REVIEW: 'The Ninjettes' #2 by Fred Van Lente, Joseph Cooper, and Dearbhla Kelly

 

NINJETTES #2

Writer: Fred Van Lente  

Artist: Joseph Cooper,  Dearbhla Kelly 

Letters: Jeff Eckleberry

Covers: Lesley “Leirix” Li (A), Jonathan Lau (B), Pasquale Qualano (C), Sebastian Piriz (D)

32 pages | Action Adventure | $3.99 | Teen+

In Stores October 12, 2022

THE NINJETTES HAVE TO LEARN TO GET ALONG BEFORE THEY KILL EACH OTHER! 

The Ninjettes are a deadly collection of women that have been trained to kill...and at the moment, they're all trying to kill each other! But they'll probably realize that they're all fighting for a common cause and band together, instead of all of them trying to stab one another. Probably.

Score:

★★★★ (4/5)

'The Ninjettes' is the brutal violent comic we were promised as the second issue shuffles the hierarchy of the deadly women brought together in a trial of survival and teamwork (?).

Issue one set the groundwork for the premise of these specifically chosen women being kidnapped and thrown together by a mysterious figure in some sort of 'Battle Royale' to determine the best assassins. Issue two begins to show who these women are as a hierarchy begins to take place as the alpha of the group, Ceejay, begins to bark commands, and roles are assigned. The outlier Steph, who is the target of Ceejay's group, finds an ally and the showdown begins. With custom outfits for each and a color-coded mask, all hell is about to break loose in a colorful killing spree. Fred Van Lente is writing a bloody fun series. 

 Joseph Cooper and Dearbhla Kelly do a great job of accentuating the action with eye-popping splash pages soaked in color. The entire series is brightly colored which takes the edge off of the violence just a little. The primary-colored backgrounds and panels add a more cartoony atmosphere but Cooper's line work is clear with great pacing and composition. The character designs are great as it gives each woman a defining look. And yes, the violence is pretty cool too. 

'The Ninjettes' offers something familiar but very primal. Survival of the fittest and pack mentality takes over as humans fall in line with their baser instincts. We've seen it before but when it's well-executed as it is here, 'The Ninjettes' is comfort food for fans of competitive violent girl gangs. And who isn't? The series is building upon its premise and save for a few, we don't know who lives or dies which makes this an exciting and tense read.