Ninjak #10 has Ninjak and Punk Mambo entering the Deadside in pursuit of a powerful enemy who freed Fakir. It opens up with Neville debriefing the director of MI-6 about an attack on MI-6’s Unexplained Phenomena Research Facility north of London. Neville tells the director that the civilian casualties were catastrophic. Despite the facility housing walls and ceilings that were four feet of reinforced steel the attacker known as Ember was able to simply rip the doors off their hinges. Ember’s objective was to free Fakir, although his connection to Fakir is currently unknown the reason MI-6 kept him there is known. Due to his ability to regenerate his arms, MI-6 experimented on him to attempt to learn how this was possible. And when MI-6 forces attempted to stop Ember he opened a portal to the Deadside, and it was this portal that caused the catastrophic event. The original MI-6 team sent after Ember didn’t make it back except one, Punk Mambo. Now the plan is to send Punk and Ninjak to pursue Ember. But what can Ninjak do in this cosmic supernatural dimension?

I didn’t have a problem with Neville narrating the events that occurred as opposed to them just unfolding in current time. There are times when this could take away from the importance of the antagonist’s motives or the experience of those in the situation but that wasn’t the case here. Ember was impressive in the opening narration and I’m assuming his motives will be explained as the story arc unfolds. Yet a part of me wished that the battle with the initial MI-6 team sent after him was shown to some extent instead of just the breakout from the facility. It would’ve given a better context to Ninjak being sent with Punk Mambo and what they were up against.

However, when the action did start it was pretty impressive despite being relatively short. And that’s because the chain of events unfolded wonderfully and set up this story arc perfectly to make it intriguing. Now I can’t wait to see what awaits them in the Deadside.

SUMMARY

Ninjak #10 is an impressive start to the Operation: Deadside story arc and the intriguing conclusion makes me look forward to what will happen next. Neville narrating the majority of the issue doesn’t take away from feeling engrossed in the story although I do wish it touched on the first team’s battle with Ember just a little bit more. However I really like the Deadside so far and the combination of Ninjak and Punk Mambo. Good thing this is only the first issue because I really want more.

Release Date: 12/9/15

Writer: Matt Kindt

Artist: Doug Braithwaite