Review "Badass": a Deadpool made in France?

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After Hero corp, JustFocus continues its exploration of comics… made in France by Kitty Kitty Kill Kill from the Badass series published by Delcourt on May 15.

Confusion for a scroll

During an auction of occult objects, Amadeus Kitty, a famous thief who has power over sound, is paid to steal a magical book but she is voiced by the New Masters of Crime but also by Dead-End, the master of crime and main hero of the Badass series. All this little world finds itself blocked in the museum by the police and fights for this manuscript.

Local is better than global

Badass and Amadeus Kitty

In this collection directed by David Chauvel,Delcourt editions innovate by offering superhero comics made by French. Moreover, this volume is organized into four episodes as a comic book collection. They go even further by creating a universe shared by several characters, such as Marvel and DC, but at Delcourt everything follows in a single Badass or Foxboy series. Unlike Hero corp, another French superhero comic, Badass does not come from a series or a movie but from the brain of Herik Hanna. The drawings in this volume are by Julien Motteler.

One step aside

In this volume independent of the old volumes, we learn more about the mysterious thief Amadeus Kitty. The first pages tell in voice-over the origins of the thief. Hearing impairment forced her to live isolated in the family recording studio until she discovered that she actually possessed a unique gift. It can hear everything and, by absorbing sound, it can return it as destructive waves. These very moving origins change the way we look at her. Much more than an Arsène Lupin in the costume of Louis XIV, she is an isolated girl who has conquered her autonomy by theft. This volume is also an opportunity to meet the New Masters of Crime a quartet of strange enemies including a rhinoceros man – Rhino Blade – and Miss T, fan of the All-Risk Agency.

A French Deapool

The action is very present but the humor mixes with the story to play on the codes of superheroes. King Arthur who arrives during the story speaks like Thor but without ever a word of English which is "super boring" according to Dead-end. Hanna makes fun of the new teams – the New Masters – that nobody knows about but also the useless crossovers – Hidden War Crisis. We often laugh by the images – the explosion of a poodle, My Little Ponies are dangerous carnivores from another world – or by the dialogues. Dead-end is very funny by his acid lyrics by mocking Amadeus Kitty who becomes in his mouth Vivaldi Kitty, Beethoven Friskass. If you like Lanfeust-style humor comics, this series is a treat. By this devastating humor where nothing resists the super-power of the screenwriter, we have the impression of reading a successful Deadpool. For drawings and crazy situations, we can also think of Tony Chu, also published by Delcourt.

A fun read

The childhood of a thief

The drawing is influenced by manga but with bright colors and sharper shapes. The rawer inking and the comic-like layout – there is no grid but variations according to the pages and a double-page with a unique drawing – make reading very enjoyable.

Kitty Kitty Kill Kill is therefore a big kiff of humor and action. This independent volume is an ideal gateway for a new reader and will undoubtedly push you to quickly discover the rest of the series.