The first issue of Ninjak’s 2021 run with Valiant is a strong start to a series with big potential. Its strength is in is unexpectedly unique storytelling.
Colin King is Ninjak, a contract killer. He’s left England’s MI6 spy organization and gone freelance. A mercenary, a man who works for a price. And now, Ninjak is a target!!
Jeff Parker writes and Javier Pulido both draws and colours (letters by Dave Sharpe and Javier Pulido) this stylized, graphically innovative take on Ninjak. The script is terse, not ‘talking just to talk’. The panels are concise too, no extra flab to be found. Its terse and lean format, then, serves to introduce us to the world of spies, lies, and revenge. The action scenes are cleanly rendered, in deceptively simple line drawings with black shadows and high contrast lighting. It’s almost comical in its elegant visuals, teetering on cartoony, and Love and Rockets caricature. Flat-on views, no shading, flat colours, thin lines with little feathering or ornamentation. It’s 2D all the way. But exquisite.
Well-balanced panels, well-composed sequences, great use of colours both garish and fantastical. Loads of white space, compositions that demand our attention, and rapid heart movement.
It’s a strong first issue like I said, and it’s such a great read!
Valiant Comics, Ninjak #1, $3.99 for 19 pages of content. Teen.
Newsdesk