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Kick-Ass (Kick Ass: The Dave Lizewski Years on the Image Comics reprints) is a comic book series written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita Jr. originally published by Icon Comics.

Plot
Bored with his current life as a thoroughly average Highschool geek, and amazed with the superheroes

he reads about in comic books, Dave Lizewski decides to become a vigilante hero himself known as Kick-Ass, fighting crime wherever he finds it, only to set up a chain of events that often have deadly consequences.

Why It's Kick-Ass

 * 1) The premise of a boy trying to be a superhero in real life is very creative. It's something that's talked about a lot in superhero comics, but rarely actually done in them until now. It also has the idea of a lot of other people becoming superheroes and raging a downright vicious war on crime.
 * 2) Much like Watchmen, it offers a more realistic take in the superhero genre, only this one has no superpowers whatsoever, just normal human people fighting against criminals and the consequences that come with it. It also has more realism than one would expect, such as how Dave is often beaten and even hospitalized on his first excursion and considers quitting immediately after due to that and the medical expenses put upon his father.
 * 3) Memorable and well developed characters such as Dave Lizewski, he is a relatable protagonist who avoids the trope of being a stereotypical bullied student, as he's simply one who "exists" and has few friends or admirers, he also tries not to kill his enemies, though he's often tempted to do so by what they do to others.
 * 4) *Hit-Girl is also a memorable character who protects Dave and trained him, while also killing pretty much every bad guy she comes in contact with, her popularity made her get her own comic book series!.
 * 5) *Chris Genovese is an awesome villain, while he intially acted as a hero he later got his revenge on Kick-Ass for killing his father John Genovese, a vicious drug dealer, and went from the hero Red Mist to the villain The Motherfucker.
 * 6) It has a really good blend of genuine humor and some truly shocking and disturbing parts, where most of the series is meant to be darkly comical, but it's not afraid to dive into so seriously disturbing parts. The second issue even has "SICKENING VIOLENCE: JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE IT!" on the front cover.
 * 7) Each story arc builds into the last, like how the first explores Dave's journey to become Kick-Ass and influences others to become heroes, the second follows Kick-Ass joining Justice Forever and fighting against The Motherfucker and his vicious new group of supervillains, and the third follows Dave graduating high school and trying to ensure the safety of his Justice Forever group and find a new path with Hit-Girl in prison.
 * 8) Some truly shocking moments like the death of Big Daddy and the deaths of Dave Lizewski's father and Colonel Stars.
 * 9) Awesome plot twists, like when it was revealed that Big Daddy's backstory was a lie all this time and Mindy's mother is still alive.
 * 10) Chris Genovese redemption in the third series was heartwarming.
 * 11) The third volume had a good and satisfactory conclusion to the series, and if you still wanted more, there's a continuation of someone else taking up the Kick-Ass name and coming into conflict with Hit-Girl

Bad Qualities

 * 1) As it was drawn by John Romita Jr., the artstyle may not appeal to some due to the anatomy of the characters and their big heads. It seems to fit in with the humorous moments but feels out of place in the more serious ones.
 * 2) The graphic content can turn some readers off, especially Colonel Stars' death which is probably one of the most graphic and disturbing as he's decapitated and has his dog's head put where his was.
 * 3) The Image Comics reprints have some censorship, a bit surprising considering their usual content.