Kick-Ass 3 #8

If you've already bailed on this title, I'll understand. There was a repetitive and mean spirited quality to Kick-Ass 2 that left a bad taste in my mouth too. But, if you've bailed, you missed issue 6, which gave us a full on superhero origin story. You missed issue 7, which showed us we've actually been in a full superhero environment since the beginning (there's a Daddy Cave, and its spectacular). Which brings us here. This comic is nothing less than a love letter to superhero comics and the people who read them. There's a page, and you'll know it when you read it, that perfectly sums up what comics can do. It is presented without snark, irony, disdain, or dismissal. It explains both why we read them as kids, and continue to read them as adults. If that kid is still inside you anywhere you'll just about cry. That a comic could have this much heart in a story that features 10 year old girl slicing a man's head in half from the nose up makes this the most shocking, most surprising issue of a trilogy that had more than its share. Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. have crafted a book that is as satisfying a finale as possible. To say it far exceeded lowered expectations does it a disservice. The end is perfect, bringing us back to where the story of Dave Lizewski began, but be sure to 'stay through the credits'.