What do you think?
Rate this book
Ninjak (2015)
Ninjak, Vol. 4: The Siege of King's Castle
The last stand of Colin King!
Colin King, the elite MI-6 intelligence operative codenamed Ninjak, has confronted his past. He’s survived the gauntlet of the Shadow Seven. He’s walked into the Deadside and returned a changed man. Now his greatest trial yet will come to pass as the ruthless assassin called Roku returns to lay siege to Ninjak’s present and future by destroying his life from the inside out – and only the death of Colin King will stop her.
New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Divinity) and rising star Diego Bernard (X-O Manowar) charge into a new blockbuster story that will leave no one unscathed!
Collecting: Ninjak 14 –17
Colin King, the elite MI-6 intelligence operative codenamed Ninjak, has confronted his past. He’s survived the gauntlet of the Shadow Seven. He’s walked into the Deadside and returned a changed man. Now his greatest trial yet will come to pass as the ruthless assassin called Roku returns to lay siege to Ninjak’s present and future by destroying his life from the inside out – and only the death of Colin King will stop her.
New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (Divinity) and rising star Diego Bernard (X-O Manowar) charge into a new blockbuster story that will leave no one unscathed!
Collecting: Ninjak 14 –17
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2016
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 31, 2019
Alternate title: Ninjak Gets Completely Fucked.
So somebody is out to get Colin, thoroughly burning him in every way possible.
But. He's fucking Ninjak, so even without his money, gadgets, and MI-6 connections he's going to be a pretty hard target.
This is the volume where I feel like we get answers to some of the bigger mysteries of Colin's parents' origin and also what ties him to Roku.
Once again, this is just an incredibly solid entry in this title. I really can't seem to get enough of this character!
Highly Recommended.
So somebody is out to get Colin, thoroughly burning him in every way possible.
But. He's fucking Ninjak, so even without his money, gadgets, and MI-6 connections he's going to be a pretty hard target.
This is the volume where I feel like we get answers to some of the bigger mysteries of Colin's parents' origin and also what ties him to Roku.
Once again, this is just an incredibly solid entry in this title. I really can't seem to get enough of this character!
Highly Recommended.
June 19, 2017
Ninjak's story draws to a close. Colin King's world begins to fall apart. Someone has destroyed his home; he has been rendered destitute and is considered a traitor by MI-6.
This starts a great adventure with Ninjak trying to figure out who is behind all this. The entire time he has to stay one step ahead of any of the number of people looking for him. This time he has to do with it with limited gear. More about this I will not say-this is a good plot and worth your time to read it.
The short side stories really shed light on how awful Colin King's parents truly were. It explains a lot about the previous stories. So while this is an ending, it also does a good job of tying all the string together from the very first volume. Ninjak has great art, an exciting story and some damn good writing. Here's to hoping there will be more to come down the road.
This starts a great adventure with Ninjak trying to figure out who is behind all this. The entire time he has to stay one step ahead of any of the number of people looking for him. This time he has to do with it with limited gear. More about this I will not say-this is a good plot and worth your time to read it.
The short side stories really shed light on how awful Colin King's parents truly were. It explains a lot about the previous stories. So while this is an ending, it also does a good job of tying all the string together from the very first volume. Ninjak has great art, an exciting story and some damn good writing. Here's to hoping there will be more to come down the road.
November 21, 2018
Yep, still awesome.
What’s it about?
I unfortunately can’t say without spoiling a bunch of stuff so I’ll skip that part of the review.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting and exciting throughout.
The art is fantastic. I noticed that in this volume there’s a bit of experimenting with various styles and sometimes I don’t like that, it works in this book however.
The characters are awesome. Ninjak is even cooler in this volume (and he was already freaking awesome!).
The action scenes are almost nonstop, very bloody and exciting throughout!
This book is one of those ones that at first seems predictable but then as it goes on it has some insane, unexpected twists. I love it when things do that.
The origin story of Ninjak’s parents was very interesting and well done.
