Millar brings the real world to comics

Mark Millar has identified his Kick-Ass miniseries as the first real-world superhero comic.

Speaking to The Independent, the writer highlighted the aspects of the story's star Dave Lizewski that make him a believable character.

"There's never been a superhero comic set in the real world," said Millar. "Watchmen begins in the real world, but by page 20 there's still a giant blue guy walking around. Even Batman has bullet-proof morphing cloaks.

"In the 1930s, you had the one-dimensional billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne. You didn't even know what his favourite drink was. In the Sixties, Stan Lee re-invented superheroes and gave them a second dimension, so you have an alcoholic hero like Tony Stark, or a hero who can't pay his bills and worries about his schoolwork, like Peter Parker.

"Dave Lizewski is a three-dimensional hero, a guy who plays World of Warcraft every night and whacks off to internet porn, just like a normal person. Over 70 years there's been a gradual drift to realism, and we're now showing superheroes as real people for the first time."

Millar and John Romita Jr's miniseries recently concluded, with Matthew Vaughan's movie adaptation released on April 2.