Review: Ninja-K #14
FINAL ISSUE! England’s top spy has gone rogue!
After going back on his word to find and apprehend his former lover, the super-powered fugitive called Livewire, Ninjak is now on the run from MI6 himself! So, what on earth could force him to travel to the very heart of London?
When your time is coming to an end, what do you do? If you asked Christos Gage what he planned to do with the final issue of Ninja-K I’d like to think he’d smile. I don’t know him, so consequently I didn’t ask him, but if I wa writing a series like this and wanted to wrap it up in style, I’d consider myself lucky if I did it half as well as Gage did with Ninja-K 14 in what is essentially a standalone story that wraps up all of the loose ends that I can think of (or rather all that I care about) in a remarkably neat package.
The plot itself is relatively simple, but the insights we get into Ninjak as he narrates the simple, action packed evening adventure are fascinatingly revelatory when it comes to Gage’s run on the character. Storywise, you really couldn’t ask for a better cap to a fantastic run. Artistically? It could have been better.
Roberto De La Torre has a very unique style that I’ve struggled with during his time on this series. Ninja-K #14 is a comic of two halves; there are moments of pure brilliance that are off set by sequences where you really have no bloody clue what’s going on. However. There’s a very good chance that in print (or on a non-watermarked digital copy) that the art will be less muddled – and because I won’t be able to pick up my print copy for almost a week after publication date, I’m willing to give the art the benefit of the doubt based upon the previous issue holding up better in person than on the review copy I read at first.
Ultimately, despite some questions on the art, this is a book that is well worth reading, and fans who have read thus far are going to be very happy with the final product. Whether it’s worth picking this up just for the standalone story, well personally I think it is. This comic give you enough context (yay recap page!) that you are more than capable of enjoying the story within without any fear of feeling lost or confused as the events unfold across the page. We’ve already said “so long” to another Valiant series this month as Quantum And Woody gave us perhaps the best farewell issue I’ve ever read, but Christos Gage and Ninja-K #14 sure gave it a run for its money.
Story: Christos Gage Art: Roberto De La Torre
Colours: Jose Villarrubia Letters: A Larger World Studios
Story: 9.5 Art: 8.1 Overall: 8.9 Recommendation: Buy
Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
With the fate of the Eternal Warrior hanging in the balance, Ninjak has tracked The Dying One – a being who reemerges in a new human body whenever they die – to a small town outside of Chernobyl. But Colin King is about to uncover secrets more unsettling than the loss of his friend Gilad. Abandoned in the wilds of the Russian wilderness, the world’s most dangerous super-spy must now survive against an unthinkable onslaught of science experiments from the twisted mind of his immortal foe!
The Coalition may have been defeated…but the mission’s not over yet! Now, Ninjak must use all the super-spy skills at his disposal to save Gilad from the clutches of his friend’s erstwhile nemesis, the Dying One. But stopping an immortal genius – especially one armed with the full might of the Eternal Warrior – is a fight that not even MI6’s best and brightest secret agent can prepare for!
From the encrypted files of The Ninja Programme, another secret chapter revealed! The Cold War is in full swing and the United Kingdom’s top-secret intelligence unit has come to a crossroads. As their once-elite collection of secret agents finds itself outmatched by the escalation of the United States’ H.A.R.D. Corps division, the spymasters of MI6 are about to develop a new kind of soldier for their never-ending war of global gamesmanship and international intrigue. Part man, part machine, and bound together with the most extreme technological enhancements that the 1980s have to offer, NINJA-H is faster, stronger, and deadlier than any who have come before…
“It all comes down to this! Ninjak – plus his black-ops backup squad of Livewire, Punk Mambo, Doctor Mirage, and GIN-GR – have been sent into Mexico City to destroy an indestructible target! But their quarry – The Jonin, the Ninja Programme’s seemingly ageless former sensei – has assembled his own strike force of improbable powers to meet them head on!”
Colin King has recruited a highly skilled team of black ops specialists – including Livewire, Dr. Mirage, Punk Mambo, and the robotic alien colossus called GIN-GR – for the ultimate search-and-destroy mission! The Jonin, the mysterious mentor behind the program that trained MI6’s elite ninja assassins, has resurfaced in Mexico City at the head of a covert cabal of long-lived and near-immortal renegades with incredible powers…and a mission that could destabilize human civilization as we know it!
For decades, the mysterious figure known as the Jonin trained and tutored the agents of MI-6’s Ninja Programme. In his hands, the men and women of Britain’s most elite secret service were refined into more than spies… They became human weapons capable of inflicting extraordinary damage and defying the laws of nature itself. Now, after decades thought dead, this master killer has resurfaced…and recruited a new circle of undying, seemingly ageless powerhouses from across the Valiant Universe for reasons unknown. The Jonin’s revenge will cast a long shadow – and, to meet it head on, Ninjak has assembled his own squadron of heavy-hitting heroes – including Livewire, Dr. Mirage, Punk Mambo, and GIN-GR – for the ultimate black-ops mission!
The day has finally come when Valiant Entertainment and Bat In The Sun have released the formerly highly anticipated first episode of the webseries Ninjak Vs The Valiant Universe. In fact, there’s a chance that the second and third episodes will be out now, too, due to the daily release schedule. To judge this against other comic book live action properties edges upon the unfair; the production budget is a fraction of those that the MCU or DCEU movies receive, and the acting isn’t on the same level as the performances of Chadwick Boseman, Hugh Jackman, or Gal Gadot – nor should you expect it to be.
His allies have turned against him. His last options have been exhausted. And there is nowhere left to run. Now, Ninjak – the rogue super-spy turned against his former masters by the cunning assassin called Roku – must face the final revelation of his no-holds-barred showdown with the heroes of the Valiant Universe. Bloodied but unbowed, Colin King’s gauntlet ends here…and Valiant’s first-of-its-kind crossover between live action and the comic book page is about to come to an explosive finale that will leave you stunned!