Hit-Girl #3

The Good  

HIT-GIRL manages to reminds me why I love the first volume of KICK-ASS so much.  Mark Millar's writing is top-notch and John Romita Jr. (with Dean White and Michael Kelleher for colors) is a perfect fit for the violent, dirty and reference filled world. 
 
The opening sequence is hilariously tragic.  Red Mist proves to be far too eager and comes to the harsh (and brutal) realization that he's still an amateur.  His solution "to travel the world like Bruce Wayne" and pay masters to teach him how to fight made me laugh out loud, and that's just one of the many times I did during this issue.  
 
Mindy's dilemma surrounding the popular girls reaches new levels of hilarity ("I will CRUSH you with my knowledge of The Hunger Games") and it thankfully reaches a fitting and sharp conclusion.  I can only hope we get to witness this awkward sleepover in a later issue.  Meanwhile, Kick-Ass takes a backseat in this one, only appearing to deliver a few funny lines about how he plans to get laid.  It truly is a flawless plan.  His presence isn't missed, though.  Mindy entertains more than enough to take up the extra panel time. 
 
I'm sure many of you have come to expect an absurd amount of violence packed into each of these issues, but that isn't the case here.  The lack of blood and gore is by no means a bad thing here either.  It just further proves that Millar can create an excellent Kick-Ass related issue without needing excessive bloodshed. 

The Bad  

As much as I like JRJR's style for the book, there were a few panels with very distracting proportions.  For example, Mindy's head appears to be bigger than her entire upper body when she's getting ready for school.  Aside from that, no major complaints. 

The Verdict

I'm part of the crowd that lost interest in Kick-Ass after the first volume and let me assure you HIT-GIRL is well worth reading if you're interested in the franchise.  It's witty, accordingly vulgar and flat-out hysterical.  Bring on the next issue, Millar!