Nothing can stop Roku.
Creative Staff:
Story: Matt Kindt
Art: Marc Laming
Colors: Ulisses Arreola
Letters: Dave Sharpe
What They Say:
Master Darque – the sadistic lord of death and resurrection – wrests to be free once again, but first he must fight for his life. Darque is a target, his powers are weak, and his enemies know it. Now, Darque’s own former pupil and Ninjak’s ruthless arch-nemesis – the lethal assassin known as Roku – has gathered the Shadow Seven together again for the sole purpose of putting Darque down for good. And the only thing holding their uneasy alliance together is a mysterious benefactor from the shadows? Someone who also goes by the name Darque? Everything has led to this?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Ninjak continues to be one of the most frustrating series with so much potential that’s so compressed that it leaves me grousing about it. As we get into a new arc here with this issue under writer Matt Kindt, who has guided this series from the start, what we have is something that should be happening in another fifty or so issues. Of course, the first twenty-two issues should have had its story told over another fifty or so issues so that it could have the weight and impact it should, which would make an installment like this seem even stronger than it already is. Kindt is joined this time around by artist Marc Laming and he delivers well with a whole lot to cover, from super secret prison base to a range of characters in difficult situations and bringing it all together.
With all that Colin has been through it’s no surprise that he’s not exactly leaping to help Neville when he gets that call. The reveal that MI6 has built a new super prison to house those that cannot be handled elsewhere is no surprise, though you do imagine there comes a point where they have to realize they’re playing with fire and these kinds of prisoners must simply be eliminated. The problem that Neville is having is that the Shadow Seven are all being broken out of there and are somewhere out in the wilds of the world. And while both Neville and Colin have dealt with this group before over the years and with a whole lot of money and coin spent on it, what’s really frightening Neville at this point is that Roku is the one that pulled it off with her endless abilities and skill and they have no idea what she’s actually intending to do. Considering who they all are and what they’re capable of, that’s not a bad thing to feel.
What’s fun with the book is in seeing how Roku frees everyone after dealing with all the protections that are here. Yes, it’s terribly easy in a way because she’s simply capable of doing anything and everything which undermines her as a character. But working her way through the Shadow Seven members and revealing to them how she has everything that they want in order to get them to work with her is fun since it essentially provides for a jumping on point for new readers to understand the characters. Now, the supposed twist at the end as to the seventh member leaves me a bit cool because that’s just too easy and I’m hopeful that Kindt has more going on with it than revealed. It does lead me to wondering more about the past installments of the series and what was seeded there or teased and whether it’s part Kindt’s plan all along.
In Summary:
Ninjak is a book that’s so full of potential that it’s frustrating to see it unfold as it does because all I can envision is something larger and grander with more weight to it. That’s not to say I’m not enjoying what it’s doing here because I am, but I want it to be so much more. This installment is basically an easy introduction to the characters that are going to populate this arc with their motivations and it works as a showcase for just how powerful Roku is with what she can do, which is to say she’s overpowered. Colin himself has a small part but it’s something that could lead to an interesting twist for him and I’m curious to see just how far, and how truthful, it will go.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Valiant Entertainment
Release Date: January 11th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
