Typically, in my long time fandom of both comic books and films, I've found "making of" coffee table books to be utterly shameful marketing pushes that have no real insight aside from (maybe) a foreword written by a prominent member of the creative team. Everything else is often pure drivel; copy written by an intern at the publishing company with a crap load of production stills and "exclusive" materials. Needless to say, when I picked up Titan Books' Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie, I thought I knew what to expect.
When I looked closer and saw that Kick-Ass writer Mark Millar was actually the one writing the book, I stopped short. Then, I flipped through the book briefly and saw tons of John Romita, Jr. art, sketches, lots of curse words, and many important names. I'm overjoyed to say that this "making of" is actually a legitimate project that sheds light not only on Kick-Ass the film, but the creation of the comic book itself and how the project traversed mediums.
Millar provides humorous anecdotes about his childhood, early career and past relationships, all of which somehow tie in to the creation of the Kick-Ass world. Along the way, there's many different blurbs on various topics such as casting, the translation of costumes from comics to screen, the importance of cursing, etc. - all by important members of the team. This includes Romita, director Matthew Vaughn, screenplay co-writer Jane Goldman, and actors Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Nicolas Cage (Big Daddy) and Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl). Also included is excerpts of e-mails between Millar and Vaughn, Millar's original notes on the Kick-Ass narrative (which he claims resemble the scribbles of a serial killer... he's not far off), and plenty of the more typical behind-the-scenes photos and promotional shots.
Perhaps what is most beneficial to fans is that this book reassures the sanctity of the source material. You will see every curse word you expect, and you will know right off the bat that the film won't be skimping on the tongue-in-cheek violence. With the film independently produced without a studio and direct involvement from Millar and Romita, Kick-Ass is in the best hands it could possibly be in. And before reading this book at length, I wasn't so sure.
Priced at $20, the real value in this book, for any Kick-Ass fan, is that it's not just another hype inducing marketing tool. It's a genuine collection of materials that talk about the creation and genesis of one of the most popular modern comics, with insight from those who were instrumental in its creation, both on page and on screen.
