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Kick-Ass: The New Girl

Kick-Ass - La Chica Nueva vol. 1

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¡Kick-Ass ha vuelto y ahora vigila las calles, preparada para acabar con los peores criminales de Nuevo México! Pero hay un nuevo rostro tras la máscara: una soldado que regresa de los horrores de la guerra solo para encontrar una nueva batalla en las calles de su ciudad. Las leyendas del mundo del cómic, Mark Millar y John Romita Jr., se reúnen en el capítulo más reciente del más extraordinario cómic de superhéroes de la historia.

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2018

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About the author

Mark Millar

1,512 books2,564 followers
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.


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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,809 reviews13.4k followers
September 5, 2018
An ex-soldier in need of cash decides to do the sensible thing and dress up as Kick-Ass to rob some gangsters. Why Kick-Ass – why not other less embarrassing masked superheroes like Batman or Spider-Man? Because Mark Millar doesn’t own those characters. What? You thought the premise of a Mark Millar comic WOULDN’T be arbitrary nonsense?!

So begins the latest Kick-Ass series sans Dave Lizewski, the original Ass. Except, aside from the costume, this book has nothing to do with what went before, Millar is just cashing in on the name. Fine, it’s his IP and he can do what he wants with it, but it still feels exploitative, particularly to fans of the original series expecting some connection to what went before.

It’s a readable book – Mark Millar and John Romita Jr know how to make comics – and it feels like Millar is trying at least a little bit more than usual with the foreshadowing. One scene shows Patience (our heroine) learning lock-picking and another character mentioning that a special car has a bulletproof windshield, all of which are relevant later on down the line. And Romita’s art is quite good too – I’m definitely not one of his detractors and appreciate the skill he brings to the many action sequences.

It’s still mostly terrible though. Millar seems to have forgotten what made the original Kick-Ass great: its realism (at least with regards Dave Lizewski – Hit-Girl was always a cartoon). There’s no attempt at realism with Patience’s Kick-Ass. The second she dons the costume, she’s easily able to rip-off the gangsters, over and over. She gets beat up a little but she’s able to get out of the stickiest of situations effortlessly. In one especially egregious scene, there are two gangsters pointing guns at her and a third with a gun on her daughter and she’s able to shoot all three without any of them so much as getting off a shot! It’s beyond silly. Apparently if you join the US Army you become Red Dead Redemption!

Nothing kills any attempt at dramatic tension more effectively than having an invincible hero which is exactly what Patience is. Which only makes the story that much more of a predictable bore as she’s gonna beat whoever she runs up against so where’s the excitement? Not to mention the abundance of corny scenes that’ll threaten to make your eyes roll out of your head: Patience’s Robin Hood schtick, the scene where she deals with the abusive boyfriend, the scene with the kids in the parking lot. It’s real lowest-common-denominator crap.

If you just want to see a woman wearing a Kick-Ass costume killing gangsters and nothing more, this is the brainless book you’ve been waiting for. Otherwise, don’t bother.
Profile Image for Baba.
4,084 reviews1,543 followers
March 21, 2020
Kick-Ass by name Kick-Ass by nature. A solid continuation of the franchise with recent hardcore African-American female veteran returning home to find her hometown in decay and overrun by criminals... she only did it for the money, donning that green suit. The weird and wondrous world of Kick-Ass is back, in a new way with a new character with a solid story and themes far superior to the original - however the humour is nowhere near as good, if at all? And the dark humour is quintessential to this brand in my opinion. A very solid 9 out of 12 still. Millar and Romita Jnr are unstopabble.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,203 followers
April 26, 2019
So funny enough I read this the same day Mark Millar blocked me on twitter (Funny story too if want to hear about it!)

So Mark Millar decided to take the name Kick-ass and recreate a new superhero story. It has really nothing to do with the old characters. In fact the story has very little resemblance to the last few kick-ass stories. This is a darker tale than before, which can be hard to believe. Less on humor and more on action and drama.

Patience is going around kicking the shit out of bad guys and stealing their money. She's actually ex-military so she has some badass fighting moves. It kind of takes away from the "everyday person fighting crime" she's basically a spy/agent in a superhero suit. We've seen that million times. Also, the ending is really far-fetched and very breaking bad without the build up.

Overall though, it wasn't bad. Art is solid enough, the fights are entertaining, some funny lines once in awhile, and decent family drama. It's over the top and not as good as the original though. A 3 out of 5.
Profile Image for Logan.
1,022 reviews38 followers
August 9, 2018
KICK-ASS IS BACK!!! So I will admit, I never read the original Kick-Ass comics, I saw the movies, but I never delved into the comics. And when I heard Mark Millar was doing a new series, I was interested to see where it went. You don't need to have read the previous books, and this series does something different, while still keeping the essence of the original!

