Is it me or has the titles associated with the theme of Pirates seem rather complimentary towards each other this year?

Sid Meyer’s PSP version of his Pirates game came nowhere near competing against Disney’s Pirates.
The sequel to Pirates vs. Ninjas (this review) came out well after Pirates of the Caribbean : At World’s End had it’s full run and was cooling off.

And Seven Seas’ Destiny’s Hand (it’s pirate title) got delayed from it’s summer release to a Fall 2007 release (about the end of Pirates vs. Ninjas II run), and other seafaring title Captain Nemo was thrown into the brig of hiatus cold storage until at such time Captain Nemo Volume 2 sees release.

Nothing seems to be coming near to… well… let’s just say Antarctic and Seven Seas aren’t sending their Pirates franchises side by side and sending their respective crews across to do battle at this rate.
Sure, it’s nice and all that we don’t have competing Pirate titles bitch-fighting each other for readers, but it is also a wee bit cut and dry to not have a little bit of fanfare and friendly competition between the two.

Pirates this year (the last year of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) is kinda present in the market, just not that strong as you might have thought it’d be for the closing year of Disney’s major Pirates franchise.
Sid Meyer’s put out a PSP version of his Pirates PC franchise (following suit after Dungeon Siege went PSP with Throne of Agony), and then there’s the twin AmeriManga (OELManga) rivals which are not that much rivals. Destiny’s Hand versus Pirates vs. Ninjas II : Up The Ante.

Destiny’s Hand will be awhile yet before it releases, so let’s focus on Pirates vs. Ninjas II’s release (complete with two covers to collect).

As the story begins we’ve caught up with our hapless narrator from last time out, Mr. Montague.
You again? No, no, really, I wasn’t looking forward to a reunion with you, Montague. Really.
As for Mr. Montague? It seems the few month hiatus between issues have been good to him, since he’s in a lot better position in life these days. He somehow managed to ditch his former Pirate/Ninja captors (seemingly marooning them on the island battleground they were fighting on ), making his way back to the old world of Europe with a lot of the Pirates/Ninjas booty (and bagging himself his own “booty” in this really eager to be pleasant (sexy hot) young woman named Sayuri who follows him around a lot and calls him M’lord). Sure, it looks like after his time in heck from last time he’s doing well.

Not so well. Apparently he didn’t know when to say when, and when he made his getaway last time (leaving us, at least for now, without the answers to what happened as the last book ended in a cliffhanger) he took a few too many items with him on his getaway. One, he took the very object the whole fight between Pirates and Ninjas was over, which was bad. Two, he then had the gall to take one of the cursed natives of the island battleground (transformed into a rat) with him, which led to him getting his hands on another item of power (which will probably be another thing to bite him up his arse when he least expects it).

So now that he’s in Venice with his hot lady pal (which I am sure he hasn’t -- umm -- never mind) he learns that he is the prize at the bottom of the box of Pirates Vs. Ninjas cereal (with BOTH Pirates and Ninjas digging through said box hot to claim him and what he took). As the issue ends he is saved from the Ninjas by the not so happy to see him again Pirates (who have picked up a hot new female member of the crew)… oh, and considering he’s with a woman named “Sayuri” (which sounds vaguely Asian) and the Ninjas haven’t shown off any female cast member yet I’m thinking Sayuri’s attention to him isn’t because he’s a studly man of a man or his bristling riches gets her hot.

Oh, and it looks like Vikings from the North are on the march, probably has something to do with Montague and his latest ill acquisition but we’ll see what’s up with that.

Next issue we’ll see what’s what, and hopefully what happened when Pirates Vs. Ninjas Volume 1 ended.
Otherwise… hmm… a slow start to the sequel but it’s a start, and the title may get more interesting now that a third party (Vikings) are coming into the picture… oh, and the title picked up a little female heat to boot.
Still it is a slow start so Pirates vs. Ninjas II #1 gets 3 (and a wee bit more) calls for pirate booty of a different kind… oh, yeah, that kind, you know me so well… out of 5.
Pirates vs. Ninjas © & ™ 2007 Antarctic Press