Kirkus Review

A graphic novel based on the popular YouTube series. Early in the book, the Spy Ninjas, YouTubers dedicated to safeguarding the internet from evil hackers, find a hidden trove of weapons, including a doomicycle--a unicycle combined with a circular saw--and a plungechuck, which is exactly what it sounds like: a nunchuck combined with a plunger. It's hard not to admire gadgets that are so wonderfully impractical. The main characters occasionally make spectacularly bad decisions. They come across some sinister-looking masks, and two of them try them on. The masks, of course, are a trap. They're virtual-reality helmets that threaten to imprison the ninjas in a video game forever. Fortunately, the villains in the story aren't much brighter. They keep attempting to locate the Spy Ninjas' safe house and then forgetting to jot down the address. The art style may take some getting used to. The anatomy is occasionally distorted, and some of the drawings are more confusing than necessary. A bowl of rice noodles, for example, looks like melted ice cream. But fans of the original series will instantly recognize their favorite characters. (Like their YouTube counterparts, Chad Wild Clay and Daniel Gizmo present as White, while Melvin PZ9, Regina Ginera, and Vy Qwaint present as Asian.) The ninjas do have moments of cleverness, like when they defeat their enemies not by fighting but by boiling soup in a giant volcano. Raises goofiness to an art form. (Graphic adventure. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.