Ninjak #1
Publisher: Valiant
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist(s): Clay Mann & Butch Guice
Cover: Lewis Larosa
Many fans have been waiting for this ever since he appeared in X-O Manowar and soon made regular appearances in Unity. Now Matt Kindt is bringing Ninjak in this solo series that impresses in this first issue. Kindt’s introduction to the character is very easy to get into especially for those who may know nothing of Ninjak. The opening sequence introduces both our title character along with a very formidable foe in Roku. However, there’s a twist early on but Roku almost outshines Ninjak in their first confrontation. As the story progresses there’s a nice mix of espionage and spy elements worked into a great script. Plus, the main character is a secret agent ninja so you really can’t go wrong there!
There’s also a secondary story that takes place years earlier in the career of a less ninja-like Colin King. Though this is a back-up story, Kindt makes sure that it’s just as relevant to the main narrative. Seeing where Colin began helps to flesh out who we see in the main story so the journey is a little more interesting. All of this is made even better with the artwork of Butch Guice to tell the visual story. He keeps it suspenseful, dark, and intense and makes you want to come back for the second part almost immediately.
Clay Mann’s work on the main story is just as impressive and he really does pull you in immediately with the opening sequence. Roku’s slow reveal over several panels was great pacing along with the fight that takes place between her and Ninjak. The fight choreography itself was dynamic and smart so it was pretty fun to go over a few times. With the assist from Ulises Arreola on colors and Seth Mann on inks this issue is just page after page of visual cool. Even when the story slows down there isn’t a lull in the artwork from this team as they give the story a very cinematic feel along the way.
There’s been a long wait for Ninjak to get his own series and if this is what we have to look forward to then it was definitely worth it. The creative team is making sure that along the with the action we get some character development along the way that matters. This has been a strong point for most of the Valiant titles and it’s good to see it’s continuing here. Now comes the hard part and that’s waiting for the second issue!
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
