|
NINJA BOY #1
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
|
DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions
Writer: Allen Warner
Writer/Pencils: Ale Garza
Inks: Dan Norton
Colors: Guy Major
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Aaron Watanabe
Price: $3.50 US/$5.75 CAN |
This book, the first in Wildstorm's "Pac-Rim" inspired titles, fits right in with the style of Cliffhanger or early Image. It's flashy, pretty and loud, but seems a tad light on substance and originality. The comics industry is in real need of something that can capture the kinetic energy and excitement of something like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but Ninja Boy isn't it, at least so far. Instead, this
seems like your standard coming-of-age/destiny story set against a backdrop of
medieval Japan rather than high school. There's nothing particularly wrong with
that, but I was hoping for something a little more daring and outrageous, and
this book so far plays it awfully safe.
Give Garza and his co-creators credit for
one thing, at least: They've avoided the stereotypical selling point of these
types of comics by failing to include overly-endowed women or low-brow
scatological humor. Instead, the appeal is the action, whether it's a chase or
two, a handful of martial arts sequences or a handful of sneaking sequences. And
though I found the interplay between Nakio and his brothers a little stale and
predictable, I do think that the creators have established a fairly realistic
bond between them, mixing gentle teasing and genuine affection.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I'm divided on my feelings for this book. While it didn't really make a connection with me, I do like that the creators are trying an unusual setting and a different tone to go with it. Manga has of course featured any number of books set in Shogun-era Japan, but it's rare to find one that is something of a goofy teen book rather than a serious drama or vengeance morality play. Warner & Garza give the book a healthy sense of humor without going into full-on sitcom mode, and this really has the tone of an American action-comedy movie, wrapped inside a definitely Japanese setting. The sense of humor and character dynamics feel a bit by-the-numbers for me, but there's an enthusiasm behind the work that makes me want to like it. There are moments that stand out for me, however, including the introduction of a furry animal sidekick whose dialogue provides a funny down-to-earth contrast to Nakio's wide-eyed naivete and a nice moment between Nakio and his brother when they're both trying to reach the same training goal, and that's when the enthusiasm behind the work shows up in the work. A few more moments like that, and a few less moments that read like second-rate Karate Kid imitations, and I'll be
onboard the book for sure.
While I found the writing a bit uneven, the
big selling point of this type of book is the art, and in that respect Garza
delivers a pretty impressive package. While he's not as polished as Adam Warren,
Humberto Ramos, Joe Madureira or the other big names using the manga-inspired
style to great effect, he does have the key elements of energy and wildly
exaggerated anatomy down. The opening sequence, a silent storytelling piece, is
weak both in terms of backgrounds and in conveying what is going on, but once
that sequence ends and the story proper starts, there's a lot to like in the
artwork. In particular, Garza, Norton and Major really make the setting of the
forest come alive, and the stick-fighting sequences are absolutely terrific as
well. By the time Nakio had reached the city, I was fully sucked in by the
visuals.
In the end, I'm not much more interested in Ninja Boy after reading issue one than I was when
reading the promotional materials. It's very pretty, and it has a heart in there
somewhere, but so far it hasn't really shown me anything new. To be fair,
though, I'm not even remotely the target audience, and I do think this book's
attractive art and likable main character will appeal to teenage readers.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
