By: Mark Millar (writer/creator), John Romita, Jr. (breakdowns/creator), Tom Palmer (finishes), Dean White & Michael Kelleher (colors), Chris Eliopoulos & Clayton Cowles (letters) & Aubrey Sitterson (editor)
The Story: Following the wicked crimes from the previous issue, Red Mist and his crew to continue run amok.
Review: This was a tough comic to read for some reasons that I’ll get into in the spoiler section. It’s hard to say that it’s “terrible” due to the content because Mark Millar isn’t trying to write Watchmen here, nor is he trying to make it superhero funtime like Amazing Spider-Man. He’s trying to punch you in the guts and get a reaction. And he understands that comic readers and consumers of popular culture have been exposed to so much, that we’re just immune to normal mayhem. He’s writing this comic to get a rise out of people like me, who just kinda shrug off beheadings, damsels in distress and big bombs blowing up piles of civilians. *Yawn* Seen it before… Bring me something new.
So from that standpoint, Millar and Romita are very successful with this series and this issue in particular. But, that doesn’t mean it was a fun comic to read. This comic is kind of a train wreck, where you can’t take your eyes away because you know that something else shocking is going to happen next and you kinda want to see what it is.
From a technical standpoint, this comic hums along. In fact, that’s why the shocking scenes are so shocking; they’re so well done. The dialog flows smoothly and the storytelling is just impeccable even if it is a little shocking to see Mr. Marvel – John Romita, Jr. – drawing this kind of screwed up content.
Okay, so what were the bad things in this comic? Well… SPOILER WARNING… The first rough scene happens when Red Mist and gang set out to cause some mayhem. They’re after Kick Ass’ girlfriend and they stop to ask some 5-year olds where she lives. Not only does Red Mist shoot and kill all the little kids, but they end up being faceless little munchkins… The set-up is very deliberate: Red Mist talks to them, you see their faces clearly, a couple of them have a few lines of dialog and then he shoots them (in a panel devoid of sound effects). It’s grim and disgusting, but it is very well done if you’re shooting for emotional effect. Then they find the girlfriend’s home, kick in the door, execute her father in front of her, splatter her with the dad’s blood and proceed to rape her. Thankfully the gang rape happens off panel, but it is crystal clear what happened. I feel dirty just typing the description.
Conclusion: Very well done, but a little too icky and disturbing. I applaud Millar for pushing the boundaries of good taste, because without pushing it you’ll never learn where the boundary is. But this was too much for a mainstream comic. It was a good comic, but I’d never recommend it to anyone and feel kinda bad having it in my house.
Grade: B
- Dean Stell
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Filed under: Marvel Comics Tagged: | Aubrey Sitterson, Chris Eliopoulos, Clayton Cowles, Dean Stell, Dean White, Icon, John Romita, Kick Ass 2 #4, Kick-Ass #2, Kick-Ass 2 #4 review, Mark Millar, Marvel, Michael Kelleher, review, Tom Palmer
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“But this was too much for a mainstream comic. It was a good comic, but I’d never recommend it to anyone and feel kinda bad having it in my house.”
Bingo.
I’d love for my friends to get into comics. I’d love for them to pick up comics they are “familiar” with and read them to be fully immersed with it.
Given the movie, all of my friends know about Kick-Ass and very few have read the series. However, all of them would not have been able to handle this issue.
And then you say, “Very well done, but a little too icky and disturbing. I applaud Millar for pushing the boundaries of good taste, because without pushing it you’ll never learn where the boundary is.”
And I 100% agree with you there, too.
Kick-Ass 2 #4 is just something all my friends will have to miss.
As an aside: It’s funny that people can do major essays about Starfire while this story goes unchecked. Then again, KA2 is rated for adult audiences.
I’m also a little bothered that I have a pull quote on the back cover like I might have to explain myself to a future employer, “So, Mr. Stell, do you approve of killing children? How about rape?” Ugh….
But….like you’re saying, it isn’t for everyone and it’s kinda odd how we kinda recoil from stuff like this in comics when it happens in prose fiction all the time. Like, no one every thinks you’re a deviant for having American Psycho on your coffee table.
No, I think we can “push the bounds of good taste” without gang-rape and murdering children. Those two behaviors are “bad taste,” period, without any need for explanation whatsoever. Mr. Millar is a crass imbecile: also “period.”
I clearly and obviously don’t agree with the behaviors. They’re disgusting. But, I still think comics should be allowed absolute freedom in terms of story. Movies and TV should stay further away from this material because they’re putting a real child actor/actress through a horrific scene. Comics can do a little more. That doesn’t mean I like it, but that’s where the the power of the marketplace comes in. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
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I kind of felt the same way. I was very shocked when the kids were killed and I almost wanted to stop there, but the rape just made it worse. I understand though that Millar wanted to show how superheroes would work in the real world, and what if you had a truly sick f**k doing the things villains have been in comics forever. This was the villain going after the girlfriend, which ironically wasn’t even the girlfriend, and it was awful. Millar is trying to break superhero tropes and he certainly is doing a good job of it. Also, I’m getting past that because I like the characters, and the scene with Dave’s dad at the end was sad and really well done, and I’m excited to see what Hit Girl is gonna do. I just can’t wait for Red Mist to get his comeuppance. Millar is a good writer, and especially a good comic creator, and I like this series enough to get past the violence, although I’m sure he’ll top this somehow. He always does.