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(Not)Exactly what the doctor ordered...
Mental illness and Multiple Personality Disorders are serious issues. They are also topics which have been dealt within the confines of various outlets of fiction for many years. The first and best example which comes to my mind is “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Comic books are no exception, where people with mental illness have been portrayed as both heroes and villains for quite some time. There even seemed to be a period where showing a character as being mentally ill was considered taboo and not very Politically Correct. Of course I feel any story dealing with mental illness should treat the issue with the respect it deserves, but at the same time the illness shouldn’t be hidden away either by some half-hearted attempt, which makes both the topic and the story loose all meaning. Cowboy Ninja Viking #1 is such an attempt, but it’s far from being half-hearted.
The premise behind the book is pretty simple. A psychotherapist named Doctor Sebastian Ghislain selects various patients with Multiple Personality Disorders to create a group of anti- terror agent’s codenamed the Triplets. Problems arise when the Triplets start to go awry, and become assassins. That’s where the most deadly Triplet of all, Cowboy Ninja Viking, is called in to set things right.
The story is very cleverly written, and makes you think and laugh out loud at the same time. To me, the only new and weird concept introduced within this book, is the individual multiple personality training. This is something I see a secret agency actually doing, and I think that’s the hook. It’s a very believable premise in this day and age, and not something far-fetched.
I found the art to be quite calming for something which deals with this kind of subject matter. While there are mature themes and violence, there’s is no need to apologize for them being in the story. The book’s overall tone is not meant to be treated with kid gloves, but the addition of those two previously mentioned elements does allow for some very humorous moments, all the while not taking away anything from the seriousness of the situation.
I like a book which can have me thinking one moment and laughing the next, and Cowboy Ninja Viking does just that.
Writer: AJ Lieberman
Artist: Riley Rossmo
On sale August 26th
8/10
Eddie R
Review Co-Editor Read more... Read More
