“Ninjatown” is almost exactly like Mr. Men, except that the Mr. Men here are all ninjas, and their enemies are Zombie Ninjas and Wee Devil’s, hand shape monsters who invent devious schemes like destroying the Ninjatown with giant Waffles. Si, giant waffles! “Ninjatown” has no dialogue, no story, no arc, and almost no mythos, and I was able to read the entire 46 pages (or volume 1, as it were) in fifteen minutes.
I didn’t breeze by it, I actually attempted to soak it all in and with the help from the character key in the beginning of the graphic novel as well as the humongous story of what Ninjatown is, it was a cake walk. Ninjas try to bake, they go to a cave with walls made of cookies, Wee Devil’s chase them and try to trap them inside. Ninjas try at camp games and face the menace of the Wee Devils, and the Ninjas win out again. And in one of the most nonsensical stories, there’s a seemingly random series of pictures that confused me. There’s a picnic, and a dragon that sneezes fire, a volcano, and the dragon accidentally burns a bird. Huh?
Fans of maudlin Tokyo pop culture and art will actually manage to eat this volume up mainly because of the rather interesting and unique artwork comprised of really bright colors, and blinding splashes of pink and purple while the actions are described with “Throw! Throw! Kick!” which is never quite clear if the ninjas are yelling this or if this is just a series of onomatopoeia’s a la Adam West “Batman.” One of the most curious opening stories involves Wee Ninja fighting a horde of zombie ninjas which is ended with Wee and Zombie Ninja eating some muffins. Sorry, did I give away the ending? “Ninjatown” is a guilty pleasure. It requires no real focus or concentration and the art work by Art Belthazar and Bob Rendas grows on you as you zoom through the book like the Flash on speed. So, I’d suggest it if you’re in the market for something new.