Ninjago, Vol. 1
The Challenge of Samukai
Written by Greg Farshtey
Art by Paulo Henrique
Colors by Laurie E. Smith
Papercutz
Release Date: November 8, 2011
Cover Price: $6.99

Ever since I was a kid I loved Legos, in fact to this day I still collect them and build them. When I found out that the Ninjago line from Lego was being made into a graphic novel I had to read it.

Ninjago centers around Sensei Wu and his four ninjas Kai, Cole, Zane and Jay who have been brought together to find the four golden weapons of Ninjago and defeat the evil Samukai and his partner Garmadon. Garmadon makes a bet with Samukai that if he cant defeat the four ninjas and Sensei Wu he has to leave the land of Ninjago forever. Can Samukai keep his throne of evil and can the ninjas save the day and find the weapons?

Greg Farshtey writes a really fun story and throws alot of comedy and action into it. He also expands on the base story for the toy line and makes it his own by giving each character alot of personality and depth. One of the shocking things of the story is that Samukai is the brother of Sensei Wu and they respect each other.

I also really enjoy the art by Paulo Henrique who makes it his own. He shows that Lego is meant to be fun and meant to be enjoyed. The spinjitzu moves are very funny and the facial expressions on each character are great. I love the motion effects and the action scenes. The backgrounds are prefect and really sets the tone of the story. ne of my favorite locales in this book is when Sensei Wu is underwater in a frozen lake trying to recruit one of the ninjas.

All and all I give this book a 5 out of 5. It truly was a pleasure to read and it was very enjoyable and had a very fun story.