Sunday, March 18, 2012  "Kick ass" in perspective  When the
original "Kick ass" series debuted in 2008, Mark ("the
Ultimates") Millar was in a very different phase of his career.
"Wanted", a movie based on one of his controversial comics was
about to be released, and he was still enjoying height of his
commercial success at Marvel. Thus, as he was developing Kick
Ass, Millar was very aware of the series' potential to find a
life outside comics.  In a very real way, the high concept was
developed to resonate both for comics and the cinema that has
come to embrace superhero movies. Millar's simple idea of a
teenager becoming a real life superhero became a hit but the
reader should be aware of the circumstances behind it. The
success behind the cult movie had much more to do with the
writer's popularity, marketing sense, and most importantly,
contacts in the entertainment industry.  As a comic, "Kick ass"
was a foregone conclusion, with the first issue selling most of
the story, and the character of the Hit-girl