Valiant Entertainment 2015
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Doug Braithwaite
Coloured by Brian Reber & Soto
Lettered by Taylor Esposito
The Lost Files
Written by Matt Kindt
Illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp
Coloured by Ulises Arreola
Lettered by Baylor Esposito
He’s alway been among my favorite characters but with Matt’s run on this title he’s really become one of the most interesting, dynamic and well badass characters around. Spy, Agent, Superhero or Mercenary he’s a man of depth and his complexity well while it stems from a childhood unlike any other he manages to be the kind of hero we all want to see.
Welcome Doug Braithwaite to the series, his style of artwork is incredibly well suited to the world of Ninjak and his attention to detail, crisp clean lines, page and panel layouts really do help continue to make this a superstar run. Visually his work here with Brian is absolutely stunning, powerful and enthralling in nature. Though I’d like to see more purple in Ninjak’s outfit cause ya know that’s one of the aspects that attracted me to him in the first place.
Ah Neville has to talk to the Director about recent events and what’s happening, getting him up to speed on certain events. The way this is done is perfect as it we see the site of a ground zero event and the aftermath of what’s being described. It’s always one thing to hear about what’s happened to but to read it and see it simultaneously well that’s a powerful way to get the reader into the story that much faster.
For some reason this feels like the story moves along so fast. That’s not a bad thing it’s just something I noticed. Very quickly after we’re brought up to speed about what’s been happening, including losing almost a complete twenty man team in an attempt to retrieve what was taken before calling Ninjak in. Even with all his gadgets, skills and so forth Ninjak will need help getting into the Deadside so he’s being teamed up with another for hire MI-6 Agent. From the moment she popped up in Unity I’ve been wanting to see more of Punk Mambo and finally here she is.
The dynamic these two have is fascinating and I can’t wait to see more of it unfold throughout this story. I will say though I wish we got to see the one panel she did when Colin was putting on that armour! Matt really killed it this issue with both the narration and dialogue going on at the same time. The story is utterly engaging, interesting and really captures the reader’s imagination. This is kind of new for Ninjak and that he’s got to work with Punk Mambo makes it all the better!
The Lost Files story focuses on Magpie and dayum if Juan Jose Ryp wasn’t the perfect choice in depicting Master Darque’s minion. Plus just seeing the remnants of the library of all knowledge was truly stunning. Man this guy’s work is truly some of the best in the industry for me. There’s something just amazingly magical about the man’s talent that I can’t get enough of. So what his role is going to be in the current story remains to be seen but usually the back-up plays a role in the main one so i’m looking forward to seeing how this ties in.
Ninjak isn’t just in humble opinion Valiant’s best title it’s one of the best on stands to day period.