So the story has Patience, a recently returned home army veteran, the plan was to come home and study while her husband provided for her family. Patience then finds out though that her husband ran away with his mistress and has left her and her kids in crumbling debt. So naturally, Patience is going to dress up like a super hero and rob criminals, right?

What I do love about this series, is just how good the writing is, Patience is an interesting character and one that I often find myself reading all of her inner monologues; they are interesting to read, as you see her tactical army experience at work. Often inner monologues for comic book characters, while interesting, can get long winded and I end up skipping to the next page, while here its short and sweet while still giving you the information you need to know. I don't have much to say about the story-line other then I liked it for the most part. Only complaint I have is the pacing of the story can get a bit slow at times, with some of the issues being a little boring. The final issue was pretty awesome, and showed how bad ass Patience is, but it did feel a bit convenient plot wise at times and it concludes a bit too easily for her.

Artwork wise, John Romita Jr's artwork is on full display in all its glory. Romita's art is at its best when he's drawing gritty indie comics. I haven't been the biggest fan of Romita's DC stuff, and him drawing a Kick-Ass comic, is far more interesting then him drawing Green Lantern in a DC comic event. In short I enjoyed the artwork very much!

In conclusion, I enjoyed this reboot quite a bit! I see there people out there who think of this as just a SJW cash grab, I just enjoy it for what it is. The next arc is going to be done by a completely different creative team though, so here's to hoping they don't mess it up.
Profile Image for Den.
428 reviews52 followers
January 1, 2019
Read this if you like: female ex-soldiers, heroines forced into desperate situations, Robin Hood like MCs, pretty good art, a volume that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the original arc (?)
Profile Image for Owen Townend.
Author 9 books14 followers
October 24, 2021
I honestly wasn't expecting Millar to continue the legacy of Kick-Ass in this way.

Rather than taking another run at a teenage vigilante, this book passes the mantle onto the more capable Sergeant Patience Lee, a war veteran. Still it must be said that Lee does technically appropriate the mantle for her own ends.

While the original comic pondered why normal people don't become superheroes, Kick-Ass: The New Girl seems to be more concerned with why bad people hoard all the wealth. This is not a ridiculous shift in theme but it does seem a little limiting and perhaps generic at times.

Compared to the misadventures of Dave Lizewski, there isn't a lot of humour in the world of Patience Lee. If Dave is a Spider-Man analogue, Patience is undoubtedly The Punisher. Family and trauma are her prime motivators and gangsters are her target. While she invokes their sadistic wrath, she outsmarts and outguns them at every turn. It seems that Millar has had a change in heart about smirking injustices and is willing to let a good guy succeed against them for the most part. Then again I'm not so sure this new Kick-Ass is beyond corruption.

Romita Jr creates some reliably strong visuals, even on pages where 'BLAM' seems to be the key word. While it's pleasing to see Millar's relentless nihilism has calmed down over the years, I'm not convinced it's gone entirely. I suspect this fact will come as a relief to a lot of his fans but it just makes me wary. If you're after pretty ultra-violence and don't mind political undertones, you might enjoy Kick-Ass: The New Girl.
Profile Image for Matthew Ward.
1,046 reviews26 followers
August 17, 2023
3.75 stars. This was more entertaining that I expected it to be. Kick-Ass is back, but only by inspiration in costume and vigilantism. This new girl has totally different motivations for wearing the green suit, but works in a similar fashion to the original Kick-Ass. While this book pretty much went where I thought it was going to go, the end turned in a way that I thought to be really interesting and I look forward to seeing where else this new Kick-Ass will go, especially with a creative team that isn’t Millar and JRJR.
Profile Image for Joe.
1,209 reviews27 followers
November 2, 2020
I'll admit that I was dubious going into this. I mean, nobody can replace Kick-Ass, right? And no Hit-Girl?! No way!

I dare say, yes way. Millar wisely didn't just make this a girl version of Kick-Ass. The new Kick-Ass is a grown ass woman, who is a vet with a family. She dons the uniform to rob criminals to pay her bills after her husband ran out on her. She gets in too deep and shit hits the fan in the enjoyable way that it always does in a Mark Millar comic. The ending super surprised me and I can't wait to read the next volume.
Profile Image for Bonnie G..
391 reviews28 followers
June 14, 2019
I’m annoyed I haven’t read this sooner! Romitaa Art never looked better and the explosive action pairs with the character development in a way I haven’t seen handled in a long time. Fully fleshed our characters and wryly funny situations make this is a heart racing chapter.

