Kick Ass 2 Review

04/07/2012

Kick Ass 2

Author: Mark Millar

Artist: John Romita Jr.

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Story

After somehow surviving (and succeeding at) becoming an amateur superhero Kick Ass, teen David Lizewski is back, with the story picking up a few months after the events of the first Kick Ass. It opens with Mindy promising her family she will give up her Hit Girl identity and Dave joining a team of vigilantes. Known as Justice Forever, the group is led by Colonel Stars and Lieutenant Stripes - brothers who gave up their jobs in the mafia after finding God. Red Mist has a similar idea, gathering his own assortment of villains and changing his name to the ‘Motherfucker’. With his aim to destroy Dave’s life and cause as much destruction to New York City as possible, this can only end with an epic battle, but who will survive?

Review

Kick Ass 2 seems to lack something the first volume had. Perhaps it was that with Kick Ass, I had little to no expectation, but this one didn’t grab me in the same way. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable; this is exactly what you expect from the term ‘graphic novel’, with gratuitous violence, foul language and no pretence the story will end happily. Hit Girl remains my favourite character; although it was nice to see Dave’s pal, Marty Eisenberg, get a bigger role in this volume.

There were only two points I felt Millar crossed the line with the violence and cruelty – the scene where Red Mist announces he is now ‘Motherfucker’ and the scene with Katie – and they jarred for me. I think they stood out, pulling the audience from the story, not because they were so horrific but because Red Mist’s morality degrades dramatically in a short amount of time with little explanation (other than his father’s death). I found it hard to believe he would become so psychopathic, completely unfeeling and inconsiderate of the consequences of his actions without more explanation. It was here that it became clear that Kick Ass 2, as a whole, could have done with a lot more character development. Especially since the highlight for me was seeing the backstories of the members of Justice Forever.

Character depth could have also helped combat the clichés Millar slips into. The first Kick Ass was a parody, joking about the comic hero tropes like avenging a parent’s murder and such. This volume Millar starts to develop plots that appear to fall into those traditional superhero conventions and it’s disappointing after how different the original was.

The artwork is very similar in style to the first, often playing with that great contrast of green and red in the panels. While it’s not outstanding art, this is the look I like in comics; it’s not distracting and your eyes flow over the page, absorbing the action effortlessly.

There are already plans underway to bring this to the big screen but, considering the content, I expect we’ll see a radically different story in the movie. Basically everything that went wrong in the first comic, went right for our hero in the movie, so will they be able to put a positive spin on this story or will the next movie be darker than the first?

There is still some great comedy in amongst the darkness, especially from Hit Girl’s attempts to blend in, but there’s significantly less than in the original. I still think if you were a fan of Kick Ass, you’ll probably enjoy this continuation of the story but it’s not for anyone who can’t stomach strong violence.

I found it disconcerting that the reading order at the back says you should read Hit Girl (the spin-off comic) before Kick Ass 2 and yet it won’t be published as a hardback volume until around Christmas. The reading order also promises there will be a part four and five (which will be Hit Girl 2 and Kick Ass 3). Kick Ass finished on a cliff-hanger, with the audience fairly sure of the direction that Kick Ass 2 would follow – Red Mist was clearly going to evolve and seek to avenge his father’s death. Kick Ass 2 leaves us with very little to hint at what will come in the next two instalments but I look forward to reading them nonetheless.

Score: 7/10

Written by Libby Popper