Pirates vs. Ninjas II: Up the Ante! #5 (Perry / Hartman / Bevard / Hutchison)
Summary: Beyond the icy, frozen realms of lesser men, beyond the reach of even the gods, what must be described as the end of the world is gathering like a Jove. Pity the Earth, for it knows not of these Vikings. The souls that encounter them find themselves among the dead – if they are fortunate. The lord of this pack of sea-wolves is the most fearsome of all. His mystical power is eclipsed only by his murderous proclivity. Now, he goes to war – and neither Pirates nor Ninjas can stand against him!
More cheesy fun of the P vs N! When you pick up a book like this, you don’t look for a complex story filled with tons of character development and ground breaking sequential art. What you do get is a roller-coaster ride of comic fun. In this issue we see the Vikings make their power play. The Vikings have a leg up on the Pirates and Ninjas in that they seem to be immortal. Actually, they claim to be the viking gods Odin, Thor, Loki, a Valkyrie, and the wolf Fenris. If they actually are or not remains to be seen. The issue ends with a cool twist that may change the direction of the book…maybe.
The art and writing are still good. Seeing a busty Valkyrie clear out a bar full of pirates is worth the price of the book.
Grade: B