Kick Ass Issue 4

Well, its always nice to be proved wrong.

The earth failed to open up and swallow the creators of Kick Ass issue 3 for sins against common decency, filth and general beastliness.

So what happened next?

The plot came together. It started to make sense. It stopped being, well, violent for the sake of violence.

Kick Ass is a twit - we knew it, he knew it but now the story has put his vigilante skills firmly in the Beezer Homes league with the introduction of Hit Girl





and Big Daddy




who are The Dark Knight and Carrie made flesh, so to speak. If the Dark Knight and Carrie chopped baddies to peices with Lone Wolfs dotanuki that is.

Dave Kick Ass is neatly slotted into a new world of costumed wannabes as his life goes back to normal and a thousand shells of hurt are loaded up by the king of the Gangsters and aimed at the Dismembering Duo. And it wouldn't be a Mark Millar comic if it didn't have a shameless (even if quite relevant and well made) plug for another of his titles.

John Romita Jr as an artist carries the authority of having drawn everything Marvel for over 20 years better than almost anyone. This doesn't lessen the impact of explosive decompression eyeball ping pong though.

P.S. This story is being made into a film which will have Nicolas Cage with a porn star moustache as Big Daddy. This alone could drown the world in awesomeness.

Antwerp in beautiful city shock horror probe!

Went to Antwerp on business, expecting to find a grey wasteland.

Instead, I found an absolute beaut....





Slighty camp Thor relatives with wings were an added bonus.

Abandon all hope ye who enter here

My little girl turns 5 on Monday, so currently mustering mental strength in readiness of 30 plus kiddies going bananas for a few hours. Then I thought, who would be the comic book character you'd want to entertain a gaggle of galloping Goonies?


Daredevil?


"Hey kids, a radioactive isotope blinded me young and every girl I've ever loved has died in my arms!"

Scott Pilgrim?


"Hello Sidcup! We are Sex Bob-omb!"

The Kingpin?


"And I shall show you, that a child without a novelty balloon, is a child without fear"


But then, there's only ONE comic character really suitable for the job.

Ultimate Spidey



Really, in my heart of hearts, I know I can always rely on Spidey to both entertain and protect my little one.

However, this could be a good backup:



for no other reason than it cheered me up today.

Evening all.

Its all gone quiet over there

First big football tournament since 1994 without any English involvement.

And its really nice.

No drunken idiots wearing replica shirts attacking cars.

No synchronised stomach ulcer misery.

Just a cold drink and the opportunity to dispassionately watch how Johnny Foreigner does it.

Bloody good, those German lads.

Ich bin ein Sidcupian but willing to back the Fatherland this year.

2008 is the new 1985

This week marked the launch of another Mark Millar title, 1985, in which the Marvel Universe characters tear the fabric of reality and enter the "real world". Its a rollicking good read, full of wholesome nostalgia for us oldies with the added bonus of a good story and art that makes your eyes sing, if that's medically possible.

It got me thinking - the Eighties are holy ground for a lot of todays comic book readers. The comic market has shrunk to such an extant that the people who read comics in the 80's and who have been tempted back in the new millenium are almost the dominant force. Everything that was great in the bygone days has been resurrected, dusted off, given a dash of irony and is selling like smarties at a rave for partially sighted clubbers.

Yesterday though, I picked up at least 5 comics which literally and figuratively tear the arse out of most comics written 20 years ago.

Astonishing X-Men - Giant size #1 - Joss Whedon and John Cassaday
Thor #9 - JMS and Oliver Coipel
1985 - Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards
All Star Superman #11 - Grant Morrison and Quite Frankly
Kick Ass #3 - Millar and John Romita Jnr

any of these books would have been a monster hit in the days of Miami Vice jackets with rolled up sleeves and fake Ray Bans.

2008 is the new 1985. Remember not to drink Kool Aid this time.

Where were you when you read the last 4 pages of KICK ASS #3?

Preview copy of Kick Ass procured through not-very-nefarious means.

You may have heard of the comic book "Kick Ass" before or you may not.
From today, the people that won't have heard of it will start to be in the minority.
And it's because of the last 4 pages.

Comics will never have the audience they once had - too many other outlets for peoples interests and the significant cost involved have put paid to that. To grab your share of this ever decreasing market you need SHOCK and AWE tactics.

Whether or not this is a good comic is irrelevant. This is a comic of either mass destruction or attraction - I'm not sure which.

I trust Millar and Romita are ready for what comes next.

Update: Its been a couple of weeks and zero fallout. Therefore the morality of the entire world is in the toilet and everythings for the best in this the best of all possible worlds.

Warning! (Old) Men (could be) at work (soon)

Ahem.

Excuse the slight delay.

Hopefully, there will be an advance review of Kick Ass #3, the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jnr, detailing the adventures of the worlds first "real" superhero.

Bait your breath, chaps, I'll be back in two shakes of a lambs tail.

all the best

Olav


p.s. Since I last posted, Dave Campbell (my mentor) has closed Dave's Long Box and become a corporate blogger for ABC. See? Messing around can pay!