NINJA BOY #4
"Blood"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions
Writers: Allen Warner
Pencils: Ale Garza
Inks: Dan Norton
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Aaron Watanabe
Price: $2.95 US/$4.95 CAN |
Warner and Garza's goofy story of a young ninja and his drunken, Ewok-ish pal continues. I have to give them credit... Ninja Boy boasts a lot of personality. By playing loosely with the dialogue, they make some completely alien characters and circumstances easier to understand and enjoy. But in the end, though, the plot just isn't enough to draw me in.
Nakio and Sake follow the little thief who stole from them and find themselves in Paradice, a seeming utopia that serves as a home to a throng of criminals. Fortunately, it's run by the generous and jovial Big Bosu, who apologizes for Rack-lo's actions. Meanwhile, the malevolent Mikaboshi and his cronies travel through the forest on the back of a giant bear, on the lookout for Nakio.
Garza's art is showing a much stronger J. Scott (Danger Girl) Campbell influence here than usual. Fortunately, there aren't any busty women in the story, so the Gratuitous Cleavage Quotient is low (despite what the cover would have one believe). There are a few cute, diminutive characters introduced in this issue that look far too familiar; it's hard to keep track of them all.
When Nakio and Sake reach Paradice, they are "in da hoouuuse!" Warner instills a hip-hop attitude in the characters, and the contrast with the mythical characters and setting makes for some goofy, entertaining scenes. The tongue-in-cheek tone of the script is more than welcome. I love that the creators aren't taking themselves, these characters or the story too seriously.
Given that enjoyable, light tone, it's a shame that the plot isn't more compelling. Kid out for revenge for his slaughtered family. Big bad villains that kills at whim to show what a badass he is. When one boils the story down to its basic components, it's not all that interesting and far from original. It doesn't help that some of the characters are not clearly identified in the script either.
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