Ninjak #7 Discussion

[BugsySig]

Good issue. The villain of the month thing is actually a little refreshing after the first arc's massive decompression (as is the case industry wide). It's the background stories that are the major plot drivers here.

Curious as to where the story with the girl in the park is going. That may be Collins recruitment into MI:6.

We also find out Nevill was cheating on his wife with Angelina, and that Collins butler has really been trying to help him the whole time.

Going to need some connection between the Undead Monk and the Bleeding Monk at some point, otherwise the similarities are just too weird. Maybe the Undead Monk was a deciple of the Bleeding Monk at one time?

[Thomas]

Really good issue overall. I really liked the art in this. The linework and the coloring were really good. It even made the Matt Kindts weird villain design look decent.
Props to Juan Jose Ryp and Ulises Arreola.

[ChiptheRipper]

I agree, a much stronger villain than in #6, she was actually pretty creepy and awesome and I wouldn't mind seeing her show up again. I was a little wary at first, but I'm starting to enjoy adding supernatural elements to Ninjak. I'm enjoying the evolution from what was basically "British Batman" to an actual mystical ninja warrior. My only complaint is that I'm ready for the main storyline and the backup to finally intersect, they're both too short imo. I literally flipped through the book again to make sure I didn't miss some pages. I'm also wondering if the Shadow War will lead into Operation:Deadside, or if it will be wrapped up before that even starts and isn't directly connected? I could definitely see the Undead Monk having some connection to the Deadside.

This issue also made the upcoming end of Unity clearer- Gilad is done with everyone because of BOD, Ninjak got disavowed, and (I think) Aric is going to be accused of being a 'bug-lover' and public opinion is going to turn against him.

[ChiptheRipper]

Going to need some connection between the Undead Monk and the Bleeding Monk at some point, otherwise the similarities are just too weird. Maybe the Undead Monk was a deciple of the Bleeding Monk at one time?

That's also true, I kept wondering if there was a connection. Could the Undead Monk have been a failed disciple of the Bleeding Monk? Maybe he isn't a psiot so he turned to magic and the Deadside instead? That actually leads into another question for me, how do psiots stack up against magic users in Valiant? I don't think I've seen those corners of the universe really cross yet.

[CongoBill]

Good issue! Better villain than in #6. Very solid series thus far.

[Captain Craig]

I guess I should re-read this issue.
I was a bit lost when Colin was "she's reordered her internal organs" line.
How did she do that? She's supernatural?
I missed something I guess and I'll chalk it up to reading too late, perhaps I zoned past a few panels.

[Phoenix8008]

I guess I should re-read this issue.
I was a bit lost when Colin was "she's reordered her internal organs" line.
How did she do that? She's supernatural?
I missed something I guess and I'll chalk it up to reading too late, perhaps I zoned past a few panels.

Or surgically? There was a panel of her having surgery done.

Going to need some connection between the Undead Monk and the Bleeding Monk at some point, otherwise the similarities are just too weird. Maybe the Undead Monk was a disciple of the Bleeding Monk at one time?

They all say the monk is undead, and that he never talks. Maybe it's actually Darque talking to them all in their heads and the monk is just a preserved figurehead in case any heroes ever find the place and try to stop 'the source'?

Darque being involved makes a great bridge to the next arc of Operation:Deadside!

[hunter_peterson]

I guess I should re-read this issue.
I was a bit lost when Colin was "she's reordered her internal organs" line.
How did she do that? She's supernatural?
I missed something I guess and I'll chalk it up to reading too late, perhaps I zoned past a few panels.

Or surgically? There was a panel of her having surgery done.

Going to need some connection between the Undead Monk and the Bleeding Monk at some point, otherwise the similarities are just too weird. Maybe the Undead Monk was a disciple of the Bleeding Monk at one time?

They all say the monk is undead, and that he never talks. Maybe it's actually Darque talking to them all in their heads and the monk is just a preserved figurehead in case any heroes ever find the place and try to stop 'the source'?

Darque being involved makes a great bridge to the next arc of Operation:Deadside!

Pretty sure he's a Sokushinbutsu or living mummified monk. They essentially mummify themselves to death, which if successful is considered to make them divine. In the context of Valiant, I'd say that the body acts as a conduit to Deadside through which the monk or Darque can interact with lost souls. And something about the place they're concealing is transformative. So maybe the monk only is shielding the area from perception and it's Darque pulling the strings.

Anyway, excellent issue. I'm liking this arc a lot so far and the Shadow Seven will make fun villains to come back to. And the slow revealing of Ninjak's backstory is great! It's all coming together now, so I look forward to the stories converging.

