Coming in at No. 4 on the graphic books hardcover best-seller list this week is “Kick-Ass 2 Prelude: Hit-Girl,†written by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr. The book, published by Icon, an imprint of Marvel, involves the further adventures of Dave Lizewski, a young man who decides to fight crime as Kick-Ass, and Mindy Macready, who was trained by her father to be the lethal force for justice known as Hit-Girl. The premise of “Kick-Ass†is based in reality (what would it be like if heroes existed), but the violence is amped up a thousandfold. It is somehow more absurd than some regular superhero comics, but infinitely more entertaining than most of them.
This focus on Hit-Girl is no different. It helps to have knowledge of the superhero tropes tat Mr. Millar honors and pokes fun at, but there’s no denying that he writes compelling characters and pulse-pounding adventures. (Let’s not forget the art, either. Mr. Romita’s work is always a delight.) On the hero side of things, Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl are fighting the mob that leads to escalating violence, but the human side is what makes “Hit-Girl†such a great read. Though she is younger than Dave and she may be the better hero, Mindy is not prepared for the trials and tribulations of high school â€" so she asks him for help. The pleasant twist comes when she realizes she doesn’t need him and how she deals with the queen bee of mean girls in her school. It may not be at all believable, but it is infinitely enjoyable.
As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.
