Cowboy Ninja Viking #1
Image Comics
A.J. Lieberman
(a) Riley Rossmo
FC 32 pgs w/ ads $3.50 US / Higher in Canada
I haven’t read anything from A.J. Lieberman since his run on the now defunct Batman: Gotham Knights way back in 2006. He wrote also Martian Manhunter series that I didn’t read and it doesn’t look like he’s done much since till now.
His Gotham Knights run was ok – it didn’t seem to leave much of an impression on me because I can’t really recall what I thought of it. His new series is from Image and features an individual who has a multiple personality disorder. Duncan was the experiment in a weapons program that used his MPD to try and create an ultimate weapon out of him. Duncan has three personalities. One is a cowboy, the other is a ninja and the last is a viking. The three personalities all interact with each other in his head. To differentiate them, the word balloons are shaped as a gun, sword and an axe. Also on the art front Rossmo draws Duncan wearing a cowboy hat, ninja mask and a horned viking helmet at various times.
The story has Duncan being hunted down by the agency that created him. There seems to be a lot more going than what meets the eye. The issue starts with an old crazy oceanographer looking for a poisonous fish in the ocean. He seems to be working with Duncan who comes along and kills everyone except the old crazy oceanographer. Later in San Francisco Duncan shows up and is surrounded by agents. The rest of the issue is flashback explaining how the agents found Duncan.
The issue moves along pretty quickly and the it’s pretty easy to follow which personality is talking for Duncan. The art is sketchy but easy enough to follow, the colour scheme isn’t really black and white, it’s more a blue, white, black and grey. But it works for the issue. This issue doesn’t really blow me away but the story is intriguing enough for me to continuing reading it. I sure things will become clearer in the next couple of issues. It seems like an attempt to make a best selling title by using well cowboys, ninjas and vikings but this title has the potentional to become an entertaing comic. (Shane Hnetka)
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