Who is hunting the agents of MI6? Acclaimed writer Christos Gage (Netflix’s Daredevil) and superstar artists Tomás Giorello (X-O MANOWAR), Juan José Ryp (BRITANNIA), Roberto de la Torre (THE DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE), and more draw the circle close around Valiant’s deadliest super-spy for an orchestra of spycraft, stealth, and steel in the complete deluxe edition hardcover of the series Nerdist calls "one hell of a ride"!
One by one, the operatives of MI-6’s covert “Ninja Programme” are being murdered by an unseen threat that is as mysterious as it is deadly. But who could possibly have the knowledge and expertise to eliminate the lethal men and women of Britain’s most secret service…and why are they hellbent on reaping revenge against Colin King and his predecessors? As the walls close in around him, Ninjak must confront the bloodstained legacy that spawned him… before his own name gets crossed off the list…
Collecting NINJA-K #1–14, "Prelude to Ninja-K" from NINJAK #0, and more than 20+ pages of rarely seen process art, designs and extras!
This new 14-issue run on the Ninjak character pushes the mythos forward in a big way by building on the ideas introduced in Matt Kindt’s run that Ninjak (or his official codename: Ninja-K) is the latest in a long line of MI:6’s ninja agents (Ninja-B, Ninja-F, etc). In this series, in true spy movie fashion, there is a shadowy figure targeting former Ninja agents and in the effort to get to the bottom of it, Ninjak learns the history of the former agents and the dark secrets of MI:6. At the same time, the mysterious former Ninja trainer, The Jonin, has formed a Coalition of various immortals from across the Valiant universe to take control over the world and Ninjak has to team up with other heroes to stop them. It helps a lot if you’ve read the various books that include these villains so that you’re familiar, especially the fantastic series, Wrath of the Eternal Warrior: Deluxe Edition.
I love how disciplined Valiant is with their shared universe. The effects of the Armor Hunters invasion is still being felt all these years later and each book always feels like it takes place in the same world. I wasn’t sure if this series by Christos Gage was going to be as cool as Matt Kindt’s run, but I felt like it was just as good and never forgot about exploring Ninjak’s personal issues, his moral struggles and the effect that the past has had on him. And he still kicks major ass.
This deluxe edition collects the complete series, so it’s the best way to read it, but be warned that the end of the book tied in a lot with the Harbinger Wars 2 event that was happening at the time. But it doesn’t connect so much that you need to read that series to enjoy it! This deluxe edition includes the complete series, compiling the three paperbacks:
El volumen 1 de esta serie me gusto tanto que compre la coleccion de lujo. Este contiene tres arcos argumentales y un corto cuento sobre Ninja-H.
Una historia que expande el canon de Ninjak de la misma manera que Matt Fraction y Ed Brubaker hicieron con Immortal Iron Fist. No conocía nada que Christos Gage había hecho antes y por eso estuve escéptico al principio. Pero debo decir que he sido placenteramente corregido. Los diálogos, aunque un poco extensos, se acoplan bien con la acción que también debo agradecer a la rotulación de A Larger World Studios. La historia de cada agente ninja es desde admirable a conmovedora, y aún tenemos más ninjas que conocer. Deja un final abierto pero el caso en mano es cerrado y me dejó satisfecho.
Me hubiera gustado que la ilustración le hubiese rendido honor a las épocas de antaño con un estilo de dibujo y coloreado más ortodoxo, pero debo darle su aplauso aparte a Tomás Giorello y a Diego Rodríguez por un excelentísimo trabajo visual. El dibujo en sí está claro, limpio y anatómicamente correcto, pero se ayuda con efectos visuales para ayudar a dar una sensación de movimiento. Las secuencias son, como dije anteriormente, tienen buen ritmo y están bien dirigidas. El color ya es un plato aparte, no se como llamarle a este estilo de coloreado, pero debo decir que estoy encantado. Con los tonos seleccionados, da una sensación de realismo que a la vez da un poco de caricaturismo a la obra. Cada personaje está diseñado para ser fácilmente reconocible y lo agradezco porque en otras historietas que he leído, no toman ese aspecto en cuenta.
El segundo arco es una historia que enseñará a Colin a trabajar en equipo un poco mejor. Después de tratar a Unity como lo hizo, escondiendo motivos e información de ellos. El adversario fue también un interesante equipo que me gustaría verlos en otros libros de Valiant. El diálogo extenso de Gage no se enmascara con paneles impresionantes como en el primer arco. Aquí los paneles son grandes y suponen que el lector haga todo el trabajo de imaginarse las secuencias de combate.
La historia de NInja-H fue algo que no quiero dar spoilers aquí por lo genial que fue.
El tercer arco, fue el peor en cuanto a diseño gráfico. A veces era imposible distinguir que estaba sucediendo y tuve que observar varias veces el panel para ver si no era solo un garabato lo que había. En cuanto a narrativa estuvo bien, imagino que los mejores ilustradores estaban ocupados en ese tiempo.
El final fue tanto un final como un principio, asi que estaras satisfecho si quieres más o si quieres seguir o si quieres parar.
Gage's Ninja-K run starts off strong by redefining the character but fizzles out as the stories grow less interesting and the art worse.
The Ninja Files (#0-5). Gage totally rewrites the history of Ninjak in a way that gives it a really solid foundation and lots of depth. This is the sort of thing that quickly becomes a story generator, and Gage immediately uses it for that purpose. The result? A bigger world. Besides that, this story has some real shockers about MI-6 and some great action [5/5].
The Coalition (#6-9). In the VH-E universe, actions have consequences, so here's the story of Mexico years after the destruction of Mexico City. It's a wonderful pit of repercussion that results in a fun team-up of the sort you can only have in a universe that isn't subject to constant crossovers — where it's still meaningful. We also get some pretty exciting action, even if there's one (big) dangling thread that's anticlimatic [4+/5].
H (#10). More of the past of the Ninja program, more evidence that MI6 are total dicks. We've seen this before, and so this issue isn't as good as many of its predecessors [3+/5].
Aftermath (#11-13). The final confrontation with the Dying One is somewhat disappointing. We lose all of the big-screen menace of the Coalition, and instead we just have zombie guy/gal and their zombie minions. The ugly artwork really doesn't help. The best thing about this is the simultaneous issues between Colin and MI6, which have been building over the whole run [3+/5].
Finale (#14). The run ends with a pivotal change in Colin's life, but it's undercut by this being a big fight with more ugly art. Sigh. [3/5].
This is a fun and exciting book, that nicely captures a newer aspect of ninjak folklore. The only problem with the book is the art of the last arc, which simply does not fit the rest of the book. However, the story is engaging enough to make you forget about that.
Ninja-K is a strong continuation of the story threads from the previous Ninjak series. Great art and tight storytelling provide another great hardcover from Valiant.