I can’t wait for more
Profile Image for Marcelo Velloso.
15 reviews1 follower
June 19, 2020
Apesar de todos os reviews que classicavam de mediano a ruim, alguma coisa na minha cabeça queria muito esse quadrinho. Não sei bem o porquê disso, acho que no fim era a simples curiosidade de ver a dupla do "Kick Ass" original, Mark Millar e John Romita Jr, dois monstros dos quadrinhos, trazendo Kick Ass de volta num reboot.

Eu curti o quadrinho e não me arrependo de ter comprado. Afinal temos uma ótima arte e uma narrativa que flui, coisas que Romita e Millar sabem fazer, e o quadrinho vai melhorando com o passar de capitulo e capitulo.

Entretanto, traz Mark Millar no seu pior. Eu não li MUITOS trabalhos autorais de Mark Millar, que ele humildemente chama de Millarverso, mas sei que a maioria deles foram muito bem recebidos. O cara é um bom escritor. Ao escrever "A Nova Garota" é claro que o maior motor ali era a vontade de dar um reboot em Kick Ass e não uma inspiração.

Millar é um cara que consegue lucrar bem com suas propriedades. O primeiro Kick Ass, se não me engano, foi até feito concomitante ao filme de Matthew Vaughn. Acho até que seu novo quadrinho, Providence, também foi feito PARA virar série no Netflix. Com Kick Ass e Hit Girl, aproveitando o sucesso de seus personagens, ele abandona o formato de "graphic novel" e da inicio a novos arcos para que outros artistas escrevam seus personagens.

Eu vou partir do pré suposto de que ele vai lucrar com isso, porque né. Nesse reboot do personagem, ele só bate o pé e fala: ok, Kick Ass vai ser uma mãe negra, ex militar e com problemas financeiros. É cabivel?? Super é. Se fosse bem feito, daria para aproveitar toda aquela noção do primeiro Kick Ass, com os super herois na vida real, de uma forma inovadora.

Entretanto, Millar se apoia demais somente nesses elementos, achando que vai ser o suficiente para dar "uma cara" ao quadrinho. Usando como comparação a série do Watchmen se conseguiu o que Millar tentou atingir aqui. A série usou de uma mulher, cerca de 50, negra e mãe, quebrando o padrão dos super herois, mas não se apoiou apenas nisso para contar sua historia.

Além da protagonista, o resto do quadrinho é incrivelmente genérico. Nem uma ligação boa com o primeiro Kick Ass tem.
Profile Image for Jesus Flores.
2,583 reviews70 followers
April 30, 2021
Kick Ass, la chica nueva
Este es de los que compre de a peso el año pasado, y no había leído por que aun no sabía si me leía el resto de kick ass o no, pero de repente un día me toco que era lo único que tenia por leer en ese momento y dije, pues va. Y pues resulta que este comic no tiene nada que ver con Kick Ass, es solo el nombre por que la protagonista utiliza el disfraz del otro personaje.
Aquí la motivación de la protagonista para hacerla de kick-ass es diferente, tratan de pintártela un tanto Robin-hoodesca, pero en el fondo es ladrón-que-roba-a ladrón , y con el giro aal final creo que.
Si el entrenamiento militar le da una ventaja, pero llegados a cierto punto, pues ahí por más que, el daño físico debería ser suficiente, aparte de que cual cliche los malos deciden no matar a la rápida, tienen que hacer grandes discursos, dejar que alguien más lo haga sin verificar, y ahí sucede el escape imposible..
Te entretiene si, pero no creo que esta versión alterna intente siquiera buscar el resto.
2.5 star
Profile Image for Daniel.
2,798 reviews42 followers
November 8, 2019
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.0 of 5

It’s not surprising that I’ve missed out on nearly all the Kick-Ass graphic novel/comic series since I haven’t been very good about staying current with my graphic novel reading (so many books, so little time!) and it was seeing John Romita, Jr’s name on this book that had me request an ARC. And I’m really glad I did.

Patience Lee is a military vet, just back from the war in the Middle East to find that her no-good husband has run off with his nearly-teen girlfriend leave Patience to suddenly be mother to their kids again while trying to provide for the family as well. Her intentions are good, but she finds that she can never quite make it and it’s the children who have to keep doing without.

It occurs to her that there are plenty of bad men in town – drug dealers and the like – and that with her cool combat skills, she could probably take a few of them out and relieve them of their criminal cash. This works pretty well and Patience is determined not to get greedy, taking only what she needs to make ends meet, giving the rest of the cash to local charity.

But ends don’t stay met for long and she knows she can help the city by taking down some of these bad men. But she’s only one person and no matter how good her military-trained skills are, sheer numbers will do her in. And to make it worse, she personally knows one of the men at work.

