REVIEW: 'Hit-Girl' #1 by Mark Millar and Ricardo Lopez Ortiz

Hit-Girl is most certainly back and as deadly and crazy as ever. She's gone international looking to fight injustice and find a worthy sidekick. Mark Millar is in top form with help from artists Ricardo Lopez Ortiz and Sunny Gho. The heart of the Kick-Ass legacy lives on as bloody and as thrilling as you remember.

HIT-GIRL #1 

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Sunny Gho

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: February 21, 2018

Cover Price: $3.99

Score: ★★★★★ (5/5)

The retirement of Dave Lizewki as the original Kick-Ass has left a void in Mindy's crime-fighting life. Trying to recruit his replacement has been challenging to say the least. She's going to go it alone and taking her skills global as a cry for help leads her to Colombia.

Millar hits the floor running with a wild prison break, Mindy parting ways with an unworthy partner, and a grieving mother looking for justice. The sudden blitz back to the world of Kick-Ass is like comfort food for comic book fans. The new 'Kick-Ass' series featuring Patience Lee as Albuquerque's Kick-Ass takes on a more mature tone with all the signature violence intact. 'Hit-Girl' exists very much in the heightened reality that the original series did but totally untethered without Dave holding her back. There's nothing to keep Mindy from being Mindy.

While a violent gang awaits the return of its ruthless enforcer, Mindy has other ideas and none of them peaceful. The change of location adds some interesting nuances. It certainly opens up the possibilities for Millar and probably like Mindy, feels unleashed to wreck shop to his heart's content.

Doing the art this time is not John Romita, Jr. (he's penciling the new Kick-Ass series) but Lopez Ortiz. Admittedly, it takes a minute to get used to someone else drawing Hit-Girl but the quality is there from the jump. His scratchy style fits the wild story as it adds energy and menace. You can't look away from a lot of his panels especially some of the close-ups. There are a lot of little details to discover in some of the panels or just to admire his designs. Sunny Gho's colors are soft and delicate which are sometimes a stark contrast to the violence it is fleshing out.

Does it live up to the original? Yes. Is Mindy as psychotic as ever? Absolutely. Your jaw will drop and you'll laugh when you know you shouldn't. Millar has brought 'Hit-Girl' all the way back in glorious, globe-trotting, ass-kicking fashion.