#IReadsYou Review: KICK-ASS (Hardcover Collection)

KICK-ASS

MARVEL COMICS/ICON
WRITER: Mark Millar
PENCILS: John Romita, Jr.
INKS: Tom Palmer
COLORS: Dean White
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
INTRODUCTION: Rob Liefeld

Kick-Ass was an eight-issue miniseries from writer Mark Millar (The Ultimates, Wanted) and artist John Romita, Jr. (The Amazing Spider-Man) published under Marvel Comics’ Icon imprint. Kick-Ass is also a graphic novel serialized as an eight-issue miniseries, perhaps, the first of a series of Kick-Ass graphic novels. Before I read it, I thought that I might like Kick-Ass, but after reading the recently published hardcover collection of the series, I can say that I absolutely love it.

The series focuses on Dave Lizewski, a normal teenager and comic book fan, who decides to put on a costume and become a superhero. The first time he plays hero, some thuggish black teens beat Dave’s ass into a coma. Dave’s second mission becomes an Internet sensation, from which he takes his superhero name, Kick-Ass. Dave is cognizant of what he is doing and understands the impact of his actions, especially after his activities spawn a wave of copycats, including a rich teen who calls himself, Red Mist.

However, with Kick-Ass’s popularity skyrocketing because of viral videos and because of those very same superhero copycats, Dave becomes hooked on this new lifestyle and addicted to the adrenal rush and danger that lifestyle entails. Then, Dave meets another costumed duo playing superhero, the extreme violence, father-daughter duo of Big Daddy and the sword-wielding Hit Girl. They play for keeps, cutting a bloody path through the world of mob boss, John Genovese a.k.a. Johnny G. Suddenly, being Kick-Ass may be more than Dave bargained for.

Early in the series, Kick-Ass is funny, sarcastic, and poignant in the way quality drama about the trials and tribulations should be. Then, the first time Dave becomes Kick-Ass and springs into action, the entire narrative turns vulgar, obscene, and deranged… in a way that is an absolute joy to read. Suddenly, John Romita, Jr. (pencils) and Tom Palmer’s (inks) ugly art made sense. Visually, what these artists did was tell Millar’s story as a graphic narrative in the only way that would make it work. They had to produce comic art that could capture the rundown neighborhoods and gritty environments in which Dave lived. That art also had to depict the sudden and ferocious violence and its gruesome aftermath that defines the world of Kick-Ass.

The deeper into this crazy, kooky narrative I want, the more I wondered why Millar doesn’t do more of this. In fact, if comic book publishers want to attract more young male readers, they may want to consider publishing books like Kick-Ass, which could appeal to the guys who like 300 and Inglourious Basterds. I sat in a theatre watching Basterds with two young guys sitting a few seats from me, and they howled with delight and encouragement every time the characters did violence to one another. Those are probably shoo-in readers of comics like Kick-Ass.

DC Comics has spent the better part of a decade trying to find order in its fictional DC Universe and its 70 years of continuity. New readers won’t bother with comic books that navel-gaze like that. They will want comics that… dare I say it… kick ass. I don’t know what the hell Marvel Comics is doing – re-launching, re-imagining, and generally trying to make every two-bit character shiny enough for Hollywood… when they should just… kick ass?

All they need to do is look to this hot mess from Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. Kick-Ass is an inglourious basterd, and we need more Kick-Ass.

A

Buy Kick-Ass

IDW Become Diamond Distributors Premiere Publisher

From Diamond Distributors:

IDW Becomes Premier Publisher


First publisher to achieve higher status with Diamond since 1996;

Diamond and IDW strengthen their exclusive distribution relationship with new agreement and initiatives

Diamond Comic Distributors and IDW Publishing announced today that IDW has become the first publisher to advance to "premier" status since the classification was implemented in 1996. Diamond and IDW have signed a new, multi-year agreement that features a number of fresh initiatives, including premier status, in recognition of IDW's success as a top tier comic book and graphic novel publisher. Under the agreement, Diamond will continue to be the exclusive distributor of IDW comic books and graphic novels to the comic book specialty market, and to the bookstore market through its Diamond Book Distributors division.

"This change recognizes the growth and importance of IDW Publishing," said Diamond President and CEO, Steve Geppi, "and we look forward to working with them for many years to come."

Diamond VP Purchasing Bill Schanes added, "Since IDW began publishing, they have grown consistently each and every year, while at the same time establishing one of the best editorial, marketing, and business teams in our industry. They're easy to work with, understand our market, and are forging ahead with new strategies and plans to grow the consumer appetite for comics and graphic novels."

In April, Diamond's PREVIEWS catalog and PREVIEWSworld.com website will showcase IDW's new vendor status as the company moves to the "Premier Comics" section. IDW will have an exclusive section in the front of the catalog each month, highlighting their new offerings to comic shop retailers and customers.

