Kick-Ass 2 (2010) - La série

Well, that happened. Not much else can be said about Kick-Ass 2 #7, or the series in general. Mark Millar certainly pulled out all the stops with this finale chapter, as dozens of costumed heroes and villains engage in all-out war in the middle of Times Square. Oddly, though the scale has been amped up considerably, the series does a better job than it generally has of capturing the "ordinary people as superheroes" feel. The Hit-Girl/Mother Russia showdown aside, this issue is full of kooky people in strange costumes clobbering each other. It's feels authentically pitiful. Millar delivers one of the more violent issues in the series' run as well. Few heroes or villains make it through without either dying or suffering grievous bodily harm. Between the violence and the rampant foul language, the book is clearly quite proud of its lack of restrictions. Thankfully, there's nothing as overtly or pointlessly offensive as what unfolded in issue #4. That said, the swearing is so pervasive as to become silly at times. Too much of Hit-Girl's dialogue seems predicated on making readers laugh rather than constructing a solid, reasonably believable character. You don't call someone a ****-knuckle unless you're trying to make everyone in earshot giggle. Visually, this is one of the more memorable Kick-Ass installments. The coloring was a bit problematic in issue #6, as it seemed overly washed out. But Dean White's colors shine more this time, and John Romita and Tom Palmer combine to deliver some hard-hitting action scenes. Where this finale disappoints is in documenting the fallout of the big battle. Millar cuts out of the story far too soon. Considering the losses Kick-Ass suffered over the course of the story, some glimpse of what direction his life takes next would have been appreciated. And knowing now that the Hit-Girl spinoff takes place prior to Kick-Ass 2, there's no telling when or if Millar will pick up Dave Lizewski's story again. Dave deserved better than that.