Overall:
This book is awesome! I know I just said it about the previous volume but I changed my mind about which volume is my favorite. It’s this one. This series is so damn good! I can’t recommend it enough!
Seriously guys, read this series!
5/5
What’s it about?
I unfortunately can’t say without spoiling a bunch of stuff so I’ll skip that part of the review.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting and exciting throughout.
The art is fantastic. I noticed that in this volume there’s a bit of experimenting with various styles and sometimes I don’t like that, it works in this book however.
The characters are awesome. Ninjak is even cooler in this volume (and he was already freaking awesome!).
The action scenes are almost nonstop, very bloody and exciting throughout!
This book is one of those ones that at first seems predictable but then as it goes on it has some insane, unexpected twists. I love it when things do that.
The origin story of Ninjak’s parents was very interesting and well done.
Overall:
This book is awesome! I know I just said it about the previous volume but I changed my mind about which volume is my favorite. It’s this one. This series is so damn good! I can’t recommend it enough!
Seriously guys, read this series!
5/5
August 21, 2017
Ninjak has returned from the Deadside and is back in the real world once again.
Time for a break, right?
Not if you're a Ninja.
Colin King (Ninjak) is stripped of everything he has. He loses his castle (which was pretty sweet) along with all his high-tech ninja gear (also pretty sweet) and all his money (bye-bye, rich boy). He's framed for mass murder and even MI-6, who he has been working for, no longer trusts him.
It's the classicJason Bourne Ninja on the run storyline trying to track down and discover who is fucking up his life.
It's cool, though, because we get to fill in the blanks on the parts of his life that we haven't yet been made privy to.
It's also nice to see what kind of a warrior Colin King is without all of his fancy ninja tech.
*spoiler*
He's still a badass motherfucker.
3.5 stars if Goodreads would let me.
Time for a break, right?
Not if you're a Ninja.
Colin King (Ninjak) is stripped of everything he has. He loses his castle (which was pretty sweet) along with all his high-tech ninja gear (also pretty sweet) and all his money (bye-bye, rich boy). He's framed for mass murder and even MI-6, who he has been working for, no longer trusts him.
It's the classic
It's cool, though, because we get to fill in the blanks on the parts of his life that we haven't yet been made privy to.
It's also nice to see what kind of a warrior Colin King is without all of his fancy ninja tech.
*spoiler*
He's still a badass motherfucker.
3.5 stars if Goodreads would let me.
July 25, 2017
Ninjak with no tech is still pretty cool. This story feels like a Jason Bourne movie. And Roku is hot as you won't believe... The back story focuses on Ninjak's parents. It's a more realistic spy game than the main story and it also involves a love triangle.
Ninjak's castle is bombed. He survives by sheer skill, but soon finds that the rest of his life was also sabotaged, his credit cards are cancelled and his name is on the top ten interpol list. His only hope is Neville, but he also is forced to play by the rules. Livewire gives him some money and a new identity to escape the country and clear his name.
Ninjak's castle is bombed. He survives by sheer skill, but soon finds that the rest of his life was also sabotaged, his credit cards are cancelled and his name is on the top ten interpol list. His only hope is Neville, but he also is forced to play by the rules. Livewire gives him some money and a new identity to escape the country and clear his name.
December 21, 2018
The Siege of King's Castle (#14-17). This adventure offers some rather extreme status quo changes, nicely caps a long-running plot line, and also gives us some great backstory in its bonus shorts. Along the way we also get some great action-adventure (though it drags a bit toward the middle). Altogether, that makes a fine Ninjak arc [4+/5].
July 3, 2019
Valiant does it again
I started this last night and finished the following day. I need more. This volume was great. About to check out volume 5
I started this last night and finished the following day. I need more. This volume was great. About to check out volume 5
May 23, 2018
He’s survived the Shadow Seven, and the Deadside, as well as the various trials that being a member of Unity has provided. Now, Ninjak has lost everything: his job, his money, his friends, even his identity and there’s only one person to blame – the only assassin who is even remotely close to as powerful as he is – Roku!