"We are very pleased to have completed this groundbreaking agreement with Diamond," said Ted Adams, CEO of IDW Publishing. "By combining Diamond's leadership in distribution with IDW's ten-plus years in developing, creating and marketing comic books and graphic novels, we have created an ideal relationship for each of our companies. The comic book medium is trending upward in all parts of consumer awareness and we are proud to be a partner with Diamond for the future."

Key points to the agreement include:

Premier Publisher

Under the new agreement and as a result of the company's consistently strong market share, IDW will have premier status within Diamond and Diamond's PREVIEWS, including an exclusive section at the front of the monthly catalog.

Discount and Terms of Sales

IDW Publishing will remain in a traditional buy/sell relationship with Diamond, with their books continuing to be sold to comic shops under Diamond's Terms of Sale (unlike Diamond's brokerage arrangement with publishers like Marvel and DC Comics where Diamond acts as a sales agent). Discounts will remain unchanged at this time.

Final Order Cut-Off

IDW will be added to Diamond's Final Order Cut-Off Program sometime in the near future. "Since IDW is a traditional buy/sell vendor, we have some programming work to do, but we expect to have that finalized later this year," said Schanes.

Book Market Distribution

Diamond remains the exclusive book market distributor of IDW's publishing efforts. "We're extremely proud of the progress we've made in helping IDW grow its sales in the book store market over the last five years," said Diamond Book Distributors VP Sales & Marketing, Kuo-Yu Liang. "From their strong licensed properties to their successful launch last year of the Worthwhile Books line for kids, IDW has adeptly shown what products will sell into the book market channel."
ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS-the world's largest distributor of English-language comic books and pop-culture related merchandise-Diamond is based in Baltimore, MD, and services more than 3,500 specialty retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at http://www.diamondcomics.com/.

ABOUT IDW PUBLISHING
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro's The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; the BBC's Doctor Who; and television's #1 prime time series CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for ComicMix. IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.

Moonstone Books Announces "The Phantom Generations" TPB

JUNE 2010 release:

The PHANTOM GENERATIONS TPB
Story: Tom DeFalco, Ben Raab, etc.
Art: Pat Quinn, Gordon Purcell, etc.
Cover: Eugenio Mattozzi
376pgs, b/w, 7” x 10”, $19.99

Includes two bonus never-before-published stories by Tony Isabella and Mike Bullock!

A monster-tome collection of the one shot comic novellas, with each story (by a different creative team) telling a tale of one of the 21 Phantoms!

Creators like Ben Raab, Pat Quinn, Tom DeFalco, Don Hudson, Mel Odom, Michael Stribling, Will Murray, Enrique Alcatena, Joe Bucco, Danny Fingeroth, Mike Baron, Alex Saviuk, Gordon Purcell, Greg Cox, Steven Grant, Justin Gray, and more!

I Reads You Review: PORTRAIT OF M&N, VOL. 1

Creators: Tachibana Higuchi with Jamie S. Rich (English adaptation) and Satsuki Yamashita (translation)
Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 206 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1724-2 (ISBN-13)

Portrait of M&N is a new series focusing on two high school students with embarrassing, even debilitating secrets that cannot be shared with people outside their homes.

Fifteen-years-old Mitsuru Abe is attending a boarding school because at her last school, the students discovered that she is an extreme masochist who delights in receiving brutal beatings. Fate brings her into contact with fellow student, 15-year-old Natsuhiko Amakusa, and he turns out to be a narcissist who gazes at himself in a room full of mirrors. They help each other out and keep each other’s secrets. Then, another student, Hijiri inserts himself into their relationship, claiming to be in love with Abe. Is he really, and does Amakusa even care if another guy in love with Abe?

The moment I saw the cover for Portrait of M&N, Vol. 1, it made me want to read the book. On the credit page, Chelsea Windlinger is credited as “graphic designer.” If Chelsea did design the cover, I need to praise her; it is Eisner Award worthy.

As for the manga itself: if this first volume of Portrait of M&N is a good indicator (and I think it is), this will be a good series. Creator Tachibana Higuchi (Gakuen Alice) isn’t making fun of the leads’ personality disorders, but she’s mines humor in how Abe and Amakusa engage the rest of the world in spite of their afflictions. I’d say that Higuchi is being cruel to her fictional creations, except both Abe and Amakusa are so resilient. Higuchi has a way of placing her characters and their weird interior worlds in the context of the outside world that reminds me of the work of famed New Yorker cartoonist, Charles Addams. Portrait of M&N is macabre and has a wicked sense of humor in the vein of Addams’ classic cartoons. This is reason enough to embrace Portrait of M&N.

This is a wonderful read, and like a dark jewel with the power of enchantment, it won’t let you look away.

A

Buy Portrait of M and N Volume 1 (Portrait of M & N)

Bluewater Productions Announce Kristen Stewart in "Fame" Series

KRISTEN STEWART TO GETS FAME COMIC BOOK TREATMENT FROM BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS

Actress Kristen Stewart became an instant celebrity the moment she signed on to play Bella, the love interest of vampire-with-a-soul Edward in the Twilight series of vampire/romance movies based on the popular novels of the same name.

