Josh Wilding Reviews: Mark Millar And John Romita Jr.'s KICK-ASS 3 #1
The final volume of Mark Millar (Jupiter's Legacy) and John Romita Jr.'s (Captain America) Kick-Ass saga hits comic book stores this Wednesday ahead of the release of Jeff Wadlow's big screen adaptation of Kick-Ass 2 Does it live up to what's come before? Find out here!
You've got to hand it to Mark Millar. The writer threw a lot at us in the first two volumes of Kick-Ass - not to mention the Hit-Girl series which bridged the gap between the two - but he still somehow manages to find plenty of new material to make the third and final volume feel as fresh as ever. Starting with an attempted jailbreak that plays out exactly as you might expect if you and a bunch of friends ran up to the gates of a maximum security facility in homemade superhero costumes, Millar then wastes no time in quickly establishing the new status quo for Dave Lizewski and it's fair to say that it won't be what you're expecting.
The writer is well-known for coming up with scenarios which leave you wondering, "How the hell has no one thought of this before?!" but the brilliant thing about Kick-Ass 3 is that it's not a hugely shocking moment or startling plot development with which he does it. Instead, it's down to just how real and genuine the whole thing feels. THIS is exactly how you would expect things to play out after the events of the previous volumes, but don't let that fool you into thinking that what you'll get here is even remotely predictable. Millar is a genius storyteller and this is already shaping up to be the best volume yet!
That's obviously high praise at such an early stage, but as Kick-Ass 3 is the finale to Millar's epic story, it's obvious that he's putting everything into this one in a bid to really cap off the trilogy in style. It's also worth noting that this issue makes for a damn funny read. Some fans were a little turned off by how dark things got in parts of Kick-Ass 2, but the humour here - which has always played a big role throughout the whole saga to be fair - is top notch and there's no doubt that you'll find yourself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. There are also a lot of interesting seeds planted by the writer in the course of the issue which promise to only become more interesting as it continues.
John Romita Jr.'s artwork has always been well-suited to Millar's writing (and arguably the tone of this series in particular), and while his style sometimes divides fans, he's on top form here. If you're not a fan of JRJr's work by this point, Kick-Ass 3 #2 probably won't be enough to change your mind, but he delivers arguably some of his best work and there's no doubting the fact that it fits in perfectly with the series. The final page in particular shows just how good he is at bringing this world to life, especially in terms of the characters who inhabit it, and the fact that he's once again joined by the brilliant Tom Palmer and Dean White make this easily one of the best looking books on the stands.
Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. are back for what promises to be the perfect finale to their groundbreaking trilogy. Amazing! 
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