Reviews»Comic Books»Ninjak #18
Ninjak #18
Kareem Ali 4.5

Ninjak #18

 

  • The good

    Great action sequences throughout. The Lost Files is a great follow up to last story arc and creates a lot of potential in the current timeline

  • The bad

    Takes place in distant future so initially doesn't give any closure to Siege on King's Castle

  • The ugly

  • Ninjak #18 has Ninjak and Gilad team up again long into the future for a mission given to Gilad by MI-6X. It opens up with the 2 of them on a train discussing Gilad’s duty as protector of the Geomancer. Ninjak tells him that it’s a duty he doesn’t have to fulfil on his own since they work together well as a team. However, Gilad reminds Ninjak that this is a MI-6X operation and that he’s currently on the do not contact list because of his role in leaking all MI-6’s files. So the new agency doesn’t know that Gilad has sought Ninjak’s help. The operation is to extract information from Fitz about the whereabouts of Fakir, 2 of the original Shadow Seven. Ninjak positively identifies Fitz on the train only to discover that the entire train is full of Fitz clones. Fortunately Gilad is able to take out as many clones as possible while Ninjak is able to identify the one clone that is different from the others. Fitz tells Ninjak that Fakir is somewhere in the Himalayas, and Ninjak immediately knows what that means. But what could Fakir want with the remains of the Temple of the Undead Monk?

    Ninjak #18

    I wished last issue dealt with the aftermath of the plot against Colin a little more and not just from the standpoint of discovering Roku’s true identity. Colin’s entire life was compromised, his home destroyed and being hunted by MI-6. When I started this issue I was slightly disappointed that it was taking place at some point in the distant future and not picking up from what was an overall wonderful conclusion to the last story arc. But I do admit that I enjoyed the change in Ninjak and Gilad’s status quo with the latter working for MI-6X and the former being responsible for the downfall of MI-6. And I was curious about their current mission. However, I appreciated that story more once I got to the Lost Files section of the issue because that would deal with the aftermath of the siege on King’s castle and saw how it could possible connect.

     

    The opening train sequence was entertaining for a number of reasons, not least of which was seeing the contrast between Ninjak and Gilad’s styles in approaching the situation. When every passenger resembling Fitz looked back at Ninjak it was wonderfully creepy and the perfect start to the action sequence. Gilad’s portrayal here and his weaponry made it even more enjoyable. For a Ninjak issue this scene belonged to Gilad in terms of action. As far as the story, it was interesting to see what Fitz was actually doing on the train and why there were so many of him there. And honestly, even though there wasn’t any backstory to Fitz and Fakir’s plans and connection, I just wanted the story to move forward so I could see the significance of this issue being right after the Siege on King’s Castle story arc.

    Ninjak #18
    Fakir’s plan wasn’t utterly surprising but the motivation and support behind it made me intrigued. Of course the action was solid and it’s always a joy to see Ninjak’s creativity in these situations. I won’t give away any spoilers here but overall this story didn’t become engrossing until the Lost Files. Here Colin would be visited by Neville and the two would talk about recent events. Their discussion ranged from Roku/Angelina to Colin no longer trusting Neville or MI-6. This wasn’t just some cursory discussion but full of revelations concerning Colin’s mentality, Neville’s future and created so much potential for future interactions with MI-6. And the connection to a previous story arc was brilliant so I’m looking forward to what it means.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    Ninjak #18 is a solid issue because of the way the Lost Files gives some closure to the Siege on King’s Castle and connects to the new story arc with an interesting revelation. This is the first time I wished the Lost Files started the issue instead of finishing it but as a whole it comes together nicely. The action sequences throughout the entire issue are highly entertaining, and the team dynamic of Ninjak and Gilad works nicely once again. There’s a lot of potential in this story arc due to Fakir’s plan and support, so I can’t wait to see how this story unfolds.

     

    Release Date: 8/10/16
    Writer: Matt Kindt
    Artist: Khari Evans
  • Rating ( 9 )
  • Total score 9.0

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