Ninjak #1: All The Covers & Why You Need Them

 

Ninjak #1 Cover A by David Nakayama

 

Hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement and preview pages comes the discovery that Valiant Entertainment is pulling out all the stops for Ninjak's July launch. Valiant is producing no fewer than seven covers that I'm aware of. That's in addition to all the specialty covers individual stores will be commissioning. 

Ninjak #1 Cover A is by David Nakayama. He is a Honolulu-based artist who has burst onto the Valiant scene lately. I was especially impressed by his covers for Bloodshot #10 Cover B and the Rai Pre-order Cover. I would have been tempted to pick up his Bloodshot cover, had I ever seen it in a store. That's how hot it was! 

Nonetheless, I was very happy to own his Rai cover. I particularly liked the effect produced while looking at it through 3D glasses.

 

Ninjak #1 Cover B by Caspar Wijngaard

Ninjak #1 Cover B is by Caspar Wijngaard. Caspar has become famous lately for his Star Wars covers, particularly Marvel's Doc Aphra series. He's worked for many of the major publishers, such as Image, IDW, and Titan. He first caught my attention with his covers for the Image series Limbo, which shared some similarities with Shadowman. But my favorite is his covers for Angelic, an Image series in a future involving flying monkeys and intelligent dolphins.

This cover reminds me of a story during writer Matt Kindt's Ninjak series in which Ninjak and the Eternal Warrior fight for their lives aboard a train. I need to read that four-issue story arc again!

Ninjak #1 Cover C by Damian Scott

Ninjak #1 Cover C is by Damian Scott. Damian is a graduate of the prestigious Kubert School. He's worked for DC and Lion Forge in the United States, and also produces comics in Japan. No wonder Ninjak likes him! 

His artwork is influenced by Hip-hop culture. He's even written a book on the subject. If you're interested in learning from him, the title is How to Draw Hip-Hop from publisher Watson Guptill.

In addition to all the detail and movement Damian's captured in Ninjak's hair, I especially like the way Colin's sword reflects the other ninja attacking him.

Ninjak #1 Preorder Cover by Ibrahim Moustafa

The Ninjak #1 Pre-order cover is by Ibrahim Moustafa. He's an Eisner Award-nominated writer and artist. While working for publishers like Marvel, DC, IDW, Image, Dark Horse, Dynamite, and Boom!, he also serves as art director of a design and marketing studio in Oregon. In addition to working on Ninjak-similar titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and James Bond, he also produced the beautiful Divinity #0 Cover B for Valiant.

Here's another cover with a train motif, as well as what could be Turkey in the background. I like how the yellow, black, and purple coloring for this cover works with Ninjak's own color scheme. I'm looking forward to including this cover in my collection.

Ninjak #1 Blank Cover by ?

Of all the cover options, I find this one the most intriguing. It certainly represents the most potential: it could end up looking like anything! 

I must learn the artist's name. Could it be you?

My wife asked me to pick up a Savage #1 Blank, but my local stores didn't order one. I guess I should have planned farther ahead. Perhaps I'll have to order a blank so one of us can make our own unique Ninjak cover.

The Previews World website lists a Ninjak #1 Cover F by David Nakayama, and a Ninjak #1 Cover G by interior artist Javier Pulido. You'll need to make sure your retailer orders big to get those, as Cover F is a 25 copy incentive, while Cover G is a 100 copy incentive. 

Having seen David Nakayama's previous work, I'm very much looking forward to seeing his incentive cover. I pulled the next cover from another site. Although unconfirmed by Valiant or Previews World, I'm guessing this is Cover G.

 

Ninjak #1 Cover G by Javier Pulido?

There's no news on a glass cover, or a metal cover, or even a flocked cover for Ninjak #1. But as I'm unlikely to ever own luxuries like the Bloodshot #1 Carbon Fiber Cover or the Shadowman #1 Black Glass Cover, perhaps it's just as well Valiant isn't tempting me with those.

Well, that's it Valiant fans: all the covers for Ninjak #1, and why you need them. Why you must have them. Why you're life would simply be incomplete without them. Need I say more?

Dragon Dave