My obsession with chromium comic covers continues, as I check out the 1993 title, Ninjak #1.

Genuinely one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve ever seen, photos can’t do justice to just how incredible Ninjak #1 looks. Joe Quesada’s art is already stunning, but the textured, metallic chromium finish just makes it pop so much more.

The story itself, again featuring Quesada’s highly stylised art (with this being a great example of the then-future Marvel Editor-in-Chief’s distinctive aesthetic), sees the British super spy Colin King, aka Ninjak, taking down arms dealers and getting the attention of a much bigger, more deadly villain in the process.

It’s told at a breakneck pace, with a great deal of ground covered over the course of the issue. Quesada’s art, though impressive (particularly for its era) is overly stylised at times, making it a little difficult to tell what’s going on, but it’s not a huge problem overall, given that despite the busy plot, it’s not overly complex.

The biggest problem this comic has is some genuinely unpleasant and very casual misogyny; though I suspect the idea here was to cast Colin King as a James Bond-esque secret agent, it just makes him come across as incredibly unlikeable, and definitely not a ‘good guy’.

King’s choice of ninja garb seems a bit inexplicable given that he’s a British spy too, though perhaps that’s something which gets explained as the series progresses.

Misogyny aside, this is an impressive opening chapter for Ninjak, who’d been briefly introduced in the pages of Valiant stablemate, Bloodshot before launching into his own series.

And of course, that cover is simply irresistible…

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