Kick-Ass rocks (the film, not the comic)

Yeah, I went to see the film, Kick-Ass and yes, it was a rocking good time. Everything all of the film’s various trailers promised it would be. Still, I have some issues with it (as a comic, not as a film).

To me, the comic was not only specifically designed as a storyboard for the film, but targeted to appeal to our most salacious and prurient interests. I really didn’t so much like Kick-Ass as a comic because it seemed to me that the comic held in contempt many of the core tenets that I love about comics.

Please don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the violence in the book that set me off (hey, I like a bit of the ultra-violence as much as the next under-athletic geek boy who was terrorized by muscled-bound, no-neck jocks while in high school, but it was all the “gimmies” that the book asked while trying to position itself as an “ordinary” universe.

No, I think that Hit Girl’s high-end ninja-level skill-set was a bit much, as was her complete detachment from the consequence of her actions. personally, this (comics) is my house, and it really seemed to me that way to many liberties were taken with the storytelling and with what the writer felt he could “get away with” in order to tell the story he wanted us to believe that he could tell.

Still, that shouldn’t dissuade you from going to see the film. It really does hit on all cylinders and should prove to be the hit that Millar and JRJR hoped it would be; and for that I’m very happy for them

A Hero is more than just a Sandwich

OK, so as I stated I recently joined MoCCA, and over the weekend not only did I get my membership card (autographed by John Romita, Jr., but I also received a “trading card” sketch card and a special variant edition of Marvel Apes #1. Needless to say, while all of this swag is totally wicked-cool, I didn’t so much join to get this stuff as I joined to support the cause.

The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit over 40 creators and their families with over $400,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

The Initiative has already produces a number of very cool items, including a series of “100 Covers” spotlighting 100 illustrated covers (Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine), that were drawn by various fan favorite artists (I have the Spider-Man cover book) — which is marred only by the fact that Rob Liefeld drew a cover then refused to allow it to appear in the book — which I feel was very ego-centric and self-serving of Liefeld, denying his fans a chance to see the cover he drew, and possibly denying funds to this worthy cause by someone who might have purchaes the book if only Liefeld’s illustration had appeared in the tome).

Anyways, the Hero Initiative is a worthwhile cause, and I want to urge anyone who works in this industry, or has derived enjoyment from the professionals in this industry to support it, as it is truly a worthy cause.

Kick Ass: The Movie

Last year (was it really just last year?) Marvel Comics introduced us to a creator-owned, adult-themed, violent, superhero property written by Mark Millar (Wanted) and John Romita, Jr. (Amazing Spider-Man) entitled Kick Ass. I purchased the first three issues of the series, before deciding to pass on the concept (and the series) in its entirety. Now it is being translated into a big-screen (R-Rated) film.

Kick Ass is about an otherwise ordinary New York City high school student named Dave Lizewski, who takes his love of comics to an otherwise unprecedented level in that he actually transforms himself into a real-life superhero. He assembles a suit and mask, which he wears under his normal clothing, begins exercising, and practices things like walking on roofs and the like.


Oh yeah, the thing is, he isn't bitten by a spider (either radioactive or genetically enhanced), exposed to gamma radiation, injected with a super soldier formula, or builds a suit of armor. He is, as ordinary as are you or I. Still he Eventually looks to fight crime. His first attempt very nearly gets him killed as he takes a severe beating and stabbing by thugs. This is followed by his wandering off into the street and being hit by a car.

Not the most auspicious start. Still he (as Monty Python would tell us) gets better, inspires others (Hit-Girl, Big Daddy, and Red Mist), and together they...well, here’s where we que the videotape as it were:


Kick-Ass

Trailer Park | MySpace Video

This vid was shown off at the 2009 San Diego ComicCon, and well, was a big hit. Look for it around April 2010.

Catching up on Spidey.

I may have said this before (once or twice), but I love Spider-Man. Yep, the comicbook character. I’ve been something of a huge fan since I first met him back in 1962 (yes i AM that old!). Over the years I’ve managed to collect all but a handful, a handful-and-a-half of his comics (I’m missing something like 30 of the nearly 600 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, and not from the early episodes, but from the ones that happened around the turn of the century.

The other day I just read Vol 2 #38, the issue where Peter’s beloved Aunt May finally confronted him about the truth that she just learned. Apparently she learned in the issue or two prior that he is Spider-Man (no, I don’t have that issue, but I’m hunting for it). Anyway, the story was written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by John Romita, Jr.

What makes the story especially powerful is that, for all intents and purposes, there is no villain, and there is no violence (other than Peter recapping his oprigin and talking about the death off his Uncle Ben at the hands of a bugler), the story is told entirely as an encounter between Peter and his Aunt after years of him keeping the secret of his dual life from her. (To be sure, while it has been better than four decades for us, in the “Marvel Universe” only about 10 years have passed. Still that is a long time to keep a secret.

It was also one of the best and most poignant Spider-Man stories I have ever read. If you haven’t ever read the story, and you are a fan of either Spidey or comicbooks in general, I strongly urge you to seek this story out and read it for yourself.

It is really THAT good.