I imagined Ninja Boy was going to be one of those imaginative comics that make a comeback. It was a project that was in Wildstorm sometime after it became a DC imprint. This interested me and I decided to back the sequel on Kickstarter while researching the original. Much like life though, things don’t quite work out for anyone.
Not the Ninja Boy Games
Ale Garza is a comic book artist who had been with Wildstorm since he was 18; working with creators like Chris Claremont. He also lent his abilities to series like Gen13 and Teen Titans. But his first professional attempt is his own comic book with writers Allen Warner and Dan Norton. That series was Ninja Boy, not to be confused with the video games by Culture Brain as a Google search would tell you.
Let’s Clear Things Up
Ninja Boy (the comic) is about titular character Nakio, the last of the Mugen clan ninja. His first official mission is to assassinate the corrupt lord Amatsu-Mikaboshi. But he gets more than what he bargains for when Mikaboshi has his clan brothers publicly executed. Fortunately he’s not alone; he is joined by a tiny hairy mountain man called Sake. Nakio must now find a series of people who will grant him the means to avenge his clan.
The Appeal
The first chapters of Ninja Boy’s first volume, Faded Dreams show Nakio as a good ninja; but it leaves plenty of room to improve his character. He dreams of being a great hero but is often caught in things beyond his abilities. The action on display even goes to great lengths to show the scale and risks that Nakio faces. From the distance in skill to his lack of awareness. His need for support results in a colorful cast who compliment his rash but serious methods; not least of which is Sake, a drunken Yama-bito.
Nakio who is greatly skilled but inexperienced from living in solitude; Sake meanwhile had to deal with a lot of scrutiny around his life and is usually drowning himself in alcohol. One would think a drunken man couldn’t care less about some kid. But when Nakio is ready to jump in to fight Mikaboshi; Sake, who has nothing to gain, convinces Nakio to fall back less he lose his life for nothing. Sake serves as a kind of guide for Nakio. Despite their clashing personalities they work together while bringing out the best in both of them.
The Nosedive
Unfortunately the rest of who joins Nakio have little development or arcs; they are just thrown-ins at the end of the series. A thief ends up joining them despite having little to no time with Nakio or Sake. And a young spell caster just shows up while flirting with Nakio in the heat of a battle; until she literally gets cast aside. They left as fast as they came.
Everything just moves at a breakneck pace with little room for development. By the time Nakio and co. encounters a band of thieves, they reveal that Mikaboshi was once a Mugen ninja himself. This has potential but it never comes up again. Everything just moves too fast to make a meaningful run in six issues. Instead it focuses on sensational action scenes with no rhyme or reason.
Rhythm With Blues
All things considered, it’s no wonder Wildstorm and DC didn’t bother to consider more releases; it’s just bad improv by the second half of the first volume. I understand you can only fit so much into six chapters, but Garza and co. didn’t need to stuff content like a turducken. But that’s also a problem with one of Ninja Boy’s influences, freestyle hip hop.
In the best circumstances this style of music combines flow, rhymes, metaphors, and charisma in just one breath. It’s why Samurai Champloo and Afro Samurai are so notable. In each semi-contained episode, the beginnings set the stakes in the background. This is often in reaction to the protagonists’ abilities or whatever short-term situation they find themselves in. Often times the protagonist while still on the main story quest have short-term goals they want to achieve. If there is more than one cast member some of these goals can clash, tie-in, or just aren’t that important. All before whatever short-term goal is the focus ties the resolution together in one big dramatic fashion.
As for Ninja Boy which takes place in similar settings to the above series, the main quest is the sole focus. Anything that’s even remotely a side-quest is more like an obstacle than something to tie into a personal short-term goal. In freestyle hip hop terms, this is just grasping straws to rhymes.
Ninja Boy Needs Backup
More than 15 years later, the creative team starts a Kickstarter campaign to continue where the story left off. While the crazy action remains, the new series focuses solely on Nakio and Sake. After a close encounter with death from the last series, they sport new looks. They’re also putting a heavy emphasis on the variant covers from great artists. Also instead of the usual outlets like Action Lab and Devil’s Due; the comic was meant to be published by Overground Comics.
Overground Comics is a creative independent comic company; its main attraction is a superhero universe without any hard or soft reboots, retcons, or continuous events. It has been doing rather well for itself, even publishing their content on their website for free. However, Overground Comics has been falling on hard times financially to the point they had to start a Kickstarter to jumpstart their next project in Plus Ultra.
Garza and co. meanwhile have to find a new publisher they aren’t sharing specifics about. By that point all of the release dates are pushing back constantly. As of now there is no telling when Ninja Boy 2 will get released or even at all. At this point in time, it’s anyone’s guess on how the actual series will turn out. A potentially great story that fixes the mistakes its predecessor had made; or just more random nonsense thrown in for the sake of attention?
But the ink’s not dry yet. Thanks for coming and remember to always look between the panels.