In Review: Hit-Girl

By Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.
Publisher: Titan Books
Out: Now
Warning: Contains swearing and extreme violence. Not for younger readers

The Book: Hit-Girl spins off into her own blood-soaked saga in this prelude to the Kick-Ass 2 film. Mindy McCready tries to settle into life as a regular school-girl, but wants nothing more to be dispensing hot justice to the scum of New York City.

Her mother thinks she's doing her homework, but in reality she's taken Kick-Ass on as her sidekick and training him up to punch, shoot and stab ... just like Daddy would have wanted. And in return, Kick-Ass is helping her learn to survive middle school - without spilling anyone's blood.

But when Kick-Ass gets benched, leaving Mindy to take on the mafia solo, even Hit-Girl may be in over her head. Meanwhile, Red Mist pursues his goal of becoming a super-villain ... and faces a final test of his own. Hit-Girl is the first act of the upcoming Kick-Ass 2 movie!

The Review: Regular Mark Millar and Kick-Ass readers will know exactly what to expect from this stor and, sure enough, there's more than enough blood, high octane action, mass murder and shock moments to satisfy them. But what about the rest of us?

Despite a by now surely trademarked torture scene in its opening episode, this gritty, no holds-barred adventure, set in a world where real people turn superhero, only to find the role is often far from the comic books that inspired them, opens quite slowly. Millar focuses instead on character building: fleshing out the background to the psychotic 12-year-old vigilante, a girl trained for combat by an equally deranged, now dead father. A parent who clearly took to this ask with all the commitment to his work of one of those equally deranged parents that determines to turn their child into a tennis star or beauty pageant queen from the age of three.

This characterization, accompanied by moments of black humour, are what ensure the Kick-Ass series delivers an underlying if truly warped snapshot of humanity. "Nasty, brutish and short" pretty much sums Mindy up, as she fails in everything except her mission to kill bad guys, in the most brutal and revolting ways possible (feeding body parts through a lawn mower and decapitation being just two in this volume, in case you're wondering). Her inter personal skills are lousy: although her means to deal with a school bully - dropping her from a roof into a dumpster - will probably appeal to many. (Drugging her parents to cover her activities as Hit-Girl, probably less so).

Alongside Mindy's gruesome trail of death and vengeance, other threads continue to build in the background. The world's first super villain, Chris Genovese, is seeking vengeance for the death of his gangster father and heads to Asia to train with martial arts experts. He's ripped off, royally - but there's a twist in the tail by the end of the book which will cost Kick-Ass dear as the story continues.

The Kick-Ass series is brutal, bloody and steeped in violence. On the surface, it would appear to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever, appealing directly to a desensitised mass audience for whom the shock value of grisly death and violence has become some twisted norm. While Millar's storytelling pushes and exploits those demands, while perhaps overplaying the superhero and popular culture references, Hit-Girl proves a riveting, if horrifying, read because of his characterization, complemented by John Romita Jr.'s distinctive art.

Let me be clear: Hit-Girl is not a title for younger readers. This is nasty, violent fare, referencing and dependent to some degree on the audience's awareness and familiarity with not just superhero but gangster fiction. But it merges both genres to great, if unpleasant effect.

Mark Millar on Panel Borders

Panel Borders: Millar World

Starting a month of shows on Panel Borders about the art of writing superhero comics, Alex Fitch talks to Mark Millar, a 2000AD alumnus who now has his own anthology comic CLiNT, featuring popular alt-superhero saga Kick-Ass and other strips intended for forthcoming movie adaptations. Alex and Mark discuss the latter's experiences in British and American comics, the relationship of his Catholic faith to strips American Jesus and Saviour, and the genesis of super-villain heist caper Super Crooks with film maker Nacho Vigalondo.

8pm, Sunday 4th November 2012, Resonance 104.4 FM / streamed at www.resonancefm.com / podcast at www.panelborders.wordpress.com

CLiNT Issue 1 Goes to Reprint with comic-style cover

The first issue of Mark Millar's brand new comic anthology, CLiNT, has sold out - and will now have a second printing with a spanking comics-styled cover featuring Kick-Ass.

With its third issue now on sale in UK newsagents and comic shop, the 100-page monthly magazine published by Titan features brand new comics alongside news, features and interviews, with a mix of celebrity contributors and hot new talent.
CLiNT #1, which launched early September, boasts the first-look at Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s Kick-Ass 2, and Titan say it has flown off shelves. This first hit issue also included the start of Nemesis, by Millar and Steve McNiven, and sees two of the UK’s most outspoken TV personalities present their comic debuts.

Turf, by Jonathan Ross and acclaimed artist Tommy Lee Edwards, mixes vampires, aliens and gangsters in a slick period thriller. Rex Royd, by comedian Frankie Boyle, introduces “The Renaissance Man of Madness” in a supervillain strip.

Comics retailers will be able to order copies of the second printing of CLiNT #1 with its new Kick-Ass cover from this weeks Previews Plus and December’s Diamond PREVIEWS.  For more information visit www.previewsworld.com.

CLiNT issue 6, which includes the latest installment of Kick-Ass 2 is also listed in December’s Diamond Previews.