This is a pretty simple origin/vigilante story. It’s Robin Hood all dressed up for modern day. It’s pretty violent and graphic so if you don’t like seeing bloody and beaten figures in your graphic novels then you probably wouldn’t like this.

I enjoyed this book. I felt much more connected with Patience (despite the fact that I’m a white male who’s never been in the military) and I attribute this connection to Mark Millar’s talent making a story relevant and Romita’s art that engages the reader.

Looking for a good book? Kick-Ass, The New Girl: Book One is a good, modern super-hero (with no super powers) graphic novel and worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
76 reviews2 followers
December 6, 2020
Tras leer el final de la etapa con Dave Lizewski, pensé que era un final redondo y que no hacía falta continuar la serie. Y lo es, pero esta nueva etapa con Patience Lee es algo completamente distinto que sólo comparte el título y el traje de Kick-Ass.

Una veterana de Afganistán, afroamericana y abandonada por el padre de sus hijos, de enfrenta a una situación económica difícil. Nuevo México, al ser uno de los estados electoralmente poco relevantes, se ha convertido en terreno fértil para el crimen organizado y parece imposible tener éxito económico de manera honrada. Vamos, ni siquiera estoy hablando de hacerse millonario: acatando la ley sólo se puede aspirar a seguir viviendo en la miseria. Fatigada entre la Universidad, el trabajo de mesera y el cuidado de sus hijos, Patience decide poner en uso las habilidades tácticas que adquirió en el ejército al convertirse en superhéroe. Inspirada en el héroe de Nueva York, usa el mismo traje para dar golpes a los gangsters y robar su dinero con el fin de pagar sus deudas, garantizarle un buen futuro a sus hijos y de paso ayudar a su comunidad.

Millar regresa un poco al aspecto compulsivo de seguir haciendo algo peligroso e incorrecto que pone en riesgo la vida de la protagonista, pero aquí las intenciones son completamente distintas. Haciendo comentarios sobre la política de Estados Unidos, da una dimensión más profunda a su habitual ultra-violencia. Pero el que me sorprendió por completo fue Romita, pues su arte se reinventó por completo. Y no sólo el cambio de entintador y colorista le favorecieron, sino que recurre a tomas más amplias, ángulos distintos, una narrativa más dinámica e incluso su forma de reproducir la anatomía humana se ve diferente. Si bien su arte en los tomos anteriores me parecía bueno (de hecho, era lo único suyo que toleraba, pues ya no me gustaba lo que hacía con superhéroes mainstream), aquí puedo decir que disfruté cada página, cada viñeta incluso. Lamentablemente, la historia continuará con otro equipo creativo. No pensé que fuera a decir esto, pero creo que extrañaré a Millar y a Romita haciendo Kick-Ass y que esta ha sido su mejor colaboración. Aunque el giro final me hace querer leer lo que sigue.
Profile Image for Guilherme Smee.
Author 27 books191 followers
June 3, 2019
Esta é a nova tentativa de Mark Millar e John Romita Jr. para fazer perdurar seu personagem próprio Kick-Ass. Assim, Patience Lee, uma ex-fuzileira naval dos Estados Unidos que serviu no Afeganistão assume o manto de Kick-Ass. Mas temos um problema aqui, recorrente de vários quadrinhos estadunidenses. Ela é chamada o tempo todo de "girl", de "garota", mas ela foi fuzileira e é mãe de dois filhos. Em que lugar ela é "just a girl, not yet a woman"? Complicado isso, principalmente se formos comparar com outro quadrinho nessa mesma vibe que é Jennifer Blood de Garth Ennis, que tem elementos semelhantes. Jennifer Blood, contudo é muito mais apelativo do lado cômico e ridículo da coisa, embora os dois sejam apelativos para a violência sem comedimentos. O traço de John Romita Júnior continua muito desengonçado na hora de fazer as crianças, um absurdo de feio. Já a história compre aquele papel de ser massaveistica, mas pelo menos não acaba ofendendo ninguém, como muitos dos quadrinhos do Millar já fizeram com os mais diversos tipos de gente. Kick-Ass: A Nova Garota é um quadrinho bem ok, que não tem nada de novo a acrescentar.
Profile Image for Ceci.
53 reviews
June 10, 2019
Hemos leído muchas historias parecidas, no es más que el típico cliché donde está la ex-militar que ahora quiere servir a su comunidad robándole a los malos para repartirlo entre ella una parte y la otra mitad para la caridad.
Fácil pudo haber tenido otro nombre -no Kick Ass- ya que no tiene nada que ver con el comic (únicamente porque usa el traje .... wtf¿?)

