Kick-Ass 3

Kick-Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years

by Mark Millar (Writer), John Romita Sr. (Illustrator)

The grand finale of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s blockbuster! Hit-Girl is in jail, leaving Kick-Ass to lead the superhero team Justice Forever. But superheroes have been outlawed, leaving Kick-Ass and to dodge both cops and some terrifying new foes! For the first time, Kick-Ass begins to doubt. Is he in too deep to get out? Meanwhile, Hit-Girl starts running all the gangs in the joint, and a broken Red Mist gets an education from a terrifying crime boss. But when the new Skull and Bones vigilante team debuts and dissension hits Justice Forever's ranks, will Kick-Ass be able to fend off a coup? Plus: The flashback you've all been waiting for...the secret origin of Hit-Girl! How does little Mindy McCready earn her assassin stripes? Find out as Kick-Ass comes to its epic conclusion!

COLLECTING: Kick-Ass 3 #1-8

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Marvel

232 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2014

About the author

Mark Millar is the New York Times best-selling writer of Wanted, the Kick-Ass series, The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Nemesis, Superior, Super Crooks, American Jesus, MPH, Starlight, and Chrononauts. Wanted, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and The Secret Service (as Kingsman: The Secret Service) have been adapted into feature films, and Nemesis, Superior, Starlight, War Heroes, Jupiter’s Legacy and Chrononauts are in development at major studios.

His DC Comics work includes the seminal Superman: Red Son, and at Marvel Comics he created The Ultimates – selected by Time magazine as the comic book of the decade, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, and Civil War – the industry’s biggest-selling superhero series in almost two decades.

Mark has been an Executive Producer on all his movie adaptations and is currently creative consultant to Fox Studios on their Marvel slate of movies.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: A blunted expression of toothless aggression, it sputters to climax: a stunted digression, sufficient by residual feeling.

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kick Ass volume three #1-8, could be subtitled 'the baddies strike back' As they do big-time, decimating the friends, family and lives of Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl! Is this the end of their war? Read it and see. A typical blood ridden violence-fest with a darkly comedic ending to this well hyped and profitable creator owned super-project! 8 out of 12, firm Four Star read.

2014 read

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Final Kick is here!!!


A LONG WAITING WITH ANOTHER UNEXPECTED DELAY

I got this in its single issues, but I am doing the review on this edition to be able to do a better overall review of the whole storyarc.

It was funny, since I bought the single issues for several months but waiting to have them all to read the whole story in a one shot, but... when I got seven issues, I took seat, I read, and... I found out that it will be an eighth issue!!! Aaaaah!!!

So, I had to wait like a month to be able to read the final issue :P

But the waiting paid off! Since it was an awesome final.

FORGET IDEAL EXPECTATIONS, THIS IS BETTER!!!

I am sure that many readers had several expectations about how Kick-Ass 3 will be. A cliché prison escape mission, and even you almost... almost got that. But the brilliant creative team of Mark Millar & John Romita, Jr., offered you something better... reality!!! But of course, that it doesn't mean that this isn't still a comic book. Raw real life merged with the magic of comic books!

If you think how likely was that Kick-Ass with a bunch of wannabe-heroes were gonna break into a maximum security federal prison to save Hit-Girl, well...

If you think that Dave Lizewski will prefer to risk his life, fighting crime, on a costume, having the chance of free sex with a sexy girlfriend, well...

If you think that Mindy McCready would be put under control just because being jailed in a maximum security federal prison, well...

If you think that Chris Genovese can't shock you more, well...

If you think that the mafia will do nothing to eradicate the rising costumed hero element from streets, well...

If you think that the corrupt cops won't take advantage of all this mess, well...

If you think that Mark Millar & John Romita, Jr., would ruin it on the final arc, well... YOU ARE WRONG, THEN!!!

WHAT IS KICK-ASS 3?

It has been a rollercoaster of emotions, moments and characters on this great story that started, on the initial arc, back then, with a simple question: Why nobody has ever tried to be a costumed crime-fighter in real life?

Kick-Ass 3 is the ultimate final arc answering to that very question.

Kick-Ass 3 is an awesome final arc to the coming-of-age journey of Dave Lizewski and his dream to protect the innocent and those who can't protect themselves.

Kick-Ass 3 is an impacting final arc to the coming-of-age battlefield of Mindy McCready and her determination of not only making proud the memory of his father but also to respect the wishes of her mother.

Kick-Ass 3 is an unexpected final arc to the coming-of-age rebellion of Chris Genovese and his desire to leave a mark in life beyond judgments of right or wrong.

