Ninjak #2 Spotlight: Penciling & Inking

 

Ninjak #2 Cover B by Michael Walsh

Ninjak #2 begins with a train wreck. Perhaps this occurs in England. It might also take place somewhere in Europe, after Ninjak and Myna leave Amsterdam. 

All we know is what we see. Electrical lines stretch across the sky. Lampposts light the rails' path. Trees grow nearby, but the ground looks dry, barren.

In the background, people are not just leaving the wreck, but fleeing it. The train cars snake diagonally atop and alongside the rails. Smoke still rises from the car Myna and Ninjak have climbed from.

Myna seems fixated on the interior of the wrecked train car.

Overhead, the flying bounty hunter gazes down. Penciler and Inker Javier Pulido shows her hovering. We know she's not flying fast, as her hair hangs down.

Ninjak doesn't know Myna well. But for a second time, he puts his hand on her shoulder.

Myna looks at it, wondering what it means.

You often see gargoyles in England. They cling to buildings, and ward off evil from churches. Having grown up in England, this bounty hunter might well be the stuff of nightmares for Colin King, aka Ninjak.

As Colin looks up at him, and the gargoyle-like creature attacks, the foreground sees to distort before his eyes.

Ninjak seems to have gone back to basics in this series. In Ninjak #2, his attire reflects the years he spent immersed in Japanese history and culture.

Remember the silhouette of the gargoyle-like bounty hunter in an earlier post? Remember the silhouette of Ninjak and Myna leaping from the train earlier in this one? Javier Pulido certainly seems to enjoy inking in characters in moments of crisis.

When we get a close-up of the immensely-strong bounty hunter, we can see more of his metal face. The way the shadows fall reveals the carved appearance of his features.

Sensing nearby movement, the gargoyle's head whips round. Spittle arcs from his mouth, splashes against his cheek.

Does he even notice the shadow of the train car that darkens the ground around him?

In Ninjak #2, penciler and inker Javier Pulido reveals Ninjak's training and heritage, shows how Colin may be warming to Myna, and utilizes different techniques to build the intensity of a particularly deathly battle. 

Dragon Dave