A superhero’s life is supposed to be full of danger. One of these potential dangers is getting your house blown up and identity destroyed. That’s the trouble we see in “Ninjak #14†by Matt Kindt with art by Diego Bernard which is part one of a new story called “The Siege of King’s Castle†and it has a mostly solid beginning.
After returning from Deadside, Colin King wanted to spend a day clearing his mind. Instead, his castle gets blown up, all his credit cards get compromised and his identity is erased. The worst part is he gets the blame for not just the destruction of his castle, but the murders of people in his castle. Now he has to find out who wants him dead and why and clear up his name.
This plot feels like a “Batman†story that DC really doesn’t want to run. Once you get past the similarities, it’s a decent enough story. Colin’s inner monologue does a fine job of telling the story and is interesting to read which is rare. One strong point is that the events where Colin finds out his life is destroyed are handled well.
The downside to the story comes from some minor nitpicks. How does a government agency like MI-6 have such lax security, especially with their agent’s profiles? Also, why is Mi-6 so easy to penetrate? If this was the sixties it’d make slightly more sense. Since this comic takes place in the modern era, something like a security breach would be handled immediately. If it turns out to be an inside job, then the quality of the story would go downhill since this plot has been done by every spy movie ever.
Bernard’s art is top notch and keeps the high standard readers are used to in Valiant’s comics. The most striking things are the backgrounds, especially Colin’s castle and the MI-6 building. One nitpick is that some of the facial expressions from background characters do look laughably goofy.
“Ninjak #14†has a strong start to a new story arc with some minor nitpicks. It can go in a number of directions, but right now it’s worth a look.
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