The careers of superstar comics makers Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. may keep them in demand across the industry, but the pair were happy to announce that their signature co-creation will continue on no matter what.
That's because Millar and Romita shared the exclusive news with CBR that their latest Kick-Ass series will welcome new writer Steve Niles and artist Marceo Frusin with issue #7. The new creative team will continue the adventures of mob-killing mom Patience Lee.
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Millar explained that the handoff has been planned since the start of the series, though it's still a little bittersweet. "When we sold Millarworld to Netflix, the one and only downside was not being able to write more Kick-Ass with my new executive role. So I did the next best thing – I got my favorite writer to continue Patience Lee’s adventures," he told CBR. "Steve Niles is without question my favorite writer in comics, and I rank 30 Days of Night as my favorite graphic novel of the last 20 years. I’m honored he’s taken the time to do this and slightly in awe that, like Jeff Lemire on Hit-Girl, he’s already outclassed me on this book. I finally get to enjoy Kick-Ass as a reader!”
Best known for his horror-tinged work, Niles expressed excitement to be stepping into the realistic superheroics of the character. "I am absolutely having the time of my life working on Kick-Ass," he explained. "It’s a thrill to be continuing the work set out by Mark and John and wonderful to be working with Marcelo and Sunny [Gho]."
Joining the team is Marcelo Frusin, an artist known to Vertigo readers for his runs on Hellblazer and other titles. "I am really happy to continue the superb work of Mark and John on Kick-Ass. The new character is gorgeous and I enjoy working on the book every day. I like drawing the world of Kick-Ass and its villains – Steve's scripts are wonderful and the color work Sunny is doing is amazing. It's great to have a team like this. I love doing Kick-Ass!“
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The arrival of the new team also marks an ending for John Romita, Jr., but the legendary artist has nothing but fond farewells for his time creating this world. "I’m lucky enough to work with Mark again, but even luckier to have worked on Kick-Ass again, as well," he said. "Every time someone worries that the same old, same old is in line for another go ‘round with a title, Mark Millar completely crosses people up with something completely different."
"My attempt on every new panel, page and story is to do something different," Romita explained. "I think Peter Steigerwald and I have managed to do that, and Peters brilliant color art is so vital to that difference. Overall, the three of us have provided something unexpected, and in all humility, excellent! I’m proud to have worked with Mark, Peter, John Workman and editor Rachael Fulton on this Kick-Ass title and so thrilled to hand the reins over to Steve Niles and Marcelo Frusin. I’m confident these two great talents will grab a hold and run with Kick-Ass seamlessly. I can only speak for myself, but I will severely miss this lady in the Kick-Ass costume. Pretty sure Mark and Peter agree.”
Kick-Ass #7 will arrive from Image Comics in September.