The Best Action Movie You’ve Ever Read In Ninja-K #9
by Tony Thornley
Who the hell doesn’t like ninjas? Well, Christos Gage clearly loves them. But just in case ninjas alone aren’t enough for you to be interested in Ninja-K #9 from Valiant he added voodoo priestesses, ghost whisperers, mechs, giant alien robots, and kaiju. And if you’re still not interested… well, I don’t believe you’re still breathing.
(Cover by Carmen Carnero and Gabe Eltaeb)
Gage, artists Juan Jose Ryp on line art and Jordie Bellaire on color art, and letterers A Larger World Studios conclude the Coalition arc with this absolutely insane issue. Frankly, it’s one of the most fun issues I’ve read in a very long time.
Ninjak has led his team- consisting of Punk Mambo, Doctor Mirage, Livewire and GING-R- into battle against the Coalition, a group of immortals who are trying to drawing a powerful spirit from the Deadside into the mortal world. The unnamed spirit is possessing the Eternal Warrior, putting Colin face to face with an enemy wearing the face of one of his few friends.
The team battles their enemies, with Ninjak only getting the upper hand by causing his friend grievous harm. The villains escape, with their benefactor still trapped in the Deadside, and leave Ninjak and the others without their objectives.
This is a twenty-three page action movie. I was a little behind on the series when I started reading, but it really didn’t matter. Gage caught me up quickly (even without the recap page), and then shifted into high gear. He had a lot of moving parts to coordinate here too. besides the Ninjak/ Eternal Warrior fight- Punk Mambo and Doctor Mirage were fighting the Jonin and the Dying One, and Livewire and GING-R were battling Ultimo.
It was a lot of moving pieces, and it’s pulled off wonderfully. The story gives little space to Livewire’s fight, but others it’s a thrilling piece of action fiction. It was breathless, explosive and exhilarating. It’s great work by Gage.
Honestly, for as much brutal combat as happens here, there’s no better line artist for it than Ryp. He brings Gage’s script to life beautifully and brutally. The fights are violent, and bloody, which we wouldn’t get in superhero comics otherwise. It’s not gratuitous, but realistic as well. You have two warriors fighting with medieval weapons, and it’s done perfectly.
Jordie has a huge task with her work in this issue, and she does a great job. Punk Mambo’s magic looks different than Mirage’s. The blood isn’t cartoonish bright red, but real and dark. The alien energies GING-R uses really feel strange and alien. These are just a few examples of why the color art is so important this issue. It makes everything else WORK.
Gage has been escalating his story issue by issue, and it’s evolved quickly into an insane action story, in all the best ways. Without a doubt, this is a must-read!