Kick-Ass 3 is a bold final arc showing how even the best intentions can lead you to deadly endings.

Kick-Ass 3 is a dark theater of how always will be people taking advantage to their own, even in the middle of a battle between good and evil.

This is Kick-Ass 3!!!.

TASTE THE AWESOME FOR A FINAL TIME!!!

[Carlos De Eguiluz · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Estrellas.

IN-CRE-Í-BLE.

Fav moments:

1.- Bitchy Mindy in jail.
2.- Asesinatos a cualquiera que vistiera un disfraz/muerte del Dr. Gravity.
3.- Memorias de Mindy/primer asesinato/plática con su madre.
4.- Redención de Chris Genovese.
5.- Abrazo Kick-Ass-Hit-Girl.
6.- Todo el último tomo.

"I always wondered why nobody did it before me. I mean, all those comic books, movies, TV shows. You think that one eccentric loner would've made himself a costume. I mean, is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices so thrilling that I'm the only one who fantasized about this? Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives we all wanna be a superhero."

[Sam Quixote · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mark Millar and John Romita Jr’s Kick Ass was a surprise hit, both as a comic and a movie. It was wild, different and very fun and introduced us to the brilliant Hit Girl, a tiny Tazmanian Devil of violence. Then we got the sequel and the Hit Girl spin-off - neither were as great as the first book but they were still pretty decent. And now we have the threequel, which is also the final Kick Ass instalment - and it was one too many.

Mindy, aka Hit Girl, is in jail while Dave, aka Kick Ass, is on the outside, kinda committed to breaking her out with his “superhero” team, Justice Forever, but also kinda not. Because there’s this hot girl he wants to sleep with. And he doesn’t really feel like being Kick Ass anymore. Meanwhile, cliched Italian mobsters are out to be cliched Italian mobsters and Mark Millar shows us just how few ideas he has left for this series. Then it’s over. Thank fuck for that!

Kick Ass 3 didn’t need to be 8 issues long. There’s so little to this final instalment that it could’ve easily been a 3-issue miniseries, or Millar could’ve left it as it was at the end of Kick Ass 2: Mindy in jail, Dave lucky to be alive. That would’ve been preferable to this bloated pile o’ nothing.

The whole book is made up of half-formed plotlines that are abandoned before their end. Dave plans to break out Hit Girl with Justice Forever before realising none of them have the skills necessary to do anything quite so risky, so they leave Hit Girl behind. Dave then pisses about for the whole book living out his superhero fantasies. This is Dave’s motivation in the book: to re-enact Batman’s big entrance scene in Year One. That’s his goal for the entire book! It’s so pathetic.

Justice Forever is kinda falling apart but who cares because no-one in the book does, least of all Millar or the reader, while Mindy treads water in jail until her inevitable escape and ensuing bloodbath of revenge. The Italian mobsters do mobster-ish things while they wait to be killed by Hit Girl. Chris Genovese was bad but now he’s kinda good - whatever. None of this shit is even remotely interesting.

And that’s the worst part of this book - it’s super boring. Kick Ass was never boring before but it is now. Dave’s struggling with the superhero side of his life alongside his real one, mob guys are being evil, “superheroes” are being killed - it’s all stuff we’ve seen before. There’s an extended look at how Mindy became Hit Girl but it’s totally unnecessary as we know how she became Hit Girl: Big Daddy made her do terrible things. Again, we’ve seen it before, so what’s the point of showing it again? Filler.

So how does it end? With Hit Girl killing mobsters. Again. Only this time, apparently they’re ALL of the mobsters and corrupt cops, so Kick Ass and Hit Girl effectively end all crime on the East Coast. Riiiiiiiight. If you say so, Millar!

There were a few moments here and there that were good. The way the ending mirrored the beginning of the series was a nice touch, and it was funny seeing Mindy’s psychologist, Dr White, looking exactly like Walter White from Breaking Bad. John Romita Jr’s art is good too and shows that he put much more effort than Millar put into his script.

But overall, Kick Ass 3 is an overlong, dull slog through an uninspired storyline without any ideas to a rote finish.

It’s pretty clear that Millar’s more or less given up on working hard at his comics’ scripts and is now totally focused on movies. His comics are now elaborate pitches aimed at studios rather than stories for the comics crowd. Kick Ass 3 is just another of his recent books that’ve been sub-par - The Secret Service, Jupiter’s Legacy and MPH are all very poorly written despite having phenomenal artists like Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely and Duncan Fegredo attached.

