Or – “It’s Good To Know That I’m Not The Worst Parent In The World…”
I would never let my kid wear a jacket with all that blood on it. We’d make sure that she got run through a car wash after murdering half a dozen mobsters…
Previously, on Kick-Ass: After only a few months as a costumed hero, Dave Lizewski has already met several of his cohorts. Big Daddy is creepy as all hell, while his daughter, Hit-Girl, is probably the most capable of all the costumes we’ve met (presuming that capable means “leaving the highest body count behind.”) But Dave’s new BFF is the Red Mist, a stoner teen with a Mustang, an array of weaponry and a great weed connection. Red Mist and Kick-Ass teamed up last issue to get some press and publicity by saving lives (theoretically, anyway) during an apartment fire. Of course, this higher profile also means that people might come to fnd you, as Dave finds when Big Daddy and Hit-Girl show up in his bedroom and tell him that he’s going to help them take down the mob. Dave’s career as Kick-Ass has been unpredictable from day one, but things are about to take a turn no one saw coming.
 We open with (as the cover promises) the secret origin of Hit-Girl. Say what you will about Big Daddy, at least he’s committed to his lunacy. He has training his daughter to be aware of the easiest way to kill a man, as well as dozens of ways to maim ’em. He also shoots her right in the chest to make certain that she’s not going to be afraid of a gun (he makes sure that she’s wearing her bullet-proof vest and all, but still.) We find that it is HER idea to dress as superheroes, as well as her idea to recruit Kick-Ass and Red Mist to their cause. “Oh, Daddy, please? They’re really making a name for themselves, and the four of us would be like a super-team!” He agrees, which is how they ended up in Dave’s bedroom last issue, and the twosome makes him an offer he cannot refuse. Big Daddy spells it out thusly: they know who he is, they know where he works, and if he doesn’t play along, his identity will be on the internet by morning…
Dave literally sleepwalks through the next day, distracted by his costume drama, until he meets up with Red Mist again that night. “I think I was just finding it harder and harder to relate to people who don’t wear masks,” says Kick–Ass. He hangs out with Red Mist, who thinkg Big Daddy’s offer is bull$#!+, and ends up high as a kite on his teen crush’s doorstep. “I’ve been Kick-Ass all along and I’m not gay!” screams Dave at her window, but he runs away in panic before she sees who it is… Katie does get a glimpse of him running away, though, and a strange look comes over her face. Red Mist and Kick-Ass meet Big Daddy and Hit-Girl at their lair (in an adorable touch, she’s made place settings around their table with everyone’s code name.) When they arrive, though, they find father and daughter beaten bloody, held at gunpoint by dozens of Mafia goons. “Help us, Kick-Ass,” begs Big Daddy weakly, but another gun is pointed at Dave’s head. “This prick can’t even help himself,” sneers Red Mist as he prepares to kill his partner…
THAT was unexpected… The only bad part about this particular issue was the long wait since the last one, and the expectation of a long wait before the next. Mark Millar strikes the perfect balance between superhero convention and real-world kick in the nuts, and John Romita, Jr’s art is once again note perfect. The silly aspects of the superhero personas are right there in front of us, and yet, Millar is able to get past that and show us a story about people. Sure, they’re people who do stupid and foolhardy things in funny tights, but they’re relatable in ways that even Batman isn’t. Kick-Ass is one of those stories that grabbed me by the neck with the first issue, and this one has another gutshot shock ending that makes perfect sense in retrospect, but ya still never saw coming. Kick-Ass #6 earns an awesome 4 out of 5 stars (including the sequence with Dave’s busty teacher and her new low-cut top, the kind of pain I can totally relate to) and shows that there are still original takes on the costumed hero genre, so long as you’re not averse to a little ultra-violence.
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I saw the previews for the movie earlier. SPOILER: they age Hit-Girl a couple of years, dress her in a manga-esque schoolgirl’s uniform and blonde pigtails. She keeps the katana, though.
Despite the fact that I almost didn’t buy the first issue because I thought the title of the book was obnoxious, I’ve loved the run on this book so far and there has been at least one moment each issue that makes me laugh out loud.
I wonder if next issue is gonna link with the first scene in which we see Dave as Kick-Ass, the one were he’s being totured by mobsters.
Umm Matthew that wasn’t supposed too be a twist but more like a “No don’t go in there (trope)”
I’m referring to Red Mist being a bad guy. Why else would we have been presented too another comic book geek a couple of books back, who happened to be loaded and the heir to a crime empire….and poof suddenly Red Mist (With equipment and all) enters the fray.
They were grabbing our nostrils and leading us through it….Then again i don’t read half of what you read so maybe that’s why i catch that stuff.
@Lifeisaglitch: It wasn’t that obvious, I mean the very first scene in the very first Kick-Ass comic was about a guy who was inspired by Dave to become a superhero. Dave narrates at one point “this was long before the others showed up” meaning more heroes were to appear, personaly I thought Red Mist was simply going to be a posser that would bailout on Kick-Ass when he most needed him.
I sure was suprised and am now eagerly awaiting the next issue!
I must admit I was disappointed with the addition of would-be heroes to the Kick-Ass universe. I felt it detracted from Kick-Ass’ uniqueness and was in danger of turning a great character concept into a cliché within its own title. The last two issues weren’t bad, they just took a direction I felt weakened a great idea.
This issue I resolved to buckle in for the ride and trust Millar’s demented mind. I am glad I did. The origin tale of Big Daddy and his deadly offspring Hit Girl is a blast. How does a former cop who lives to avenge his wife turn his innocent daughter into a ruthless killing machine? Read the first few pages of this book; you’ll cringe and laugh you ass off. It’s a stylish blend of the macabre and the comical. After the origin story, Millar brings us back to the present as Big Daddy enlists Kick-Ass and his two-bit partner Red Mist to team up. The last pages drop two big cliffhangers, making it tough to wait for number seven.
John Romita Jr. is drawing a striking book. His forte is laying out the panels and progressing the action. His simple style serves to make the uber-violence and action pop off the pages. Dean White colors are becoming a noticeable plus for an already strong book.
Kick-Ass is wickedly sick and devilishly funny. If lots of blood and a brutal pummeling here and there won’t offend you, pick it up.