• For more information on CLiNT, visit: www.CLiNTmag.com


• CLiNT #1 trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCRL5PLM7Yo


• Connect with CLiNT on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CLiNTmag
or Facebook: www.facebook.com/CLiNTmag

Scottish superhero film in the works from Mark Millar

Wanted and Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar has told Scottish TV network STV he is aiming big for his first directorial outing which will shoot later this year, taking his cues from the South African feature District 9.

In a video interview on the STV web site, the former 2000AD writer says he wants to create an epic Scottish superhero movie that will have a 21st-century Trainspotting vibe while being “as cool as X Men 2”, with plans to shoot this summer using a local cast and crew.

In first part of STV's extensive interview with Millar about all his projects, he explained: “The plan with the Scottish movie was that I realised that everything I’d written, even though I’m a Scottish guy from Coatbridge, everything I’d written was set in New York or Los Angeles. I just thought that’s quite weird; normally people will do something that is a wee bit to do with where they came from, so I thought that it was quite odd that I’ve never done that.

"It’s a lazy shorthand to always set something in America that everybody understands.

The film will shoot this summer, Mark reveals.

"... My plan is to start directing [the film] in June, June and July," he continues. "We’re prepping it just now. We want to do it with an entirely new cast, people nobody have seen before, young people from Glasgow and Edinburgh and work with local teams. Everyone that works on the movie we want to try and keep Scottish and just create a superhero movie with its own unique flavour.”

Millar is reconciled to the way his comics work has been adapted for the silver screen. “You compromise in film, it’s just the way it goes," eh says. "Sometimes you write a black character that when it comes out in the movie it’s a white character and so on. It’s a collaborative process and everybody’s got an opinion, and if you do something in the studio system you have to defer sometimes.

• View the first interview here on the STV web site

• In the second part of the interview, Mark talks about how Kick-Ass’s independent status was preferable to the studio system behind the likes of Superman.

In Review: Tripwire Superhero Special 2009

Editor and publisher Joel Meadows kindly sent us a copy of the Tripwire Superhero Special, which is now on sale in all good comic shops, Borders UK and Barnes & Noble in the US.

Building on the fine work that went into last year's Tripwire Annual, this time round the focus is costumed heroes and the magazine is packed with exclusive interviews with creators such as Mark Millar and Matthew Vaughn (talking about the Kick-Ass movie and comic - John Romita Jr also talks about designing the Kick-Ass characters), Paul Cornell (on Captain Britain), Geoff Johns (on his work on DC Comics Flash and the upcoming DC Universe game) and much more.

Highlights for me are the Cornell interview, a creator I've worked with in the past on Doctor Who Magazine and who always offers an interesting insight on his approach to writing. The feature includes an admittedly short overview of Captain Britain's history which thankfully notes the contributions to the character of creators other than Alans Moore and Davis.

Also of note is an excellent interview-feature with Tim Kring, Mark Verheiden and Bryan Fuller on their plans for TV's Heroes, which was recently re-commissioned, something Kring was unsure of at the time the feature was compiled, and he offers an interesting insight into the state of US TV at present. "Things change so quickly and the American networks are in a real transition period right now," he says. "Right now, nobody knows if there's going to be a network in a year!"

Printed on high quality paper with a wealth of impressive visuals, this is again an impressive self-published title, well worth tracking down if you're looking for an entertaining "snapshot" of the state of the superhero comics genre.

While my feeling is that the design of this issue is less polished than last year's Annual, and in places, some of the subbing is a little off -- not that I can talk, the way I miss words out of articles! -- this Tripwire Superhero Special is another labour of love from Joel and his team and features such as "15 Important Graphic Novels Ever" are worthy of attention and discussion.

So go, buy a copy now!

• The Tripwire Superhero Special is also available from Diamond, item code DEC084396, price just £4.95 UK, $7.95 US

Kick Ass Top 2009 Movie

Never mind Watchmen or Wolverine: 2000AD and Marvel Comics writer Mark Millar is convinced that the upoming movie Kick Ass, based on his Marvel comic series, which was drawn by John Romita Jr and is due for a hardcover colection release in November, is going to be the top comic book movie of 2009.

"I hereby declare Kick-Ass as the greatest movie of 2009," he announced after a set visit via his web site's message board. "And if you think that I would so that as co-creator and a producer on the movie you're absolutely, one hundred percent correct. But as the months roll by and the trailers start to dribble online and you see what I just saw this weekend your heart will be beating that little bit faster too."

The upcoming movie based on the comic stars Nicholas Cage in the role of retired cop "Big Daddy", determined to take down a druglord while Chloe Moretz will play "Hit-Girl" -- the obscenity-spewing, sword-wielding daughter of Cage’s character.

"I lucked out with Wanted and Timur and James and Angelina," he continues. "But nothing -- I mean nothing -- can prepare you for Nic and Chloe as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. As I said to Nic after the first scene was shot on Saturday morning, this is a movie about comic-book guys made by comic-book guys. We are absolutely in our comfort zone here and doing something really special. Cage's eyes just gleamed. He said it's the most excited he's been by a role in a long time."

Earlier this month, Nicolas Cage told MTV News that Matthew Vaughn’s big-screen adaptation of Kick-Ass, the controversial comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., will have a “different style” than its print counterpart when it comes to the series’ much-discussed violence.