Now Stewart is making the leap to full-on celebrity: She is the newest star of Bluewater Productions' Fame series of biography comics coming in June.

But Stewart has been acting long before Twilight, and most of her work hasn't involved vampires or werewolves. In fact, anyone who has watched the coming-of-age drama/comedy Adventureland, knows just how powerful of an actress Stewart can be.

Fame brings to life in graphic form the stories of the world's biggest celebrities. The series premieres in May and covers the life stories of Lady GaGa & Robert Pattinson. Future editions will include the stories of Taylor Swift and soccer sensation David Beckham.

Writer Kim Sherman, who has also penned Bluewaters' Robert Pattinson entry in the series, said that Stewart's versatility and talent might surprise readers who only know her as Bella.

“For Twilight fans, Kristen Stewart is a woman whom fans long to be and love to hate,” Sherman said. “But Kristen has been in the public eye for years, and her career as a serious actor spans dozens of films over a 10-year period of time. My goal with this biography was to show readers the depth residing in this young woman and the roles she's beautifully tackled through a series of spot shots, pinups and word art.”

Sherman added that the art on this book, provided by renowned artist Warren Martineck, perfectly brings Stewart's story to life.

“Well-known artist Warren Martineck, of Marvel and D.C. fame, takes my script and provides an amazing viewpoint of the beauty, the grit and the individuality which defines Miss Stewart,” Sherman said.

The 32-page comic book, Fame: Kristen Stewart will be available in June, and will retail for $3.99. Two covers will be available: cover A, by Juanmar Studios which attaches like a puzzle to the FAME: Robert Pattinson issue. Cover B is done by famed comic book artist Randy Green “X-men and Witchblade”.

Bluewater Productions has become well-known for its biography comics. In addition to its Fame series, the company also publishes both the Female Force and Political Power line of biography comics. March 31st comes the release of Female Force: Ellen Degeneres.

“I look at every one of our biography comics as a way to lead a new group of readers to the world of graphic storytelling,” said Darren G. Davis, president of Bluewater Productions. “I have little doubt that Kristen Stewart's biography will accomplish this.”

Check out EXCLUSIVE pages from this issue at MTV: http://bit.ly/91fTFx

To find a comic book store near you go to www.comicshoplocator.com. Or the book is able on Amazon.com: http://bit.ly/91nmvC

For more information on Bluewater Productions, visit the company's Web site at www.bluewaterprod.com

WWE Comics Offers YouTube Sneak Preview

For a sneak peek at the new WWE Heroes comic, check out this YouTube trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzY9cN9ee24

I Reads You Review: OTHERS

Creator: Will Dinski
Publishing Information: self-published; 2-color, bound mini-comic, 9pp
Ordering Numbers: View at website: http://www.willdinski.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/pressman1.gif or purchase at conventions in which Dinski appears

Best known for his mini-comics, cartoonist Will Dinski lives and draws comics in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2003, Dinski received a BFA in Comic Art from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and in 2009, he won the Isotope Award for “Excellence in Mini-Comics.” Dinski’s first graphic novel for Top Shelf Productions, entitled Fingerprints, will debut later this year.

Dinski’s mini-comics are handmade books utilizing silk-screened printing on high-grade paper stock. One of those publications is entitled, Others. Dinski bound Others together using a single twine tied around the top of this 4.5” x 6” flip book. A colorful, paper band is wrapped around the book, acting as a kind of mini-dust jacket containing the title “Others,” and the following text: “Two short stories about the solitary and disenchanted.”

Printed in navy blue, the first story is entitled, “The Pressman,” which has as its protagonist a nightshift printer at a daily paper. Although he works at night, the printer spends his days downtown, following office workers around: eating lunch when they do, sitting in traffic with them for laughs, and generally spying on them. His efforts allow him to witness an executive scandal.

Printed in orange ink, the second story is “Get Away from Me,” and is narrated by a bird that makes critical comments about crowds as he watches the humans in the city below. Later, he has his own issues with the pack mentality.

The stories are a little odd, especially “Get Away from Me,” but they have an innate charm that shows through even when reading only a little of them at a time. The format for Dinski’s stories may seem unusual and even distinctive. However, in terms of visuals and narrative, they bear a resemblance to the comics of Dan Clowes and Adrian Tomine.

“The Pressman” has an oddly alluring Film-Noir quality, and the page design and structure also make it quite eye-catching. “The Pressman’s” structure features alternating panels that are either text only (dialogue or narration) or art only. It creates a rhythm that forces the reader to pay attention to each individual panel as the best way to understand the entire story when connecting all the panels as a linear narrative. I think that structure also limits what the reader will imagine happens in between panels.

Dinski’s ideas and stories are a good fit for the format in which he chose to publish Others. This is simply a charming little package is more than just a charming little package. It is also good comics.

A-

http://www.willdinski.com/