The Empire! Now in Plastic!
April 26, 2009 by Kris Ferderer
Filed under Featured, Gaming, Off Topic
A few days ago a lot of Games Workshops were having a recall on various metal kits for the Empire in their fantasy game Warhammer: Fantasy Battle. What reason? New, easier to assemble, plastic kits! This includes taking one of the heaviest units in all of Games Workshops arsenal and making it plastic and thus lighter. A lot lighter.
[Games Workshop - Warhammer Fantasy Battles Advanced Order Page]
Kick Ass #6
Kick Ass issue #6: Written by Mark Millar, with Art by John Romita Jr.
It would be unprofessional of me to not talk about Kick Ass before the movie comes out or at least before you start seeing trailers for it. The odd thing about this book is that it only took one issue and it already got optioned for movie rights.
It came out last April, which means it’s taken a year for the first story arc to wrap up. For some, that sounds like it could be extremely frustrating, but for the average comic reader, waiting a month for the story to continue is a basic rhythm.
But still, with it’s bi-monthly release, I was starting to get worried whether the movie was going to come out before the comic actually came to it’s sixth issue. No worries though, because the sixth issue is being released this Wednesday, and I guess you could say it’s what I’m looking forward to the most this week.
When I first read issue number one, I was pretty blown away. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Mark Millar’s gritty realism combined with John Romita Jr.’s classically modern art style helps tell the story of Dave Lizewski extremely well.
Kick Ass takes place in a very real world. Our world. Dave reads comics and talks about them with his friends, he has girl troubles just like every other nerd.
One day, without any real motivation, Dave decides to become a crime fighter. He buys a costume off the internet, works out, and goes on patrol. Eventually he has a run in with some thugs and gets beaten to a bloody pulp. After a few months of rehabilitation, he starts right back up again. He just can’t help himself. Finally, he gets noticed and makes a name for himself.
After earning some credibility in the media, other people are inspired to do what he does, which is where the story gets interesting. So far they’ve introduced a Father and daughter combo, where the girl uses swords to a disgustingly precise degree, and a kid about the same age as Dave, who’s using some of the knowledge of his family’s gang related activities to combat organized crime.
The first issue, like a lot of first issues, starts off with a jump in time. We see Dave already in his costume and get introduced to what could lead up to the climax of his first story. So with issue six; I’m hoping to see how he got there.
The big reason that I’m looking forward to this issue is that it’ll complete the first arc, and ultimately judge how good this series is so far. It’s had some bumps in the road, mostly because what felt like a very real story has gone into more obsurd plot lines, but entertaining none-the-less. And since I’m assuming that Kick Ass, the movie, will be based faithfully on the comic, then I can guess that what this whole first arc has in store will be what we see up on the screen.
I highly suggest you give this book a shot. The first collected trade paperback (or hardback) should be coming out soon, but if you can’t wait, they’ve made many other printings for it. Just find your local comic supplier.
Oh, and it does actually kick ass.