By Todd Allen

It seems Valiant was being a little sneaky and pulling a misdirection when they released that Ninjak teaser image.  Turns out, Ninjak is actually making his debut in X-O Manowar #5.  Is this Valiant’s first crossover?  Maybe.  But nothing’s yet been indicated the story will be continued in Ninjak #1.  For that matter, Ninjak #1 hasn’t been announced yet.  It probably isn’t too far off, though.  If this doesn’t cross into a Ninjak series, it would just be what they call a backdoor pilot in the TV business and Ninjak would spin off into his own series.

Worth noting, the artist on #5 is Lee Garbett, probably best known for drawing some of Grant Morrison’s Batman run.

On a Valiant-related note: since there have been questions in the comments section, I asked what’s going on with Quantum and Woody.  I have been assured that Valiant does have the rights to Q&W and that it’s a “frequent topic of discussion.”

Realistically, that wasn’t going to be in the first wave of launches, but it sounds like a revival is possible.

Official PR and the interlocking  variant covers follow:

VALIANT Unleashes NINJAK In X-O MANOWAR #5
X-O MANOWAR VS. NINJAK. TWO HEROES. ONE PRIZE. The hunt for the world’s most wanted weapon is on this September in X-O Manowar #5 – the FIRST ISSUE of an all-new arc for Valiant’s critically acclaimed, chart-topping series from New York Times bestselling author Robert Venditti (The Surrogates) and fan favorite artist Lee Garbett (Batman R.I.P.)! The perfect jumping on point for the summer’s hottest series starts here!
X-O Manowar has landed on Earth – and now the world’s most lethal intelligence agent has a new target. But who is the operative known as Ninjak? And who – or what – has marked Aric of Dacia for death by his blade? Find out when the all-new, all-ruthless Ninjak makes his shocking debut – and cuts his way to the forefront of the Valiant Universe!
Jump on board the most lauded return in comics as two legends of the Valiant Universe collide for the first time this September, only in X-O Manowar #5 – featuring covers by superstar artists Mico Suayan, Philip Tan and Patrick Zircher, and the first appearance of Ninjak, co-created by Joe Quesada, Mark Moretti and Bob Layton!
And find out where the twin destinies of Aric of Dacia and the X-O Manowar armor began when the 40-page X-O Manowar #1 Second Printing Wraparound Variant arrives on June 20th! Discover why this is the series that has IGN.com raving, “[Hold] on to your butts, because this is a world worth jumping into.”
X-O MANOWAR #5 – ON SALE SEPTEMBER 12th!
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by LEE GARBETT
Cover by MICO SUAYAN (JUL121254)
Pullbox Exclusive Variant by PHILIP TAN (JUL121255)
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Interlocking Variants by PATRICK ZIRCHER (JUL121256/JUL121257)
$3.99/Rated T+/32 pgs.
X-O MANOWAR #1 SECOND PRINTING WRAPAROUND VARIANT – ON SALE JUNE 20th!
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by CARY NORD
Cover by ARTURO LOZZI (APR128197)
$3.99/Rated T+/40 pgs.
Interlocking Variants by Zircher

1 COMMENT

  1. No plans for a Ninjak ongoing yet. Stress the yet. They’ll do something soon enough.

    But one hopes Marvel will let Quesada do some sort of variant cover at some point. I mean he just has to.

  2. Well, sneaky… This is what I thought it might be. ;-)

    Lee Garbett is a VERY different artist than Cary Nord. That surprises me. And makes one wonder if a theoretical Ninjak book would be drawn by him.