What would happen if a comic-book fan decided to become a comic-book hero? The first series of Kick-Ass gave an answer that mixed honesty (hero Dave Lizewski got beaten up a lot) with wish-fulfilment (he helped crush a mafia ring). In the second series of Millar and Romita's lurid comics, collected here in hardcover and due to be spun into a movie in 2013, Lizewski's antics have encouraged more freaks and fantasists to create alter egos  Doctor Gravity is a physics professor with a wand wrapped in tin foil, while Moon-Bird helps drunk girls home. Then Lizewski's rival Red Mist returns, bringing rape and murder in his potty-mouthed wake. Lizewski's ally Hit Girl, now 1134, is again the most entertaining presence, whether trying to lead a normal life ("Tuesday I went to see a kids' cartoon that was VERY FORMULAIC") or tooling up ("we need to hunt this fucker down and make him wish his dad had finished on his mother's tits"). This nasty, hip, knowing revenge fantasy lacks some of the sparkle of the first series, but remains a gleeful, cynical treat.