[BOOK REVIEW] Kick-Ass by Mark Millar

Title:  Kick-Ass

Author: Mark Millar

Artist: John Romita Jr.


Genre: Superhero / Action / Adventure

Year Published: 2008

Year Read: 2013

Series: Kick-Ass #1

Publisher: Icon Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Strong Language and Gory Violence)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads
 

Introduction:

Now, I will admit that I honestly have not heard about Mark Millar’s famous series “Kick-Ass” until I heard about the movie that came out.  Even though I have not seen the movie yet as of this review, I was interested in checking out the comic book it was based off of before watching the movie and I must admit; I was TOTALLY blown away by this really creative concept of a comic book!

What is this story about?

Dave Lizewski was your average high school teenage boy who is not that popular, but is not that unpopular either.  He also happens to be a huge fan of comic books in general and he loved the fact that the superheroes in the comic books would always save the day in the end.  So, when Dave decided that he would like to become a superhero himself, he became the legendary crime fighter “Kick-Ass” and would go out into the city to save the citizens from the various criminals that pop up.  Unfortunately, Dave will soon learn the hard way that being a superhero is not all that easy when he becomes famous and he ends up meeting with other masked vigilantes who may or may not be a threat to him.

What I loved about this story:

Mark Millar’s writing: I have read Mark Millar’s works before (his run on “Ultimate X-Men” and “Old Man Logan”) and so far, I had enjoyed most of his work. Now that I finally read “Kick-Ass,” I really appreciate Mark Millar’s unique storytelling even more! I loved the way that Mark Millar wrote Dave Lizewski as being a teenage boy who is genre savvy enough to learn that being a superhero can be a dangerous and risky job, but he goes through with it anyway since he has a strong desire to become a superhero.  I also loved the fact that Dave Lizewski became a superhero, not because he was affected by some kind of radiation that gave him powers or because he came from another planet, but because he was bored and he just wanted to be a superhero.  This motivation really gave a more creative spin on the superhero genre and I loved the way that Dave mentioned so many fictional superheroes that inspired him to become a superhero.  I also loved the way that Mark Millar mentioned so many Marvel superheroes in this story, especially Spider-Man and Wolverine. My favorite mention of the Marvel superheroes was when Dave mentions about how Joss Whedon’s run on “Astonishing X-Men” managed to surpass “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” which he happens to be a big fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer!”  I also really loved the character Hit-Girl, who Dave meets later on in the book as she seems to be the opposite of Dave, as she would kill anyone in an extremely gruesome manner while Dave, still trying to get used to being a superhero, refuses to kill people (not only that, but Hit-Girl is only TEN YEARS OLD and yet she is able to kill absolutely anyone with ease)!

John Romita Jr.’s artwork:  Now, I am a little fifty-fifty with John Romita Jr’s artwork in this comic as I have seen his artwork before in the 1980s issues of “Uncanny X-Men” and they were pretty stellar in those issues.  However, there were some problems I had with the artwork in this book, which I will explain in the cons section.  But, what I did like about John Romita Jr.’s artwork in this comic is that the action scenes where the characters get bloodied up are extremely vivid in detail and I actually cringed whenever the characters are getting killed or tortured.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like gory violence and strong language, this comic definitely has lots of gore and language that might offend anyone who does not like reading such material.  Also, one of the issues I had with John Romita Jr’s artwork was that the characters look a bit too noodle-like in appearance and it distracted me a bit from the story.  Since this is a dark and gritty story, I would have expected to see the characters look a bit more realistic to really convey the darkness of this story.  Also, I felt that the characters look a bit too old for their respective ages, such as Hit-Girl being only ten years old, but yet, she looks to be close to twelve or thirteen years old.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Kick-Ass” is a truly brilliant graphic novel that really details the realistic side of being a superhero and I am definitely looking forward to the second volume of this series!

