An Ass-Kicking Comic Book Experience

Even though Hollywood has found a way to take any halfway decent comic over the past decade into the theaters, Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s “Kickass” screams “make me a movie.”

It’s just that cool.

Channeling every reader’s inner comic book geek, “Kickass” is loud, lewd and loquacious, in the best way possible, making for an offbeat trade that you will remember long after you read it.

If you’ve read his runs on “Daredevil” and “The Ultimates,” you know that Millar knows how to tell a deep and intricate story, but doesn’t mind throwing in a laugh from time to time. Taking a step away from that, Millar crafts a witty tale that feels like “The Wonder Years” meets “Superbad,” with some Deadpool thrown in for good measure.

Following the exploits of Dave Lizewski, a mediocre teenager who makes his dreams of becoming a super hero come true, “Kickass” instantly draws you into its world. Chances are, if you’re reading the trade, you’ve had to deal with many problems Lizewski is forced to, such as with friends, family and women. That essentially makes the trade that much more fun to read.

Seriously, there aren’t many times you have a scene of a wanna-be super hero fighting crime one second and then a quick peak at a single father having sex on the couch the next.

Little moments like this give “Kickass” the feel of something much different from your average comic book and one that will have you coming back for more.

Now with Millar’s writing setting an extra vivid scene, a very special artist is needed to bring these thoughts to life. Luckily, Romita Jr. is no slouch in this department and draws an extra sexy world that is full of suspense, fun and intrigue. Seeing the cleavage on Lizewski’s teacher will take you back to your high school days, while the extra bloody fight scenes will remind you of “Reservoir Dogs.”

All in all, it’s one of JRJR’s best works over the past decade, especially considering how weak some of his most recent work has been. That being said, fans of his work will truly enjoy this trade and will be reminded of better days.

Overall, like a perfectly-blended drink, after reading “Kickass,” you’ll be forced to take a deep breath and utter one, single word.

Ah.

Quite refreshing that a comic book doesn’t have to be exactly about super heroes to be special, but make no mistake about it, there is definitely something super about this trade.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14225 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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