Cowboy Ninja Viking #1

It seems like original, well executed ideas are hard to come by these days.  In a time of rehashed storylines and unimaginative comics hitting the shelves it is rare that a book can generate a lot of excitement unless it is a crossover or mega-event/tie-in issue.  When I saw the title of a new miniseries from Shadowline/Image Comics by the name of Cowboy Ninja Viking I have to admit my level of excitement was very high.  I know it is a little superficial to get excited about a book by name alone but I was intrigued to see what this book had to offer.  Eager not to get my hopes dashed I took the approach that this title was too good to be true and there was no way it could be as cool as I hoped.  Well I was right.  It was not as cool as I thought it was going to be … 

… it was better! 

The book is about a group of counter-intelligence assassins who were created from multiple personality disorder patients.  After all, what is better than a highly trained assassin?  How about three highly trained assassins in one body?  These assassins were simply known as the Triplets.  They were the creation of Dr. Sebastian Ghislain, a rogue psychotherapist/cover op/DJ.  As we find out the idea was misguided, impractical and a complete failure and that is the good news.  Somebody has located each of the triplets and created a band of “ridiculously disturbed and highly effective assassins”.  Our only hope is the Triplet known as Cowboy Ninja Viking.      

While the concept behind this book is creative and unique, there have been lots of titles with original ideas that failed due to poor execution.  That is not a problem with this book because the execution is nearly flawless.  The writing is fun and witty while the dialogue seems natural and reminds me of the types of conversations a group of buddies would have while sitting around drinking a beer.  The funny part is in this book that dialogue is not shared with a group of guys but rather they all take place in the mind of a single person.  Saying that, this is a highly medicated person who carries a sword and a gun!  Lieberman shows a lot of range in his dynamic story telling of an underground group of killers and the mad scientist that put them all together.   

Riley Rossmo has a unique style in his art.  Known for his ongoing Image Comics series, Proof, Rossmo’s art provides loose flowing lines in each panel.  I was surprised to see the book’s art was not fully colored but rather was done in a single tone approach similar to that of Matt Fraction/Fabio Moon’s Casanova.  The tone only coloring works really well for this book but I have to wonder what it would have looked like in full color.  Don’t let that question confuse you because I think the art was absolutely amazing and shows a lot of growth since Rossmo’s first work in Seven Sons.  I am sure there will be those that are critical of Rossmo’s style but I believe it perfectly compliments the written story telling through the development concise visual story telling. 

There are so many things that make this book but one of the most underrated items would be the word balloons used when the Triplets are talking.  It could have been a challenge to know who was talking at a given time but creating word balloons with icons representing each of the characters was a great solution and a fun aspect to the book.  Yes, I am talking about word balloons but I have to say I loved just about every aspect of this book.      

This book has a lot to offer.  It is creative and well written.  The art is stylistic and a perfect compliment to developing the overall story.  I know there are those that are intrigued by this book based on the title alone.  I know I was one of those people.  That is okay.  But this book offers substance beyond the glitz of offering a Cowboy, a Ninja, and a Viking.  Fans of books like Casanova and Umbrella Academy will find a lot to like about this title.  For those of you that are on the fence and wondering if you should give it a chance I can described the book in three words.  Creative. Fun. Good.      

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Excellent!)