Hit-Girl #4 Review

Somewhere nice and hot

Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Ricardo Lopez Ortiz
Colorist: Sunny Gho
Letters: Melina Mikulic
Cover Art: Amy Reeder
Publisher: Image Comics
Reviewer: Andrew McAvoy 





And now the end is near, and so I face the final bloodbath. Yes, fancy an adventure set in Columbia that makes jokes about Soviet weaponry and has more violence in one book than the entirety of Netflix's Narcos series? Well then I have the very book for you, come hither and I'll share with you the secret of combining side splitting hilarity with ultra-violence...

"My, my, my" said the spider to the fly. This was a great conclusion to a perfectly weighted, perfectly paced, tightly written and gloriously rendered 4 issue arc. Despite getting review copies of this I have bought all four in hard copy, and will treasure them in my collection. This issue had many fine traits but I suppose above anything else it encapsulated the spirit of all 4 issues. My favorite aspect is the relish that Hit Girl has for sheer black humor. This book has it in spades and I particularly loved the scene in which they hijack and rig a dump truck with high end explosives. I don't want to spoil the scene but the dialogue and exchanges in it scene are hilarious.

The book also has a warmer side to it too though. There is an acknowledgement of the sheer horror that these criminal cabals have on a personal level, and although Millar heightens the plot elements through the use of ulta-violence there is a relatively warm-hearted ending to this issue, and a message of being able to find family in a form that works despite everything that life may throw at you.

The art in this book is exquisite. There is a particularly important quality to it which is the expressiveness of the faces. The sheer manic glint in the big bad's eyes. The murderous mischievous smile on Hit Girl's face. That mixed with the kinetic quality that Ortiz brings to the action sequence and the vibrancy of Gho's colors on those scenes really kicks everything up a notch.

Bits and pieces

A tremendously satisfying conclusion to this four issue arc of Millar's. Really satisfying and fun in equal measures. Now, the next issue will see a creative team change, with Jeff Lemire and Eduardo Risso. As much as I love Lemire's writing I am a little nervous about the change given how much I've enjoyed this run. I retain an open mind however (I'm a big Lemire fan), and there is a scene change as well as we leave Columbia behind for Canada. As for this issue, read the other three (if you haven't already) and then pick this up - very good work and a top comic. Warning though - not for the squeamish.

9.1/10