Kick-Ass

Kickass tells a unique and grounded story of a high school student who takes up being a vigilante despite having no powers or specialized training, the realism in this story provides a compelling narrative and maintains a serious tone, and characters with a psychotic personality just makes the story more interesting.

"The first time I ogled myself in the bedroom mirror I realized how off the mark the comic books had been. It didn't take a trauma to make you wear a mask. It didn't take your parents getting shot, or cosmic rays, or a power ring. Just the perfect combination of loneliness and despair."Yeah, you've heard the news by now. "Kick-Ass" kicks much indeed. Tons of it. It's ridiculous how much is kicked, really. Mark Millar is a psychopath. For a minute let us entertain the notion that I'm pitching a comic book to you and you are the great and powerful publisher contemptfully fanning yourself with hundred dollar bills as I, the writer, tell you what I plan to do with that money. I am going to create a comic book story about a stereotypical comic book nerd who decides to become a superhero who specializes in getting his rear end handed to him and in doing so I am going to tear into the medium the readers love, douse every page in so much blood that one will feel compelled to don raingear before opening each issue, and use language that could be considered a hate crime against political correctness and decency in every speech bubble. And oh yeah; there's a TEN YEAR OLD GIRL wantonly and brutally murdering people with swords throughout. How do you think it will sell, bossman? Can I have that advance now? Okay, okay; I'm leaving! No need to be rough about it. Well, I bought it. Kick-Ass may not be a cerebral philosophical masterpiece like Watchmen, a game-changing reinvention of the way classic characters are portrayed like The Dark Knight Returns, or be as bleak and unrelenting as The Walking Dead, but it does one thing better than most any comic I've ever read. Yeah, that thing it says on the cover. The tale of Kick-Ass is a loving satire/tribute to comic book culture and a commentary on modern popular culture as well. After one near-death experience pointlessly attempting to stop some graffiti artists, our hero gains fame on Youtube when a flailing melee with a group of thugs is captured on a bypasser's cell-phone. This inspires other citizens to follow suit and indulge their inner geek and lots of garish comic cliches follow. Old-school meets new school when classical no-killing hero Kick-Ass meets the edgy vigilante executioner Hit Girl and her large father (known affectionately as Big Daddy). Time for a reality check.The art is done by proficient Marvel artist John Romita Jr. and while it's not exactly revolutionary or eye-popping, it is exceptional where it counts: in personality and gore. Millar's writing is witty and filled with pop-culture references and hilarious dialogue. He even invents a new swear; a male version of the aforementioned dreaded C-word. Tunk. It catches on fast and can even be used as a verb. If you are cool, you will find a place for it in your daily vocabulary. Make it so. Highlights include Kick-Ass being mistaken for a flasher, Big Daddy and Hit Girl's definition of a Democrat (which is painfully true) punctuated by a sweet headshot from a sniper rifle, a protagonist who has no qualms threatening a group of mobsters while still pulling up his own pants, and Kick-Ass's pathetic origin story juxtaposed in one panel with the classical vengeance angle.Kick-Ass doesn't do quite as much as I was hoping considering the GOAT hype around it, but issue-for-issue it mops the floor with most everything that is out there. And with a higher nerd-reference count than any comic I've read, this one is a definite winner if you know even the first thing about the medium and is about as graphic as graphic novels come so don't buy it for the kids. And yes, friends, there will be a sequel. So here's the truth of it and the moral of our story. Superheroes and vigilantes are really a lame idea when taken literally. But as pathetic as our little escapist fantasies are, they help define who we are as people, what's right and wrong, and they inspire us to change our world. As vehicles for metaphor and allegory, you cannot beat comic books. Just don't go out and try to live them out 'kay? This is a definitive graphic novel not to be missed. Somebody should make a movie out of it or something....

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. The art was unique as the story was too. I never imagined that I'd be reading about what would happen if I actually tried to be a super hero, and this book does that in a fun, exciting, and funny way. Overtime you feel like you know the characters because you can relate to them, in a way. I'm not saying that you're a masked vigilante out fighting against mobsters, but I mean the sense that when they dont have they're masks on they are really just regular people, teenagers in this case. And for those who said there was too much profanity in this graphic novel, speaking for all 15 year olds who go to public school, we hear this kind of language all the time so its nothing new. There is a horrific amount of violence and blood in this book too! There were some images of people getting killed in this book that made my jaw drop, one particular scene in book four actually had me envision what it would like like if it was in motion, thats why it made my jaw drop. The characters in this book are really cool, the only one who I thought was annoying was Kick-Ass believe it or not. He just acted so insecure and cried during the whole book which I thought kind of made his name a lie. The ending was the biggest flaw with this book though, it was the kind of ending where you say "What the hell". Also, some of the plot twists in this book are just too predictable, they should have done a better job at hiding them. But it set itself up for a sequel, which let me forgive the ending of the book and gave me hope that maybe the second one would recognize some of the flaws of the main character and ending and fix them. Overall, its a fun read! Nothing spectacular but the artwork is great and its definitely a new way to read a comic book.

I'm not gonna lie, I came into the world of Kick-Ass late. I saw the film before reading the comic. But I figured as a pretty big comic nerd, I owed it to myself to check it out. And it delivered in many senses, not as much in a few.I'll start this out by saying, I overall enjoyed the film more than the comic, and that's not something I can say often about ANY movie made from a comic or book. My biggest gripe has to be the art direction. It's sound, and pretty detailed, but in my opinion just comes off as too...cartoony for the gritty subject matter being told here. Even just looking at the cover, Kick-Ass himself looks like he's maybe 12-13 years old. He doesn't look much better than Hit-Girl, who's around 10. But I digress.The writing is actually pretty great here, and the story unfolding is solid, and even relatable to some extent. But some small things just got into the way of me fully enjoying this. The big incident that almost puts Kick-Ass out of commission pretty early on into the book was handled decently well in the film, but in the book it almost makes it out as if the kid is a super mutant. The punishment he receives and then gets back up and out into the streets within a few months is astounding.One way or another though, it's a good read and worth owning to most any comic book fan that doesn't already own it. Doubly so to someone who's enjoyed the film but never read the book, much like I had been.

The is one of the best comics I have ever read! It brings gritty realism to the idea of super-heros in our reality. The script and the way the characters associate and communicate with each other feels so natural and real. The illustrations are no less astounding! The colours make the illustrations (especially the gory parts) pop out with a seamless gleam. If you like Super-hero comics, there is no reason why you shouldn't like this comic.

Just buy it. Read it. Love it. If you've seen the movie, read it. If you haven't, read it. Get it, it's a blast!

内容は退屈な日々をおくるのがイヤになって少年がコスチュームを身に包みバットマン・ロビンの真似ごとを始めキックアスと名乗る。人気のあまり映画化もされた「キックアス」あまりにもスプラッター（流血的）＆バイオレンス（暴力）な作品これまでのヒーローコミックを裏切る展開、ウオッチメンも真っ青？文字が読めなくても何か楽しめるジョンロミータJrの画はなかなか好きだ。日本のマンガやフランスのBDに通用する画風である。

Great series.

こちらは英語原書の、「アートカバー」で、「ハードカバー」仕様の本となります。日本語翻訳本も2010/11/19日発売予定なのでご注意を。洋書の方でも、価格の安価なソフトカバーのTPB(単行本)も別途商品として発売されているので、検索してみてください。他のバージョンの本について詳しくは調べていませんが、この本の特徴を挙げると、・表紙イラストが違う・各話表紙イラストのバリエーション違いを、鉛筆画、製作過程画、等で数点収録・ロブ・ライフェルド氏の寄稿文を収録・映画版デザインで描かれた本編アーティストのイラスト収録といった感じになっています。