Ninjak’s dealt with a hell of a lot over a short amount of issues, and now writer Matt Kindt strips him back to basics and makes him deal with a hell of a lot more. There’s an urgency and a simmering rage to the proceedings here, from the set of Ninjak’s eyes to the finality of his inner monologue that really hammer home how much these four issues are affecting him. It’s a clever story to tell, and proves just how dangerous a man Colin King really is when he has both nothing left to lose and nothing left to fight with but his body.
The conclusion of the story is a bit of a miss for me personally; we get a reveal regarding Roku’s past that ties her to Ninjak in an unexpected way, but I feel like the impact is lost because there has been no hint of anything more to Roku than her anger in the past. She’s not really a completely formed character outside of her striking design and powers, so it loses some of the punch that it could have had. At least she wasn’t secretly Neville, that would have been weirder. She also suddenly seems to lose her drive to hurt Ninjak for some reason, which isn’t really explained as well as it could have been. They fight, she doesn’t prevail, and then decides that someone else deserves her ire instead so she wanders off to fight another day. It’s…odd.
There’s a dangling thread here that I expect will return in a later storyline too, and once more Valiant keep strict continuity between their books as Master Darque’s fate in Book Of Death is referenced quite heavily.
The Lost Files back-ups are a lot weaker this time around however. We get flashbacks to Colin’s parents and their relationship, as they decide to have a child, only for this to go sideways. The story ties nicely into main story by the end, but it feels a bit superfluous and just adds more fuel to the fire that they’re horrible people, which I don’t think really needs to be hammered home any further.
Diego Bernard continues his rounds of Valiant’s staple characters by joining Ninjak for this arc. His battle choreography is next level, and that’s a great thing when you’ve got a character like Ninjak bouncing around the pages. His pencils work with the dramatic tension really well, and I’m not sure if it’s the colouring or the inking but there’s a very Ed Benes-like edge to these four issues compared to his looser pencils elsewhere. The Lost Files are half pencilled by Khoi Pham in some rather basic work that I wouldn’t associate with him at all, and Andres Guinaldo who remains extremely reliable despite a strange fascination with foot-revealing camera angles that I thought Guillem March had cornered the market on.
Siege On King’s Castle is a strong arc with good ideas executed very well, except when they aren’t. The Lost Files drag the story down by not being very important compared to the main story, and Roku’s sudden lack of motivation means the final issue doesn’t hit the bullseye, but Ninjak’s been on a high for over a year by this point, so a little dip isn’t enough to make me lose faith in the book just yet.
Ninjak’s dealt with a hell of a lot over a short amount of issues, and now writer Matt Kindt strips him back to basics and makes him deal with a hell of a lot more. There’s an urgency and a simmering rage to the proceedings here, from the set of Ninjak’s eyes to the finality of his inner monologue that really hammer home how much these four issues are affecting him. It’s a clever story to tell, and proves just how dangerous a man Colin King really is when he has both nothing left to lose and nothing left to fight with but his body.
The conclusion of the story is a bit of a miss for me personally; we get a reveal regarding Roku’s past that ties her to Ninjak in an unexpected way, but I feel like the impact is lost because there has been no hint of anything more to Roku than her anger in the past. She’s not really a completely formed character outside of her striking design and powers, so it loses some of the punch that it could have had. At least she wasn’t secretly Neville, that would have been weirder. She also suddenly seems to lose her drive to hurt Ninjak for some reason, which isn’t really explained as well as it could have been. They fight, she doesn’t prevail, and then decides that someone else deserves her ire instead so she wanders off to fight another day. It’s…odd.
There’s a dangling thread here that I expect will return in a later storyline too, and once more Valiant keep strict continuity between their books as Master Darque’s fate in Book Of Death is referenced quite heavily.
The Lost Files back-ups are a lot weaker this time around however. We get flashbacks to Colin’s parents and their relationship, as they decide to have a child, only for this to go sideways. The story ties nicely into main story by the end, but it feels a bit superfluous and just adds more fuel to the fire that they’re horrible people, which I don’t think really needs to be hammered home any further.
