr's best work, and it looks great,

Best Line - 'Man, I feel like Rihanna after a quiet night in'

8/10

[Starlord]

I did laugh out loud at that line.

[Eli Katz]

I did laugh out loud at that line.

Somebody's a closet Millar fan.

[Victorian Squid]

That line already sounds dated in a bad way.

[prozacman]

Review by ProzacMan

I was a big fan of the first book and an even bigger fan of the movie Kick-Ass. Though I've been on an economic hiatus from buying floppies, I made sure I scrounged up enough money to get this book. Take my review with that bias in mind.

Despite there being a lot of fighting, Kick-Ass 1 volume 2 starts at a slow pace. It's letting us know what Kick-Ass and Hit Girl have been up to since the last book, sets up their new status, and shows were the new series intends to go. Closest thing I could compare it to is the first half hour of the movie Ironman 2. Like the first volume there is a flash forward to a big moment latter in the series. Though it doesn't quite have the impact that Kick-Ass getting his balls electrocuted had. The future super hero vs super villain mob battle really should have been a two page spread and the location should have been more recognizable visually. Without the text you wouldn't know wear they were. Other than that and Hit Girl being drawn like she is now six instead of eleven, this is some of John Romita's best art. Story wise it's a good set up issue. The question is now that the initial shock value of the first volume and the movie have warn off, can these characters hold up compelling stories in their own right?

STORY: 8
ART: 8.5
OVERALL: 8.25

[Punchy]

That line already sounds dated in a bad way.

But it was funny. I don't think it was that dated really.

[BlueStreak]

Kick-Ass 2 #1 was a lot better than I expected. As someone who was largely unimpressed by Kick-Ass 1 #1 and didn't bother to follow the rest of the series, I expected a lot less from Millar (a writer's whose work is hit or miss for me) and Romita (an artist whose quality has gone down as of late). The plotting was solid, the dialogue was nothing spectacular, and the art was significantly improved (mainly because Romita only did the rough sketches.

If only Marvel would force Romita to draw all of his comics this way, Avengers would be a spectacular book.

I give it an 7.5.

[Stephen Day]

yeah let's do Incognito.

Cool

[Starlord]

That line already sounds dated in a bad way.

I don' t think so. It's a pretty current news story (or what newscasters pass off as news). Now if he had said something like, "Cashes Clay after a rumble in the jungle" I'm sure it would have landed like a fart in church.

[Victorian Squid]

I don' t think so. It's a pretty current news story (or what newscasters pass off as news). Now if he had said something like, "Cashes Clay after a rumble in the jungle" I'm sure it would have landed like a fart in church.

So 2009.

[48THRiLLS]

KICK-ASS 2 #1
One of the reasons I like Mark Millar's creator owned comics so much is that they are fun. They may be a collection of 'oh shit!' moments at times but I always look forward to what he writing and I am rarely disappointed. After the first collection and the movie, it is pretty cool to see what MM has in store for Dave and Mindy... it is also cool to see that it is a sequel to the comic and none of the movie stuff spilled over. I love the tone that was set for this arc and there are so many things I am looking forward to see coming from this opening issue. JRJR's stuff looks absolutely amazing here, I don't hate his current Avengers stuff but I wish it looked a lot more like the stuff he is doing here.

STORY - 8

ART - 9

OVERALL - 8.9

[Rockman]

I picked up this book last week and figured I would drop a quick review.

The book to me was just uneventful. Not much happened, but I suppose that is expected for an initial issue. The problem I have is that Millar's dialouge tries too hard to be realistic, he thinks by making it casual and vulgar it will help to bring us into the comic, but in reality casual speak is not used in writing for a reason. When speaking people do not follow simple written rules, and when transferring it to writing it just reads very awkward, at several points I had to re-read exchanges just to clarify what was going on. Overall the read was simply ok, nothing fun really happened and I cannot help but feel that this would be better as a movie just like the first book.

The art on the other hand was beautiful, the best Romita Jr work I have seen in years.

I give it a 6/10

[******]

KICK ASS 2 #1

Before reading this issue I went back and read the first hardcover again. It had been so long I had forgotten just how brutally awesome it was and the differences between it and the movie. Jetpacks indeed.

With the first installment of KICK ASS fresh in my mind, this issue honestly feels a bit light. So much happens in every issues of the first series, this just feels like a bit of an interlude or prologue - more of a where are they now type of issue than an actual beginning of a new story. The characters are still great though and I'm excited to see where Millar goes next, but I'll obviously be waiting for this to finish up and be collected before I read any further.

John Romita Jr. is one of my all-time favorite artists and his collaboration with Tom Palmer and Dean White on KICK ASS and continuing now with KICK ASS 2 is some of the strongest of his career. Tons and tons of energy on every panel of every page. If JRjr spent a couple of years working on nothing but KICK ASS it would be okay by me.

Story: 7
Art: 9
Overall: 8

[******]

yeah let's do Incognito.

Incognito: Bad Influences #1
as selected by guitarsmashleyWRITER: Ed Brubaker
PENCILS: Sean Phillips

LAST YEAR'S BREAKOUT HIT FINALLY RETURNS! By the award-winning team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. One of the biggest Hollywood options of the year, nominated for THREE Eisner Awards, INCOGNITO is finally back for more! It's apocalyptic pulp noir at its finest! It's been over a year since Zack Overkill came out of Witness Protection to build a new life. But working for the government isn't that different from being controlled by them, and his new secret identity is becoming more trouble than it's worth. So what will Zack do when tasked with a mission that sends him on a hunt into darkest corners of the super-criminal underworld where he was raised? Also returning with Incognito are the exclusive Pulp magazine essays by Jess Nevins, Professor of pulp history, only available in the single issues of Incognito. MATURE CONTENT/ NO ADS $3.50

[guitarsmashley]

the rhianna line was dumb...overall the issue was just not great.