The final chapter of the book ends like a Marvel movie with a credits sequence followed by an after-credits scene. The after-credits scene in a Marvel movie is supposed to be a teaser for the audience to make them want more but the effect after reading this book is the opposite - guys, seriously, no more, just STOP!

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't half bad. After a very entertaining first volume and a very very very stupid second volume I wasn't sure where I'd land with this one. I was right in the middle.

I liked that they closed up the story in a satisfying matter. The new characters introduced worked well and it made for a fun story. I also loved some moments with Hit girl and especially with her mother. I also enjoyed watching Dave grow up and see what's important in life.

On the flipside a little to much killing and death for no reason, like volume 2. I also disliked the turn for Chris and it made no sense. I also HATED the new "bad guys" in here because they were all just meh.

Overall though I had fun with this bloody adventure. It's a little too long and five issues would have been enough but I had an enjoyable time for the most part.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this horrible feeling that because Kick-Ass 3 was the last in the series, Mark Millar would go even more OTT and murder everyone in sight in the most horrible fashion, but it's actually quite restrained for him. The story reaches a satisfying and genuinely happy ending, but of course there's blood, guts, death, and destruction along the way as you'd expect. But there are no mass rapings, no dog murdering, it's all almost in good taste for Millar. Well done him for not going overboard and ending the series in such a way that Kick-Ass will be a fond memory instead of one that makes me want to be a little sick.

[Pramod Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Kick-Ass 3, Mark Miller sets stage for one last ride for ‘Kick-Ass’ and ‘Hit Girl’ which brings the epic series to a literally explosive conclusion. From a readers viewpoint there is nothing much to comment about this third and final installment of the series as like the previous 2 volumes the artwork is crisp and brilliant with fantastic choice of colors, but the content is unabashedly saturated with extreme violence, slaughter, blood and viscera.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the second volume by miles. There is improvement in both the artwork , and the coloring is brighter and vibrant. The writing has improved as well, and it was nice to see how the writer has wrapped things up at the end, giving a proper closure to the series.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfying conclusion to the Kick-ass saga as Dave gets more organized, finds his true love and Millar a JRJR wrap things up for now. Of course there is mucho violence going on throughout as well as twists and turns so things are never dull here.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice wrap-up to the series. I'm glad they didn't try to milk it until it fizzled out big time.

Our hero gets a real girlfriend and deals with his comic book obsession to a bloody finale.

Character epilogues felt appropriate.

OVERALL GRADE: A minus.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, definitely my favourite out of the four. It toned down the violence from kick ass 2 and got it right here as well as the plot being really good and had a really satisfying ending in my opinion. Very enjoyable read!

[Manisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was underwhelmed.

I felt like the second book took the story to a new level, and then Millar realised he took it too far with the realistic violence aspect, so he took a step back and used the formula that made the first book such a success.



I was disappointed.

Let me talk about the ending!

I loved what Dave went through. His story arc was great. Mindy on the other hand…

Look, the first time I read it, I legitimately thought that Mindy was talking to her son, which was great because that shows how she would be raising her son the way her father raised her and the cycle continues.

But through message boards I found out that she shows up in a random kid’s room to make him Kick-Ass 2 just because he was being bullied.

Seriously? It just created too many questions for me.

That’s a bit lazy and weird right?

I didn’t appreciate how the story took a weird turn. They chose to ignore everything that happened in the second book (except with a few throwaway lines). Was it too real? Because there didn’t seem to be any real consequences from the previous book where everything went to sh*t. It didn't help that the fight sequences and the action was less epic than the previous book, either.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Sometimes a series will go out with a whimper. Well, not this one. It goes out with a...



All three volumes of this series are fantastic. My only complaint is that it's over.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5🌟 what a great ride this series is. After 4 volumes of shock violence and crude humour the average person would probably have had enough, but not this guy. I should probably give the movie a go and will probably follow up with the 'new girl' series some time this year.

[Otherwyrld · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't a huge fan of the first 2 books in this series, and started reading this final volume in the same light. The ending though - wow, just wow. 5 stars for an ending that makes the whole series.

[Lono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kick-ass 3 is pretty much more of the same. If you liked Kick-ass 2 and Hit-Girl, you can pretty much count on finding a little something to enjoy in this one. It picks up right after the last volume and most of what I liked about the earlier collections can be said for this one. The kids are all growing up and starting to get hair in strange places. Millar decides to let Kick-Ass get a regular girl and with that comes regular sex. Amazing about how your first regular piece of ass cuts into your street patrol time. The Mother-Fucker is back too. Still an asshole. Couple of new baddies debut as well. No one to terribly original. This could be said about the whole volume really. It's also a little longer than in probably needed to be. But I did enjoy the way Millar and Romita finally wrap this one up though.



Hit-Girl still has a special place in my heart. I'm forever entertained by that foul-mouthed little bad ass. The affectionate way she calls Dave a pussy warms my heart. Millar also takes the time to fill in some more blanks in Mindy's history leftover from the Hit-Girl collection.



The violence didn't seem as off the hook as the previous volumes. Maybe I'm just gradually growing more and more callous. This series seems to get progressively less shocking as it goes. Still earns a solid "R" rating though kiddies.



Romita's art is nice. Again, more of the same. If you liked him before, you'll like him here. Nice coloring as well.

Overall it's a recommend to fans of the previous books or movies. Make sure to stick around after the credits.

Get this review and more at:

[Paul W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much less nihilistic than the previous offerings, this book is almost good enough to be called a delight. It still has the Millar touch of dark comedy, but instead of having the comic book/fanboy contempt, it actually shows some reverence for them. I disliked the last 2 books because everything was negative. It is rare when a movie is better than a book, but in the case of Kick-Ass, the films trumped the book. I highly doubt this one will ever become a movie, but it really should. I would go so far as to say I really liked this book, and it shows the other side of Millar's style and skill. Instead of being endlessly negative and contemptuous, it ends in a very satisfying way. The only thing that kept this from being perfect is that it still has the signs of nihilism that I have not enjoyed in his work. All in all, a good, fun book, however, it is also ultra-violent and disgusting in some ways, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you know what you're getting into.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a great volume like its the final showdown between Rocky Genovese and the heroes. It starts with them trying to rescue Mindy but can't and so they kinda take a break from that and prepare meanwhile Mindy controls prison and then we have the don declare the hunt for every superhero so its mafia vs heroes and also cops on the intake become heroish villains and looking for their own gains, meanwhile Dave is in love and Chris has return albeit changed and so its an all out war, what will happen to the heroes? Will Dave rescue Mindy and what will she do with the villains? And is this the last mission? These are all the questions answered and its so well done, the fight towards the end was awesome and then you have the part of the final mission which was awesome and the execution of the mob heads and what Dave goes on to do in the future makes him a real life superhero! Epic book, ending and the art was really good here! A great ending for sure!

[Mohammad Aboomar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much slower than the previous installments of the series.

[Sooraya Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than volume 2.
Loved how everything gets resolved properly at the end.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great conclusion to an amazing series. Has everything, action, characterisation and perfect plotting. Must read!

[Joan Sebastián Araujo Arenas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pues sí, damas y caballeros, ¡éste es el fin!

Creo que Millar tenía poco que decir luego del primer tomo, pero, dado que había dejado un final abierto en el volumen anterior, necesitaba cerrar el ciclo. La historia, en ciertos momentos realmente interesante ―todas las escenas de la cárcel con el Dr. White (y los recuerdos que sus preguntas suscitaban)―, parece no haber tenido un propósito claro.

«Justice forever», tal y como casi todos sus propios integrantes admiten, no hacen nada relevante. A menos que hablar de...

El resto de la reseña se encuentra en mi blog: https://jsaaopinionpersonal.wordpress...

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the first book, Millar did not really develop the characters until this book was written. He just dragged things along to keep the franchise going. But patience pays off in this final volume.

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not nearly as good as the first and not quite even on the level of the second but all in all a good book. Gives us a good closing to this fun, funny series. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Pantelis Andreou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the greatest entry in the series but still a fun conclusion!

[Kayla (onthefritz) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an amazing conclusion to this run! It wasn't as gory as I expected (don't get me wrong, it is still very gory). The early issues in book 4 take their time moving the story along in a different way, but the final issue is everything we love from Kick Ass and Hit Girl and ends on a perfect note.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

By far the weakest volume of the series, and of course it comes at the end. So many series I read smack of "I just want to finish this", and this isn't immune. We spend far too much time seeing Mindy in jail and watching Dave have sex. The action is still awesome, but the plot and message get so muddled in the middle that it's hard to totally salvage.

Definitely still a readable and enjoyable volume, but I had loved it so much leading up to this that I couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment.