A pesar de que es un cliché más sobre el tema -teniendo un típico final de superheroína- no me desagradó por completo, pero definitivamente esperaba más.
Profile Image for Thomas Hadley.
30 reviews
November 1, 2025
Some parts are great, while other parts are lackluster. The story isn’t as good as the original, but I would still love to see a movie version of this. I like the addition of the main character having children and having to tackle being a “super-hero” and having a family. Overall, it’s okay.
Profile Image for Sarah.
77 reviews7 followers
May 24, 2021
I loved this. So feminist and violent, my fav things lmao. Kick-Ass is epic!
Profile Image for Tyson.
59 reviews1 follower
September 9, 2021
Was it as good as the Dave Lizewski series? It might actually have been better
Profile Image for Dakota.
263 reviews8 followers
September 6, 2023
Solid story. Probably would have enjoyed this more if I wasn't expecting this to somewhat resemble the original story. The character in this book more closely resembles Frank Castle or Captain America than Dave Lizewski. Never really felt scared for her because of this
Profile Image for Urbon Adamsson.
1,992 reviews102 followers
September 3, 2023
I was surprised to find out that this one is not with the same characters as the original story.

However, I still enjoyed it a lot. At some point, I even enjoyed it more than the original one.

Solid story. Good action.
Profile Image for Kate.
562 reviews26 followers
September 15, 2018
Read originally as individual issues, this was a good opportunity to revisit Patience's origin story in one hit.
Gruesome, with Millar's trademark humour and political commentary, this is a great start to the new arc.
9,097 reviews130 followers
September 4, 2018
Apparently, Mark Millar is so busy he forgot the pleasure of Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl was the fact the sweary ultra-violence was being delivered by youngsters – the boy who was forced into the job, and the girl who just knew too much about what she shouldn't. The fact that it was a case of 'with teen hormones comes great irresponsibility' was great fun, for in the end they were nothing like irresponsible. So it's a great shame that, even though this is a mildly decent drama, the great man has ditched all that. The 'New Girl' isn't new, nor a girl – she's a fully-fledged army vet. She's not even trying to act irresponsible. Damn it, there's hardly a cuss word to be had. This watered down character is a decent vigilante (even if her story is just A-B with no surprises or twists, and nothing like as fresh as the original books), but it really doesn't belong in the same franchise. It's something we've all read before, and not for that reason alone is out of place. Disappointing.
Profile Image for Mutated Reviewer.
948 reviews17 followers
September 18, 2018
Fans of the original Kick-Ass series and the movies are going to love the newest series, "The New Kick-Ass", at least I did anyway. Following Patience Lee, a woman with two kids who's straight out of the military, it shows her rough transition to her old life. After coming back, she finds that her husband has left both her and their kids to hook up with his barely legal girlfriend in L.A. She's not sure what to do, finding little work other than waitressing, and she has mouths to feed. He's not going to give her child support, after all, and she decides she doesn't need it. She has a better idea.

Check out my full review here!

https://radioactivebookreviews.wordpr...
Profile Image for Vas.
289 reviews7 followers
October 11, 2020
An interesting telling of the origin story of Kick Ass, a quick read that was hard to put down. I reccomend this to anyone who likes graphic novels or looking to give them a go!
Profile Image for Mainon.
1,138 reviews46 followers
June 4, 2019
One of the more violent graphic novels I've read in awhile. The main character has nothing to do with Dave Lizewski; she's a newly single mom and vet recently returned from Afghanistan who dons the Kick-Ass costume to become a sort of Robin Hood (in Albuquerque, New Mexico). Surprise, the thugs and gang members she plans to rob don't just passively accept her new calling, and plenty of blood is spilled in the ensuing chaos.

+1 for a woman definitely living up to the title of the book
-1 for abandoning the kindof half-jokey tone of the original
-1 for arguably excessive depictions of violence
-1 for basing the plot on a misunderstanding of the GI Bill*

* This really bothered me. As someone who's used GI Bill benefits myself, I can attest that the benefits include a cash payment for, essentially, "room and board" that is supposed to be sufficient to pay housing costs in the area in which your school is located. But the whole premise underlying the new Kick-Ass is that this decorated Army vet wants to go to school during the day using the GI Bill, and can't earn enough as a waitress at night to pay her rent and take care of her kids. That would make sense if she were just an average college student, maybe, but a vet using the GI Bill would literally get a monthly payment to cover living expenses while enrolled, and the writers apparently couldn't be bothered to do the basic level of research to find that out. (Seriously, they couldn't talk to ONE vet who's used the GI Bill??)
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