Diego Bernard continues his rounds of Valiant’s staple characters by joining Ninjak for this arc. His battle choreography is next level, and that’s a great thing when you’ve got a character like Ninjak bouncing around the pages. His pencils work with the dramatic tension really well, and I’m not sure if it’s the colouring or the inking but there’s a very Ed Benes-like edge to these four issues compared to his looser pencils elsewhere. The Lost Files are half pencilled by Khoi Pham in some rather basic work that I wouldn’t associate with him at all, and Andres Guinaldo who remains extremely reliable despite a strange fascination with foot-revealing camera angles that I thought Guillem March had cornered the market on.
Siege On King’s Castle is a strong arc with good ideas executed very well, except when they aren’t. The Lost Files drag the story down by not being very important compared to the main story, and Roku’s sudden lack of motivation means the final issue doesn’t hit the bullseye, but Ninjak’s been on a high for over a year by this point, so a little dip isn’t enough to make me lose faith in the book just yet.
April 9, 2021
While a reveal at the end points to the next volume Not Being For Me, this was a solid action movie level comic. A bit of intrigue, returning characters, a spy being burned and having to start over from scratch. I'm not sure how that will play into the Unity books, where Ninjak is part of the Valiant Universe's Avengers team, but as a standalone story this was fun.
I really don't enjoy the flashback stories about the protagonist's parents. I get it. They're awful. They're selfish. They ruined their son's life. I do't kow why we have to keep seeing them be terrible.
Overall, after the last volume, this was a pleasant return to the original storyline.
I really don't enjoy the flashback stories about the protagonist's parents. I get it. They're awful. They're selfish. They ruined their son's life. I do't kow why we have to keep seeing them be terrible.
Overall, after the last volume, this was a pleasant return to the original storyline.
May 25, 2021
This kicked ass in many ways.
It was like The Bourne Identity, but with Ninjak. The magic stuff was there, but it was less, which I liked. I prefer seeing Ninjak doing his secret agent shit in a more grounded, real world setting with some hints of magic.
I liked meeting Roku alot. What a cool character. I liked seeing Ninjak running around without his resources.
Overall, this was a beautiful and exciting action movie in comic form. Def recommend
It was like The Bourne Identity, but with Ninjak. The magic stuff was there, but it was less, which I liked. I prefer seeing Ninjak doing his secret agent shit in a more grounded, real world setting with some hints of magic.
I liked meeting Roku alot. What a cool character. I liked seeing Ninjak running around without his resources.
Overall, this was a beautiful and exciting action movie in comic form. Def recommend
April 11, 2018
Warning! This book contains a huge comic book cliche which you would not mind! Colin has lost everything and someone wants to see him dead. So how will he fight without gadgets, weapons, money, friends?
May 14, 2018
After the dreadful Operation: Deadside, it's good to see our favorite superspy back to doing spy stuff.
March 19, 2019
Read as part of the deluxe edition. See Ninjak: Deluxe Edition 2 for the full review.
March 25, 2019
Yup, that's how we like our Ninjak
June 22, 2019
Finally! This is what we have been waiting for...not a close the to series but some ends wrapping up and getting to see what the whole set up is far. Amazing artwork in this issue.
February 24, 2020
I love this storyline it rewards the longtime reader by doing a lot of call backs to earlier stories. It’s also reader friendly to new readers. Well done.
May 28, 2021
Mejora respecto al tpb anterior, pero no llega al nivel de los primeros 2.
November 13, 2024
Back to action, no magic! Also no money,home or gear, Ninjak bare bones.
December 7, 2016
Interesting story with Ninjak's back against the wall.
Love playing up the "K".
I thought it would be an attack on King's Castle for the whole volume, which it was not giving it greater variety.
Maybe a little to much on his past making some things predictable.
Love playing up the "K".
I thought it would be an attack on King's Castle for the whole volume, which it was not giving it greater variety.
Maybe a little to much on his past making some things predictable.
April 14, 2017
Always really well done.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews