VH 2 Ninjak

[Man-of-The-Atom]

What if Acclaim's reboot of Ninjak had been based on games like Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat?

[Ryan]

It would've been a lot cooler. By the 90's the ninja concept had already sorta jumped the shark into corniness, but that doesn't mean it couldn't still be done well. Using a fighting game concept for a martial arts character has a lot of potential, especially at the time of VH2 when they were owned by Acclaim. I don't think Nicieza put that much thought into it though.

[Man-of-The-Atom]

It would've been a lot cooler. By the 90's the ninja concept had already sorta jumped the shark into corniness, but that doesn't mean it couldn't still be done well. Using a fighting game concept for a martial arts character has a lot of potential, especially at the time of VH2 when they were owned by Acclaim. I don't think Nicieza put that much thought into it though.

It was Busiek's pitch, but, yeah. I don't think he cared that much about it. He just rehashed his Spider-Man and called him Ninjak.

[Ryan]

It was Busiek's pitch, but, yeah. I don't think he cared that much about it. He just rehashed his Spider-Man and called him Ninjak.

Definitely, I just mean Nicieza was EIC and could have said no or asked for different types of pitches. It doesn't seem like there was much thought from the top about what kind of comics they wanted to make. Tonally they're all over the board.

I think it was just Nicieza calling up anyone who had a 'name' in comics at the time (Ennis, Busiek, etc.) and saying "Here's a character, do whatever you want with it". And then we get their leftover or hastily concieved ideas that usually care little about what has come before or what made VALIANT unique. For example Jack Boniface dying from a saxophone up the squee in VH2 Shadowman 1. What a slap in the face to a character that had a loyal following. Which is why whenever I see a 'name' creator coming to a V character I roll my eyes. Don't even mention Birthquake

[Ryan]

It was Busiek's pitch, but, yeah. I don't think he cared that much about it. He just rehashed his Spider-Man and called him Ninjak.

Definitely, I just mean Nicieza was EIC and could have said no or asked for different types of pitches. It doesn't seem like there was much thought from the top about what kind of comics they wanted to make. Tonally they're all over the board.

They had dark horror (Shadowman), comedy adventure (Trinity Angels, Q&W), YA action (Ninjak), etc. with absolutely nothing tying them together. No common reason as to why these fantasy characters and magical things exist in the real world. Just the old 'well, it's comic books' explanation. Which I think is why VH2 earned the moniker 'DC lite'

It's the exact opposite of early VH1. Every book filled different genre niche, but it was the most cohesive multi-title ongoing comic universe that's been done.

Anyway, back on topic. I'd love to see your take on a mashup of Ninjak, Killer Instinct, and Mortal Combat.

[Man-of-The-Atom]

It was Busiek's pitch, but, yeah. I don't think he cared that much about it. He just rehashed his Spider-Man and called him Ninjak.

Definitely, I just mean Nicieza was EIC and could have said no or asked for different types of pitches. It doesn't seem like there was much thought from the top about what kind of comics they wanted to make. Tonally they're all over the board.

I think it was just Nicieza calling up anyone who had a 'name' in comics at the time (Ennis, Busiek, etc.) and saying "Here's a character, do whatever you want with it". And then we get their leftover or hastily concieved ideas that usually care little about what has come before or what made VALIANT unique. For example Jack Boniface dying from a saxophone up the squee in VH2 Shadowman 1. What a slap in the face to a character that had a loyal following. Which is why whenever I see a 'name' creator coming to a V character I roll my eyes. Don't even mention Birthquake

Actually, the Ennis Shadowman was developed to be part of VH 1. That is why he only did four issues.

The original cause of death was Jack jumping off the roof in what became the final issue of the series. The saxophone thing was clearly added after the reboot was conceived.

But, yeah, "names" and VALIANT haven't really mixed in well.

[Man-of-The-Atom]

It was Busiek's pitch, but, yeah. I don't think he cared that much about it. He just rehashed his Spider-Man and called him Ninjak.

Definitely, I just mean Nicieza was EIC and could have said no or asked for different types of pitches. It doesn't seem like there was much thought from the top about what kind of comics they wanted to make. Tonally they're all over the board.

They had dark horror (Shadowman), comedy adventure (Trinity Angels, Q&W), YA action (Ninjak), etc. with absolutely nothing tying them together. No common reason as to why these fantasy characters and magical things exist in the real world. Just the old 'well, it's comic books' explanation. Which I think is why VH2 earned the moniker 'DC lite'

It's the exact opposite of early VH1. Every book filled different genre niche, but it was the most cohesive multi-title ongoing comic universe that's been done.

Anyway, back on topic. I'd love to see your take on a mashup of Ninjak, Killer Instinct, and Mortal Combat.

Definitely.

[Ryan]

Actually, the Ennis Shadowman was developed to be part of VH 1. That is why he only did four issues.

The original cause of death was Jack jumping off the roof in what became the final issue of the series. The saxophone thing was clearly added after the reboot was conceived.

But, yeah, "names" and VALIANT haven't really mixed in well.

Interesting. It's always frustrating because VALIANT seems to get treated like a 2nd tier clone of the big 2 by most of the comics industry when we all know at its best it was better than them and should have been the next Marvel if not for greed and egos destroying it.

[Man-of-The-Atom]

Actually, the Ennis Shadowman was developed to be part of VH 1. That is why he only did four issues.

The original cause of death was Jack jumping off the roof in what became the final issue of the series. The saxophone thing was clearly added after the reboot was conceived.

But, yeah, "names" and VALIANT haven't really mixed in well.

Interesting. It's always frustrating because VALIANT seems to get treated like a 2nd tier clone of the big 2 by most of the comics industry when we all know at its best it was better than them and should have been the next Marvel if not for greed and egos destroying it.

Indeed. Birthquake and VH 2 definitely did a lot of harm.