Cowboy Ninja Viking #7
Chuck Moore on the issue!
With this week's Hot Shot, I would like to invite you to step out of what might be your normal visual and narrative comfort zone and try something with a slightly different flavor. Okay, sure... it is Image so this stretch isn't a massive one, but talking to friends about this series, it seems to often float just under their radar. I choose it for our Hot Shot this week as I think that fact is a shame.
Issue #6 of the series was a clear jumping on point which proved accessible to new readers yet satisfying to those who have been on board since #1. The story ther presents a great cliffhanger end which leads into the most current issue. I mention this as #6 is a great issue to sample the flavor of the series if jumping back to issue #1 isn't an option (hey, there is always the trade). Issue #7, the most recent, continues the current story and (remaining spoiler free) amps up the action as the world goes belly up for our team at the center of the story. Satisfying read that preserves the humor and style we've come to expect here.
On the surface, the concept behind Cowboy Ninja Viking may seem like it would be a little slapstick in presentation and it could be dismissed as a story you could pass on. For me, this was initially the case. Eric Ratcliffe turned me onto the series getting me to read it and I'm thankful for it because it deserves a second look. What the creators (writer AJ Lieberman and artist Riley Rossmo) are doing here, in terms of the way the story is presented, the way the art looks, the distinctive coloring palette and even the lettering/word balloons style came across as a bit groundbreaking and certainly fresh in style and flavor.
If you are not familiar with the story, it's a bit like the government has created ultimate warriors by mixing personalities into a set group of individuals giving them the skills they need to accomplish any of a number of tasks at hand. The presentation comes across more like multiple personalities than a super soldier and it is that odd mix and the way these voices are presented in the story that really stuck me at first. An engaging story and a raw feel that anything can happen sold me.
There is foul language, there is nudity, there is violence and there is a great story holding it all together. It challenges you to follow the action and requires a bit of active participation in the book than many reads my be used to, but in the end I hope you too will marvel at what the creators have accomplished. I know I did.
The Official Word From DC Comics
Cowboy Ninja Viking #7
Story by AJ LIEBERMAN - Art & Cover by RILEY ROSSMO
24 PAGES / FC - $3.99
There's always a point in a mission where everything goes to hell, people die, and the team bonds as they realize they're on their own. Two of those three things happen in this issue and one of them is NOT "and the team bonds." With their Bangkok mission in shambles, the one person they're supposed to protect dead, and CNV literally missing...Duncan & Co. are just starting to grasp how deep their hole goes.
"...great dialogue and banter, lots of humor, fantastic action, and there really is a solid spy/espionage/assassin plot going on... Everyone would do well to expand their minds a bit and see what the fuss is about." -Ain't It Cool News
RETAILER WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES
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