[BOOK REVIEW] Wolverine: Old Man Logan by Mark Millar

Title:  Wolverine:  Old Man Logan

Author:  Mark Millar

Artist: Steve McNiven


Genre: Superhero / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 2009


Year Read: 2012


Series: Wolverine


Publisher: Marvel Comics


Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 
 

Brief Introduction:

Now, everyone knows that I am a huge fan of Wolverine, so when I heard about this unique little story called “Wolverine: Old Man Logan,” I just had to try this comic out!  Luckily, I was not disappointed with this story as “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was one of the most intense and possibly terrifying stories I had ever read about Wolverine!  With spectacular writing from Mark Millar and dramatic artwork by Steve McNiven, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” is definitely one comic book you just have to check out!

What is the story?

In the future world, the United States is being ruled by the villains of the Marvel Universe (Dr. Doom, Norman Osborn and the Kingpin) and all of the superheroes were killed off, except for two heroes: Wolverine and Hawkeye!  Wolverine is now living peacefully with his family as he swore off ever using his claws ever again since a horrible incident happened that dealt with him using his claws.  One day however, the evil Hulk Gang wanted their payment in rent from Wolverine and if they do not get their rent money, they will kill Wolverine’s family.  So, Wolverine goes on a cross country journey with his partner, a now blind Hawkeye, to get some money for Wolverine to pay the rent.  Unfortunately, even though Wolverine is trying to live a peaceful life, he will soon realize that in a world ruled by villains, he will always be a target and he might have to compromise his stance on not fighting anymore once his life and family are being threatened!

What I loved about this comic:

Mark Millar’s writing: After reading Mark Millar’s fantastic run on “Ultimate X-Men,” I just knew that I had to give this book a try and when I did, oh my goodness, I was totally blown away by this story!  Mark Millar had done a fantastic job at giving us a really dark and dystopian world where super-villains ruled the United States and Logan decides to give up being “Wolverine” after a tragic event happened in his past.  I loved the way that Mark Millar developed Wolverine’s character and the fact that there would be a day where I would see Wolverine become a pacifist was really surprising to me.  I also enjoyed the back story about why Wolverine became a pacifist and what happened to him in the past was a truly terrifying and emotional moment in this book that will make you really sympathize with Wolverine’s predicament.  I also loved the idea about this being a “what if” story about what would happened if the super-villains ruled the world and all the super heroes were killed?  It rose up so many interesting scenarios in this comic about what the super villains would do once they take over the world and how the world would look like.  Apparently, the world is full of people being killed for no good reason and the endless changes to the United States such as California now being called “Hulkland.”  I also loved the way that Mark Millar portrayed Hawkeye and Wolverine’s relationship with each other as Hawkeye is always cheerful and can still fight extremely well even when he is blind and I loved the fact that they still remain friends after all the hardships of living in a villain ruled world.

Steve McNiven’s artwork: Steve McNiven’s artwork was just so fantastic in this comic! I loved the way that Steve McNiven made the characters looks extremely realistic.  The characters’ facial expressions are done extremely well as there are shadows on the characters’ faces whenever they are having dark thoughts.  I also enjoyed how detailed the bloody scenes were as blood squirts everywhere whenever the characters are cut up as it gives the scenes a much more frightening feeling.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this book:

~A huge warning for anyone reading this comic~

This comic has oodles and oodles of blood and gore throughout!  I had never seen a “Wolverine” comic that had so many scenes of people being killed in the most brutal ways (being cut up) and anyone who does not like seeing any kind of strong violence in a comic might want to skip this comic.  Also, there is some language in this comic, although not as strong as something you would see in Scott Snyder’s “American Vampire” or Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series, so for anyone who does not like reading language in a book, they might want to skim over these words.  I took off half a star because I felt that the beginning was moving a bit too slow and it was not until the middle of the story where things really started to pick up.  Also, the story might be a bit confusing for anyone who does not read “Avengers” or any other Marvel comics since it manages to combine most of the Marvel characters into one story (I know I got really confused when the Avengers were mentioned since I barely read the “Avengers” comics (big X-Men fan here).

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Wolverine: Old Man Logan” was a really interesting read for me since I usually do enjoy the usual dystopian future storylines and this one was really creative and unique to read through.  Wolverine fans will definitely enjoy this fantastic one shot story of everyone’s favorite claw wielding mutant!