No matter how much people try to deny it, Kick-Ass was one of the best comic book mini-series produced in the last five years. It didn’t have much depth, sure, but it was an engaging, entertaining and all around fun piece of comic booking. Essentially, what Mark Millar and John Romita Jr managed in the first series was to take the superhero genre and twist it into the most outrageous comic book movie of all time. And then, there actually was a movie.

So, with that in mind, this week we find ourselves with the first issue of Kick-Ass 2, or as Millar calls it, “Balls to the Wall.” And right away things seem to just grind to a halt. This shouldn’t be a surprise to fans of the comic and the movie, the first few issues were relatively slow affairs, so this fits in with the start of a new story, but the Kick-Ass brand has become so synonymous with over the top violence it was slightly disappointing to read this issue.

The focus in this continuation of Millar’s story is on Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, as the latter trains the former; it’s the odd couple approach that made the last few issues of the first series so much fun, and the dialogue between the two is pitch-perfect. Kick-Ass is a celebrity in the world now, and he needs to develop his skills to maintain his status as the premiere superhero. It’s a nice bit of character work, and that is something Millar has been hit-or-miss with recently.

John Romita Jr’s artwork remains absolutely stellar. The man has done well for himself considering he’s the son of one of the greatest artists of all time, and this issue is a showcase of just how much of an icon he has become on his own. His style is bulky, but brilliant, a perfect mesh for this kind of action romp. If there’s any complaint to be had, it’s that the colours feels very sludgy and at times, make the artwork feel less engaging, but this is only a minor flaw.

Kick-Ass 2 has set itself up to be just as fun as its predecessor, while at this point the story feels slightly thin, it’s sure to pick up and become one of the best series of the next two/three years, regardless of the numerous delays it will surely suffer.