Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years Book One (Kick-Ass, 1)

Product Information

The owner, Matt, who has collected comics for over 15 years, has taken his hobby and turned it into business. It's been a decade since teen comic-book nerd Dave Lizewski donned his homemade Kick-Ass costume and took to the streets of NYC to fight the city's hardest criminals.

He's one of the clearest successors to Jack Kirby in that he's adept at crafting colorful, larger-than-life stories full of dynamic but impossibly proportioned heroes. If you're a comic nerd like our protagonist you'll get most of the little references and pop cultural comparisons. This book does feel and look more cinematic than the original Kick Ass, but doesnt seem to have as strong of a start as a comic book itself.

But there’s a new face beneath the old mask, a new figure wearing that famous green and yellow spandex. Being a comic book geek, it's all about the condition of the book, and this book was in perfect condition.

The colours from Steigerwald are pretty dark and muted in this issue, with the red blood spurts really standing out! With his super-hero secret identity gaining fans due to a popular viral video, and other masked vigilantes beginning to make their presence felt in the city, Dave knows that his extracurricular activity is dangerous, maybe even stupid - but he's got the itch, and it ain't going away. So, while I dont know if I would recommend it, I predict that it will cause much hand-wringing (and high sales).

While one of the more recognizable Millarworld properties, Kick-Ass has never really lived up to its potential as a story exploring what happens when ordinary people attempt to become costumed vigilantes. Here, Romita captures that into his art and keeps the flow going even on such vastly different story beats. That being said, Patience is a compelling character, and Romita and Steigerwald bring their A-game to the art.