Kick-Ass

Infobox comic book title
title = Kick-Ass


caption = "Kick-Ass" #2 (May 2008).
Second-printing variant cover art by John Romita, Jr.
schedule = Monthly
ongoing = y
publisher = Icon
date = April 2008 - Present
issues = 4 (As of August 2008)
Superhero = y
main_char_team =Dave Lizewski
writers = Mark Millar
artists =
pencillers = John Romita, Jr.
inkers = Tom Palmer
colorists = Dean White
editors = John Barber
creative_team_month =
creative_team_year =
creators = Mark Millar
John Romita, Jr.
TPB = Volume 1
ISBN = 0-7851-3261-9
subcat = Marvel Comics
sort = PAGENAME

"Kick-Ass" is an ongoing, creator-owned, American comic book series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita, Jr. It is published by Marvel Comics under the company's Icon imprint. It dramatically satirizes comic book tropes and superhero conventions.

tory

Dave Lizewski, an otherwise ordinary New York City high school student and the child of loving single father, takes his interest in comic books as inspiration to become 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, sating his ambitions for a time. He eventually seeks to fight crime, his first attempt at which leads to a severe beating and stabbing by thugs, followed by his wandering into the street and being hit by a van.Cite comic |Writer = Mark Millar |Penciller= John Romita, Jr. |Inker=Tom Palmer |Story = Kick-Ass |Title = Kick-Ass |Issue = 1 |Date = July 2008 |Publisher = Icon Comics] He retains his secret identity, however, stripping off and hiding his costume before paramedics arrive.

Telling his father he was mugged, he undergoes intense physical rehabilitation, including four operations. He is released weeks later, and as soon as he is off crutches dons the suit once more and goes on patrol. When he saves a man from a beating,Cite comic |Writer = Mark Millar |Penciller = John Romita, Jr. |Inker=Tom Palmer |Story = Kick-Ass |Title = Kick-Ass | |Issue = 2 |Date = August 2008 |Publisher =Icon Comics] an onlooker catches the scene on a cellphone camera and uploads it to YouTube, turning Lizewski into an overnight sensation christened with the name Kick-Ass.

In school, the mugging excuse used to cover up his bruises spawns rumors Lizewski is a gay prostitute. Believing them, his longtime crush, Katie Deauxma, adopts him as a "gay best friend". Lizewski goes along with this in an effort to spend time with her. His father, worried about him, gives him a can of police-issue pepper-spray for protection.

As Kick-Ass, Lizewski sets up a MySpace account, so people can contact him for help. The first such request he investigates leads him to an apartment of violent lowlifes who try to kill him. He is rescued by a costumed young girl wielding a sword,Cite comic |Writer = Mark Millar |Penciller = John Romita, Jr. |Inker=Tom Palmer |Story = Kick-Ass |Title = Kick-Ass | |Issue = 3 |Date = September 2008 |Publisher =Icon Comics] who kills all the attackers and then leaves to join a grown man she calls Big Daddy, and who calls her Hit-Girl.Cite comic |Writer = Mark Millar |Penciller = John Romita, Jr. |Inker=Tom Palmer |Story = Kick-Ass |Title = Kick-Ass | |Issue = 4 |Date = October 2008 |Publisher =Icon Comics] The two disregard Lizewski and drive away. Lizewski later learns the police attribute the deaths to a criminal "turf war"; he also discovers online that Kick-Ass has inadvertently inspired a new subculture of people dressed in makeshift, original superhero costumes.

Promotion

Prior to the series launch a viral campaign featuring a short video of the main character of the comic, Kick-Ass, being "caught on tape" performing a heroic act was uploaded to YouTube and spread around the Internet. Later, a MySpace page was created, supposedly maintained by the character, where it was written that "Mark Millar [...] is doing a comic-book about me with [...] John Romita Jr." [cite web |url=http://www.myspace.com/kickass_comic |title=Kick-Ass on MySpace |accessdate=2008-03-10 |publisher=MySpace]

A charity auction was held to name the main character. The winner, Dave Lizewski, chose his own name. [cite web |url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=153926 |title=Talking to Dave Lizewski & a Preview of Kick-Ass #3 |accessdate=2008-05-14 |publisher=Newsarama]

Each issue also singles out specific comic shops, crediting them for taking part in the "home-made effort" to promote the book and encourages readers to support them.

Collected editions

The series is being collected as it goes along:

* "Volume 1" (collects "Kick-Ass" #1-6, hardcover, 144 pages, December 2008, ISBN 0785132619)

Film

A film version, in pre-production as of May 2008, [cite web |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16384 |title="Lying in the Gutters" (column) |accessdate=2008-05-14 |publisher=Comic Book Resources |work=Volume 2, Column 157 | date=May 12, 2008 |first=Rich |last=Johnston] was fully financed by Matthew Vaughn's MARV Films, written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, and directed by Vaughn. [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ide19bac7b91209a2e58975952de2e797 Kit, Borys. "Matthew Vaughn ready to 'Kick-Ass'"] , "The Hollywood Reporter", August 15, 2008, 01:00 AM ET] "The Hollywood Reporter" gave the financed amount as $30 million, while Millar updated the figure to $65 million. [ [http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/688790/Fresh_Ink_Online_KickAss_Northlanders_and_Runaways_Reboot.html G4TV.com: "Fresh Ink Online: Kick-Ass, Northlanders, and Runaways Reboot", August 29, 2008] , at approximately 2:30 mark of video interview]

Aaron Johnson has been cast as the main character Dave Lizewski. [http://movies.ign.com/articles/901/901986p1.html Kick-Ass Cast] , "IGN", August 22, 2008] Nicolas Cage will play a former cop who, in his quest to bring down an evil druglord, has trained his 11-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit Girl, [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i5e840c8f576b9c7ddd0fd31c6dc7dc73 Kit, Borys. "Nicolas Cage is a 'Kick-Ass' ex-cop"] , "The Hollywood Reporter", August 22, 2008] being played by Chloë Moretz. Lyndsy Fonseca has been cast Lizewski's crush, Katie Deauxma. Christopher Mintz-Plasse has been cast as the previously unheard of nemesis The Red Mist.

Notes

References

*gcdb series|id=29792|title="Kick-Ass"
*comicbookdb|type=title|id=17176|title="Kick-Ass"

External links

*MySpace|kickass_comic|Kick-Ass
*imdb title|id=1250777|title=Kick-Ass (2009)

Reviews

* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=148173 Best Shots Round Table: "Kick-Ass" #1] , Newsarama, March 26, 2008
* [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=152090 Best Shots Extra: "Kick-Ass" #2] , Newsarama, April 1, 2008
* [http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=55 "Kick-Ass" #2] , Comic Book Resources, April 2, 2008