ADVANCE REVIEW: Mark Millar And John Romita Jr.'s KICK-ASS 3 #5
The fifth chapter in Mark Millar (The Ultimates, Jupiter's Legacy) and John Romita Jr.'s (Captain America, Hit Girl) Kick-Ass 3 goes on sale this Wednesday, and you can read our spoiler-free advance review of the issue after the jump!
Mark Millar has promised that Kick-Ass 3 will be the final chapter in his and John Romita Jr.'s saga, but even now that we're five issues in, it's still incredibly difficult to work out how this is all going to end. This is a crucial chapter in the third volume though, moving along Dave's story nicely and setting up a new status quo for the remainder of the series. Millar continues to deliver the original and unique ideas which make you wonder, "Why has no one else thought of this?!" in issue #5 of Kick-Ass 3 as he takes the corrupt cops who have plagued this world from day one and puts them in costumes.
Their clever plan results in bad news for our costumed heroes, so go into this issue prepared for a strong punch in the gut and a real tug at your heartstrings. As per usual, the writer doesn't hold back, but no one can accuse him of putting the characters through such tough times when it feels so organic and believable. This is also arguably one of the best issue of the entire series in terms of character work as Kick-Ass' new girlfriend - who he's having A LOT of sex with - means that he's lost interest in putting on a mask and tights at night. This too feels like a totally understandable and natural direction to take the character of Dave Lizewski in, although I can't help but think that there's more to Valerie than meets the eye!
Noticeable by her absence is Hit-Girl, although the issue surprisingly doesn't suffer without her. However, with Mindy still rotting in jail, it's hard not to hope that she's eventually broken out so we get to see her "kick ass" one more time before Millar and Romita Jr. wrap up the series for good. Speaking of the artist, he's on top form here as per usual, providing top notch work on each character and making the few extremely bloody action sequences really stand out. The Amazing Spider-Man artist has never held back when it comes to the violence portrayed in this series, but he takes it to a whole other level here.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to find different ways to praise this superb series from Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., but rest assured Kick-Ass 3 #5 is yet another incredible instalment!
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