Mail Order Ninja, Volume 1: Volume 1

Mail Order Ninja is a great book. I give it a 10 out of 10. It's amazing how much fun this book was to read. I really liked the fact that a chapter was made to be a commercial. It felt like I wasn't reading a book. To me it felt like watching T.V. So if your like me and don't like to read but love T.V. then get this book and all the other books in the series and I guarantee it will feel like your watching T.V.

Never read a comic book in my LIFE until my husband handed it to me. Laughed out loud at the elixir part (don't want to spoil) and the awesomely awesome dj! Side notes about the characters reminded me of my favorite delightful (and award-winning) foreign film, "Amelie." Keep on trucking, Mr. Elder!!! Great artistic and comedic combination.

Graphic novels, as we all know, are hot. So hot, Joshua Elder pokes fun at the phenomenon in his wonderfully cheeky "Mail Order Ninja." 5th-grader Timothy James McAllister is a normal kid in the oh-so-exciting town of Cherry Creek, Indiana (pop. 23, 745). He has a mom, a dad, and an annoying little sister, Lindsay. When mom (who wears a "Soccer Mom" baseball shirt) calls him down to breakfast, she shouts, "Timmy! Stop reading that comic book and come downstairs for breakfast!" Timmy answers, "Mom, it's not a comic book! It's a graphic novel! Jeez!" "Mail Order Ninja" is often laugh-out-loud funny. Even the plot is over-the-top perfection. Timothy is having a hard time with bullies at school. Making life even more unpalatable at L. Frank Baum Elementary is Felicity Dominique Huffington--local "stuck-up rich girl." So, when Timothy reads about "the greatest ninja warrior gunshyo giveaway" in a JacQues Co. catalog, he enters. And wins. Before long, his personal ninja , Yoshida Jiro, arrives at his house. And his parents, who know it's a "bad idea," allow Timothy to keep his ninja nonetheless. Well you know what happens. Timothy and his ninja bring peace and justice to L. Frank Baum Elementary. Until, at the very end of Vol. 1, Felicity calls forth her own ninja, Hakuryuu Nobunaga Esq. ("Ninja Assassin and Attorney at Law. Fun Fact: Nobunaga once sued his own mother for 'emotional anguish' because he didn't like the birthday present that she got him. Yes, he really is that evil.") Volume 2 brings ninja vs. ninja action in a battle for L. Frank Baum Elementary and, indeed, Cherry Creek, Indiana. Felicity has taken control by means of mind control and a ninja army. Will Timmy prevail? You'll just have to read "Mail Order Ninja," Volumes 1-2 to find out. Kids will love the action in "Mail Order Ninja," but will be slayed by the humor as well.* Even Erich Owen's art is infused with humor. When the Timothy's ninja arrives in a box to his house, for example, Timothy knocks on the box and says, "Mr. Yoshida? Are you in..." and a sword shoots out of the box with a "shunk" before Timothy concludes, "...there?" Brought to you by TokyoPop, "Mail Order Ninja" will be a huge hit with the six- to-eleven-year-old market. This is a series both girls and boys will enjoy. It's also perfect for reluctant readers and for kids ready to move beyond the venerable underpants man. ============================= *There's also quite a bit of "adult" humor (of the clean variety) in "Mail Order Ninja." Towards the end of volume 1, Timothy's parents, unaware of the Ninja battle that just took place at L. Frank Baum Elementary, are reading the paper. The headline reads "Aliens Invade Again!" Dad says, "Another alien attack, honey. The Asimovians this time." Mom answers, "At least it wasn't those awful Hubbardi. They're just so...cliche." Hah!

Mail Order Ninja writer Josh Elder's been a friend of mine since college, but even if he weren't, I'd be happy to sing the praises of this wildly entertaining OEL manga. Josh enhances his brilliant, why-didn't-I-think-of-that concept with clever, winning characters and sly jokes that'll get a chuckle out of readers of any age. Erich Owen throws in plenty of great visual gags of his own, and draws some darned good ninja action. Mail Order Ninja manages to be perfectly appropriate for younger readers without ever seeming dull or dumbed-down. Kids will laugh at the gags and cheer for the adventures of super-cool ninja Jiro Yoshida, but older fans of Scott Pilgrim, Street Angel, and other offbeat comedies should also get a huge kick out of the book.

I'd read the scripts to this book about a dozen times before it came out, and I was still laughing loudly on the subway as I read it. Owens' art strums wonderfully to Elder's comedic beat, the characters are memorable, and the one-liners are whip-crack funny.