Matthew Vaughn (1) (1971–)

They always say that the book is better than the film, but once again I have to starkly disagree… I absolutely love the Kingsman movie franchise for so many reasons, but the graphic novel that they’re based on totally doesn’t live up to the hype! Where the films take the spy genre in a uniquely humorous direction and have a wonderfully emotive cast to bring the characters to life, the book seems quite traditional and flat in comparison. Gone entirely are the moments of sarcastic show more British humour, the almost too ridiculous to be true action sequences, and the perfect visual casting and what we’re left with is a slightly more street style influenced James Bond. As much as I enjoy a good spy novel and the whole saving the world motif, without the small details that make the films so brilliant there’s little to make this story stand out from the masses. Honestly, I’m not even sure how they got from this book to the film, and if I had read the books first I don’t know if I would have bothered to try out the cinematic version… Disappointing material from the graphic novel genre, once again. show less

There's the really weird sense of banal nihilism that pervades most of Millar's work. It's just always there, even in this precursor to the Kingsman movie. In fact, the entire evil plan of the book's villain is so straightforward that it succeeds in horrifying where a spandex villain couldn't. It's a very clever narrative trick that would otherwise have made The Secret Service just another Bond wannabe.

BTW, if anything this book points out how impressive the Kingsman adaption was. It somehow show more keeps Millar's basic feel but also adds a human element (particularly Colin Firth's analogue to Uncle Jack) that helps the story from coming across as bleak as this original. show less

This movie is trying to be (and mostly getting away with being) two films at once -- a Magneto origin film, and a prequel film about the titular First Class of X-Men, both of which would have been better off getting their own film. But this is the film we got, and whenever it is the Magneto origin, it is very, very good. Sadly, whenever it is the First Class film, it is bland and forgettable, stuffed with minor characters you never get neither the chance nor a reason to care about (and show more indeed, the next film in the series write almost all of them out again anyway). The result is an uneven film which begins spectacularly, drags in the middle, and then, thankfully, manages a decent-but-not-quite-great finale. show less

Like all graphic novels I've read in the past six or so months, this one is compared to the ideal, my favorite (and much raved about) Saga, but also to the film because I broke my rule of waiting to watch a film until after I've read the book, er, comic. And like most comics that I've read post-Saga, it doesn't quite reach the bar, and, surprisingly, it's not as good as the film. Most other times when I have broken this unofficial rule of mine I have concluded that the book is better, but show more alas, in this case it is not to be.

That certainly, however, does not mean that I didn't enjoy it! As a former film studies major, I love comparing movies to the source materials, and because there are so many differences between page and screen, I loved trying to figure out why certain aspects where changed. Through this lens I read so that I could focus on story and character, but without having to directly compare quality and could therefore assess the comic on its own merit and not in competition with the film (which I loved - go see it!).

The story line of the graphic novel is quirky, irreverent and unexpected which I thoroughly enjoyed - seemingly random deaths of favorite characters keep you on your toes! The characters are compelling and the plot intriguing. However, the art style was not a strength, as it resembled just about every superhero comic out there. Most would find it adequate, if not exceptional, but when compared to Fiona Staples' art in Saga, unfortunately it just didn't stand a chance. show less