[Nik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kick-Ass 3 beinhaltet die komplette achtteilige Comic-Reihe von Mark Millar, die zwischen Juli 2013 und Oktober 2014 erschien. Zu dem redaktionellen Teil gehören neben einem Vorwort von Jeff Wadlow (Drehbuchautor und Produzent des Films Kick-Ass 2) noch kurze Nachwörter bzw. Danksagungen von Millar und John Romita Jr. Am Format, ein Hardcover mit Schutzumschlag, habe ich wenig auszusetzen, nur gibt es leider einige Panels, die durch die Buchbindung nicht ohne Festdrücken der Seiten ganz zu sehen sind, was in einigen Fällen auch Sprechblasen betrifft. Absolut kein Weltuntergang, aber eben auch nicht optimal.

Inhaltlich bringt Kick-Ass 3 die Geschichte vom Dave Lizweski zu ihrem Ende. Der letzte große Kopf der Mafia-Familie Genovese, Rocco, kehrt aus Italien zurück, um ein Imperium der organisierten Kriminalität aufzubauen und die lästigen Helden in Strumpfhosen aus dem Weg zu räumen, vorzugsweise mit einem goldenen Eispickel. Dave aka Kick-Ass versucht sich derweil als Führungsfigur seiner Heldentruppe "Justice Forever", will Mindy aus dem Gefängnis befreien und mit Valerie tritt endlich eine Frau in sein Leben, die ein ehrliches Interesse an ihm hat.

Dieser abschließende Teil der Kick-Ass-Trilogie hat mir überraschenderweise sogar etwas besser gefallen als die beiden Vorgänger oder das Hit-Girl-Spin-Off. Die Stärken sind zwar wie gewohnt eine derbe Sprache, harte Sprüche, das Fundament an Sarkasmus und Zynismus sowie die zahllosen Referenzen zu anderen Comics und bekannten Filmen. Zusätzlich sind für mich aber auch der Handlungsaufbau und das Erzähltempo verbessert worden: Wo es beim ersten Teil gegen Ende doch sehr übereilt wirkt, erkenne ich hier mehr Struktur, aber das mag jeder etwas anders sehen.

Es lohnt sich m.E. auch, alle drei Reihen sowie das Spin-Off hintereinander zu lesen. Dave macht eine wie ich finde authentische (sofern man das in Millars überzeichneter Geschichte sagen kann) Charakterentwicklung durch, die ihn am Ende der Serie das logische Fazit ziehen lässt. In Kick-Ass begann er als der gelangweilte Nerd, in Kick-Ass 3 ist er älter und kommt in eine Phase, in der sich Prioritäten verschieben und andere Menschen in das Leben treten. So sehr die zweite Hauptfigur des Titels, Mindy "Hit-Girl" McCready, auch überzeichnet ist, mit Dave hat Millar eine wie ich finde gut funktionierende Identifikationsfigur geschaffen.

Es ist kein tiefphilosopisches Werk, um Gottes Willen ist das auch gar nicht der Anspruch. Es ist eine unterhaltsame, ultrabrutale Spieglung mancher Fanseele, der ich letzten Endes doch wohlwollend gegenüberstehe.

3,7/5

[Sam Valladolid · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Siempre me pregunté por que nadie lo había hecho. Quiero decir, todas esas peliculas sobre comics y series de tv, uno pensaría que al menos algún lunático se haría a si mismo un traje. ¿Es realmente la vida tan excitante? ¿Son las escuelas y oficinas tan emocionantes que soy el unico que fantaseó con esto? Vamos, se honesto contigo. Todos hemos querido ser superheroes en algún momento."

No soy una persona que se defina como sentimental pero acabar kick ass me pone demasiado triste. No quiero despedirme de aquellos personajes con los que me identifiqué durante 4 años.

En mi reseña del primer volumen escribí:"La verdad es que no puedo ser objetiva con este tipo de historias. Simplemente están ahí y las amo incodicionalmente. Kick ass es de lo mejor que he leído en cómics". Y no pude ser más honesta. Cuando se refiere a Kick ass la objetividad me importa un bledo. Yo solo se que le tengo cariño desde que leí el primer tomo y eso no cambió después de tantos años. Para mi es perfección de principio a fin. demonios! me he vuelto una loca fangirl

Pero dejando toda la mierda sentimental atrás pienso que este volumen fue increible en tantos aspectos que me costaría enumerarlos. Peleas, venganza, miedo, reencuentros, recuerdos, olvido, arrepentimiento y cambios.

Solo quiero hacer énfasis en el hecho de que Mark Millar supo separar la realidad de la ficción sin convertirlas en enemigas; usó esa fina línea que las separa y creó una serie de comics tan realista y disparatada que hace que te preguntes al final: ¿Tienes el valor y la locura suficiente para ponerte una máscara e intentar ayudar a los demás?