Fun for all of the - scratch that, keep it for the action junkies.
I totally missed Kick Ass the first time. And the second. And the movie. I don’t know, I think the name put me off somewhat. I wanted to be reading titles that could be considered a little more mature. You know, names like Spider-Man or Superman. Fables and the Unwritten at a push.
Yet as I assaulted my pile of fresh first issues today, Hit-Girl #1 lay on the top, and remembering the excellent work in Nemesis, I shrugged, and opened the first page. Only to be assaulted in return by the ‘graphic’ violence of a gang attacking one of those ‘real-life super-heroes’ that I watched a documentary about some months ago.
I say graphic, because it seemed all the more real for the understated blood and detail. Compare this to say some of the Avatar stable, Crossed; No Hero; many others. These titles deliver superb art detailing every drop of blood, every wrinkle of an intestine, offering an insight in anatomy that somehow pushes the entire experience into a safe, fantasy realm. But a few motion lines and a lack of lettered sound effects somehow makes this page more hard-hitting (pardon the pun).
And so I read on.
According to the back page, this title bridges the gap between the first and second Kick Ass series, but at no point do I feel adrift. It’s obvious who everyone is, with a limited cast, and I find the adventures of this precocious little girl fascinating. This is who Robin probably would have been in a real world. While many of us wonder (er, did wonder, when we were a lot younger that is) just how we would adjust to a life of crime-fighting in spandex, this girl who helped knock off a mob boss stands to be defeated by her greatest threat ever – the High School elite.
After all, when you have decapitated the Five Families, how are you expected to know what band is hot or what hairstyle is in?
Shifting along, I also want to recommend another first issue, from the stalwart label that I rarely give attention. Dark Horse released Gilberto Hernandez’ Fatima: The Blood Spinners #1 today; another riff on the zombie theme. (Oh, and Marvel Zombies Destroy #4 is also out, and that is a fun romp through the rotting crowds).
Gilberto has been a cult name in his time, and it is good to see that his current offering demonstrates just why he holds that esteemed reputation. Although plot wise, there is little to distinguish this character and setting from many other gun-toting, loss-driven heroines, the unique style of art makes this title character-driven, and wanting to know more, I already know this four issue mini would make a kick-ass movie.