Split personalities from Cowboy Ninja Viking

Three split personalities communicate in the mind of one man, all of this in just a few panels.  Text bubbles outlines of weapons fill dialogue panels.  Pink and blue color under sketchy looking inks.  These are just a few of the quirks you’ll find in AJ Lieberman’s Cowboy Ninja Viking with art by Riley Rossmo.

Cover for Issue #1 of Cowboy Ninja Viking

IGN pointed out that the title is loaded, and if I wasn’t so susceptible to awesome trifectas like this, I’d agree.  The cover is what caught me, a simple blue or orange (issues 1 and 2) with stylized character profiles and leaping action stills.  I saw the simple cover before I noticed the gigantic title splattered on it.

The book is dialogue heavy, but the way it unfolds allows the reader to breeze through it rather quickly.  These characters feel familiar to us, the banter back and forth is comfortable, and I think it allows the audience to assign voices to them easier.  The book is so stylish, down to the text bubbles.  It’s confusing at first, watching a text bubble turn from a gun to a sword back to a gun and into an axe.  Once you understand the premise, it becomes acceptable and even fun at times.

The basic premise involves a man named Duncan, one of many “triplets” trained by a Dr. Ghislain to kill.  The reasons for this should hopefully be an interesting reveal (please don’t let it be a useless character quirk please please please).  The story is shaping up to be fairly complex, with many characters possessing unique voices, names and silhouettes.  There are shifts in time (let’s face it, time travel is as trendy as zombies, robots and vampires now), but they are pulled off in a way that adds to the plot or contributes to the over the top sense of humor.

Cowboy Ninja Viking Cover Issue #2

My rule for artwork is to look at the Silhouettes.  If the characters have nothing distinctive about them and you can’t tell them apart, what good is the art?  Rossmo doesn’t let down.

This was how I became introduced to the art of Riley Rossmo.  This book brings back memories of the first time I read Creature Tech or Iron West by Doug TenNapel.  So intentionally constructed are the characters and backgrounds, it oozes with style rarely seen elsewhere.

The most challenging part for the reader is to let go of the idea that you are reading the dialogue of one person.  Once past that, read and reread it.  A name like Cowboy Ninja Viking promises so much.  With such quirky characters and situations, I’m left wondering if this ridiculous book will unfold into a deep story arc.

Sample panels showing some color overlay techniques