[dornwolf]

Hard to ignore Darques influence now. Gotta admit an interesting way of reintroducing the character on the sly. Kinda wish Book of Death had been delayed a bit so we could have had this reveal before BoD

[agent_graves]

I guess it had to happen eventually, but I didn't care for this issue, at all. Main story, Lost Files, it was all bad. I thought the art was solid throughout.

Hopefully, the last two issue's in this arc, will make up for the first two being so lame.

Hard to ignore Darques influence now. Gotta admit an interesting way of reintroducing the character on the sly.

+1

[jmatt]

What a great issue. Fantastic art. She's a much better villain than last issue.

[Watchtower]

It's actually pretty interesting to not have the villain's name come up in the narrative, but I'll admit to being a bit upset about her name being Sanguine. Kannon is named after the Japanese goddess of mercy, La Barbe is French for "The Beard"....and then Sanguine just destroys the theme. And it's going to get obliterated with Fitz next issue anyway. Oh well, at least Sanguine's an awesome character.

(You know what would've been a good name for her? "Krohf." Russian word for "blood", and, incidentally enough, a female noun.)

However, the fact that she's Chechen/Russian means the Shadow Seven is definitely multi-national. Combined with Ninjak's cross-country hopping, and this is turning less into Metal Gear Solid and more into Sly Cooper. Someone better be ready with the commissions.

Still a great issue, though. Definitely loving the flashback pieces and how it's all slowly starting to come together. And I really didn't expect to see Darque show up.

[Dallow Spicer1]

Can't understand some of the lukewarm responses to this issue? I think Kindt is smashing it on this series, interesting character and month by month the mystery of the Shadow Seven gets a little clearer. I think Kindt is doing an outstanding job on this book, the the lost files make it a very substantial read.

Worthy mention for excellent art by Juan Jose Ryp

Tiny gripe, British people don't say '@$$' (unless they've OD on US telly programmes).

Great issue 4.75/5

[Blood of Heroes]

(You know what would've been a good name for her? "Krohf." Russian word for "blood", and, incidentally enough, a female noun.)

Interesting. That's how my last name is pronounced (but not spelled). Who knew?

And since she was at Beslan, I wonder if Gravedog has crossed her path.

[grendeljd]

I guess I should re-read this issue.
I was a bit lost when Colin was "she's reordered her internal organs" line.
How did she do that? She's supernatural?
I missed something I guess and I'll chalk it up to reading too late, perhaps I zoned past a few panels.

I think all the Shadow Seven have a supernatural connection with their abilities - the iron spikes in their necks that come from Darque. That seems to be the transformative catalyst for each member. I'd have to re-read the parts that mention Sanguine getting some surgery to augment herself, but I had the impression that much of her alterations came about the same way as Roku.

[grendeljd]

Hard to ignore Darques influence now. Gotta admit an interesting way of reintroducing the character on the sly. Kinda wish Book of Death had been delayed a bit so we could have had this reveal before BoD

Agreed - I think it's been a great storyline with Darque being behind the Shadow Seven. To address another bit of discussion in this thread, it's my impression that Darque has been operating through the undead monk all along, as a conduit through the Deadside. Although that really depends on if the timeline of establishing the Shadow Seven connects with the timeline of Darque being banished to the Deadside by Jacks father.

I suppose it is possible that he could have his fingers in the Shadow Seven organization regardless of being banished or not, for reasons of his own. Another means of building his power base. As with Book Of Death, I just really want to know how he has actually freed himself from being trapped in the Deadside again, this time. The storyline in Justin Jordan's Shadowman run made it sound pretty imperative that he not be able to get into our world again, as he would be capable of destroying everything & enslaving or killing everyone in the world...

[grendeljd]

I also thought the art was superb in this issue. I'm already a big fan of Ryp's work from seeing the Legends Of The Geomancer series, but this was really excellent. Loved the dynamic angles in the big fight scene.

I'm glad he has signed an exclusive with VEI

[grendeljd]

I'm way behind on sharing links to the show, but if anyone would like to hear our OTV:VCR podcast discussing/reviewing this issue (& Unity #22), please follow the link;

http://onlythevaliant.com/episodes/vcr31/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to any who listen in

[QUARTZ]

I think this is my second favorite Valiant title at the moment. I love when he got in the fight in the club and all the punks started beating each other up.

[leonmallett]

So Kindt mirrors his 'hero of the month' approach in Unity with 'villain of the month' in Ninjak. Rinse repeat. Ugh, no thanks.

Sanguine was less awful than Le Barbe, but the post-Undead Monk aspects of these villains so far seem pretty woolly or ill-conceived at best to me, sorry to say.

Another okay issue, although the promise of the first few issues feels like it is fading fast for me as a reader.