The Bill October 13, 2010

Coming off of the amazing selection of books last time, I almost felt bad for this week. Lucky for us though, this week battled hard and while it wasn't as bombastic as last week, everything was still pretty good. I'm digging this trend, let's hope it continues.

Anyway, let's dive into some specifics shall we? If you're ready, I'm ready. It's into the review void we go!




Best of the Week:

I am an Avenger # 2
Writers: Greg Rucka, Sean McKeever, Paul Tobin, Jacob Chabot
Artists: Michael Lark, Mike Mayhew, David Lopez, Jacob Chabot


What can I say? I'm a sucker for these kinds of stories. It's weird too, considering we're in an age where guys like Bendis will create whole story arcs out of some of these small conversations. Somehow though these get to the point faster and retain the emotion better.

The highlight for me was the two page Jarvis story in which we get to see all that he does for the Avengers and how much they appreciate him for it. It's a story that I wouldn't ordinarily clamber for, but I'm very glad that it exists. Plus it was great to see how the New Avengers team relaxes.

The other high point was the New Warriors reunion in which Firestar and Justice have an awkward post-break-up non-conversation. McKeever gets to do the thing that makes him great, and makes these characters real people that you could actually run into at a bar while you were getting a drink.

Fantastic stuff from all corners of this book, and while it may not be quite worth the four dollar cover price, I still don't regret picking it up.

I hope Marvel keeps these kinds of books up. You hear me, Marvel? More anthologies, STAT!




Surprise of the Week:

Superior # 1
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Leinil Yu


I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this book up, but I know it wasn't what I got.

Not that that's a bad thing. After KickAss and Nemesis being just drenched in blood, violence, and language, I was worried that Superior would end up the same way. Happily, that wasn't the case. Millar shows restraint with this one, instead focusing on the bad life hand that the lead character was dealt.

Of course I say that and by next issue it'll be all head explosions and titties, just because.

But while I surprised by the restraint, I can't say that I was really blown away by the book. I like the set up, I like the main character, but I wish more had happened to propel the story forward than what we got in this first issue.

I dunno. This is one of those books I'm going to keep my eye on and see what the reviews are for the second issue. As it stands, I'm thinking it'll be a trade buy, if anything.




There, that wasn't so bad, was it?

That's all I got for this week. If you want me to convince you how you should go out and buy Thor: The Mighty Avenger (and you should) or help me commiserate the fact that I couldn't find a copy of Strange Tales 2 #1, drop me a comment, a tweet, or just an old fashioned email. Whatever works for you! See you next time.

Kick Ass review

Before I start, let me get something out of the way:

Kick Ass was pretty kick-ass.

There, pun complete. I'm happy, and you don't have to wonder when I'm going to work it into my review. Now lets move on.



I'm not going to lie to you, I really didn't have any high hopes walking into Kick Ass. I tend to be a very reluctant fan of Mark Millar, in that his hucksterism gets to me and turns me off his stuff, but I'll be damned if the majority of his stuff isn't pretty awesome. Kick Ass was exactly that, pretty awesome.

The story goes that one day, perpetual every-teen Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides to become the best citizen ever and through on a mask to take on crime head on. Along the way he becomes an internet phenomenon, inspiring others to take up the fight only to raise the ire of the resident drug kingpin. All this is done, of course, with the typical Millar flair for violence and crazy action, which was the real selling point for me.

Turning it up a notch were all the performances. From Johnson's nervously confident Kick-Ass, to Nic Cage's as the Daddy-Dearest-with-a-shotgun superhero Big Daddy, everyone was perfectly cast. My favorite character though, and the one that surely steals the movie, is the spry tough-as-nails 12 year old Hit Girl played by Chloe Moretz. Her scenes are by far the best things in the movie, full of the craziest of crazy action and one of the best lobby scenes since the Matrix. She's probably the main reason I want to see it again, I was so pumped up by all that.



This stuff isn't Shakespeare, but it still never failed to entertain me. I don't know if I was just in the mood for a superhero adventure with a side of crazy violence or what, but it just blew me away with how much fun it all way.

I honestly haven't been blown away by a movie in this way in long time. You know that feeling you get when a movie just grips you and you're taken for a great ride, only to be tossed aside as the movie ends? That ragdoll-whiplash of emotions? That's how I felt after Kick Ass.

With such a fantastic start, I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer brings. Now the bar is set even higher for Iron Man 2.