Ninjak #4
Written by Matt Kindt
Art by Juan Jose Ryp with Clay Mann, Seth Mann, Marguerite Sauvage, and Butch Guice
Inks by Brian Thies
Colors by Ulises Arreola
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Cover art by Dave Johnson, Rafa Sandoval, Jodi Tarragona, David Garcia Cruz, Raul Allen, Marguerite Sauvage, and Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic
Valiant Entertainment
Release Date: June 24, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Ninjak #4 is a different kind of issue as the previous ones in the series. VERY different. If you’ve been enjoying the series, as I have, you’re going to either REALLY like this issue, or really NOT like this issue. Let me tell you what I thought.

Series writer Matt Kindt pens a very different issue of Ninjak this month. It focuses on series villain Roku, where she’s from, a little on her powers, and basically her origin story. While he’s been prone to flashbacks in the past, this time Kindt spends the whole issue with Roku’s past, and honestly, I feel it was a bit too stretched out. In my opinion, it could’ve been told in about 4 pages, and I would’ve been satisfied. It’s not bad, it just takes a little too long to get where he wants to go. The back-up story features Kannon and his origin. I liked the back-up story more than the main story actually, because it had a twist that I didn’t see coming. On the whole, this issue was good, but not great.

The art in this issue is where the book really lost me. The back-up features art by Butch Guice, and he’s amazing, so there’s no problem there. The very beginning and end of the main story features art by the regular artist Clay Mann, and he’s great like always. The problem that I had comes with the artist Juan Jose Ryp. I just don’t think that he’s a good fit for this issue or this book. He’s got a very set style, and it’s a total 180 degree turnaround from the normal style of the book. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but in this case, I don’t think it does anything to enhance the issue.

While I still recommend this issue, it’s only because the information in the story is vitally important to the series as a whole. If you’re not picking this book up on a regular basis or just for issues that deal exclusively with the Ninjak story line, you may want to give this issue a pass.