As a spy highly trained in martial arts, it is only natural for Ninjak to have secrets. Punk Mambo his companion in this mission also has secrets. Then there’s the mysterious Magpie whose motives are held very close to his roped binding-glowing chest. With all these clamped mouths, how is Ninjak to achieve his goals? What Matt Kindt does in the eleventh installment of “Ninjak†is utilize Valiant’s history by using The Shadowman’s name to add another layer of secrecy. As its own series Shadowman didn’t work. But the plotline behind the reboot gives opportunity to other characters in the Deadside’s sphere.
In the latest incarnation of Shadowman, Jack Boniface has problems not just with his greatest enemy Master Darque, but with his own loa called Shadowman. Traditionally in the Voodoo lore of the Valiant universe a loa is an intermediary, a spirit who aids a human host in navigating between worlds. Now what does this have to do with Ninjak, Punk Mambo and Magpie? Is the true mission to find the original Shadowman? What about the entities that exist in the Deadside? And why does Magpie have glowing ropes bound to him? More importantly how is Kindt to piece all of this together?
Artwork plays an enormous part in creating this world that Ninjak and Punk Mambo attempt to escape from. Lush green foliage is juxtaposed with malevolent and decaying beings. What’s more numerous surprises are in store for the audience. Nothing is what it seems both visually and literally in this world. It seems the only person you can trust is Ninjak and that should not make the reader feel safe.
When a storyline deals with the supernatural a writer has to commit. And with dealing in otherworldly ideas you have to show your reader that this is natural. After all you’re dealing in an ecosphere where a human hosts an avenging ghost, warriors walk the earth who are older than the Bible and a formerly enslaved man now protects those who imprisoned him and modern day earth. Ninjak being in the Deadside must also, for all its fantastical scenery also be an acceptable reality. As heroes go Ninjak is not one. His mercenary nature affords him the luxury of fighting on the side of good. That being said Kindt forces us to put his faith in him since he is the only one without an agenda.
Is “Ninjak: Operation Deadside†a backdoor reboot for a new Shadowman series? At the end of the comic in “The Lost Files: Legend of the Magpie†it may seem so. Kindt gives us just enough background on the Magpie to intrigue the readers while simultaneously revealing more questions. Why is Magpie in psychological and physical bondage? Is he a heroic victim or egotistical casualty? Whatever the case it is possible that everyone in this issue is being used.
What is the most intriguing about reading this work is the way the story is unfolded. As Neville gives his report on Ninjak and Punk Mambo, the director is asking the very same questions the audience does – just what is going to happen next? That urgency should have you clamoring for some of these characters to have series of their own.
Leave a Reply