Dear Abby has zip on this pair of ninjas What would a ninja do?
MAIN LIBRARY If you’ve got questions, the ninja’s got answers.
That’s right, a ninja is not only a highly skilled warrior specially trained in the art and science of assassination, espionage, guerilla warfare and combative martial arts. It turns out that they’re also pretty good when it comes to giving advice, that is if you’re willing to take a stab at the unconventional.
That’s what Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine did when they created the immensely popular Web site, www.askaninja.com, which draws an estimated 3 million viewers each month and has earned the two comedic writers with backgrounds in improv the 2007 People’s Choice Podcast Award from the Blubrry Podcast Community, as well as the Webby Special Achievement Award for Best Actor, two Podcast Peer awards, and the YouTube award for Best Series.
Through their site, which is part Dear Abby, philosophical Web blog and social commentary, Nichols, 31, and Sarine, 34, have changed the face of comedy, literally, by putting a ninja front and center.
“This whole thing has been really weird and unexpected,” said Nichols, who joined Sarine for an interview Friday at their favorite place to write, Santa Monica’s Main Library. “We had been trying for so many years to make these grand stories and produce these cinematic visions and then we decided just to try something different, something we thought would be easy and kind of keep us entertained. We had no idea that it would take off in such a way.”
Now the two are raking in the dough, having signed a six figure advertising deal that has allowed them to pay back — with interest — the $60,000 they borrowed from friends and family to create the site. They’re also selling DVDs and merchandise, affording them the opportunity to focus on other projects, such as the ninja survival guide they plan to release in the coming months.
“We’re kind of pissed that this has taken off,” Nichols said sarcastically, but yet with a tinge of truth. “It’s like man, we could have been doing this years ago.”
Essentially, “Ask a Ninja” is a series of roughly three-minute comedy sketches in which a ninja, dressed in a black gi from head to toe, answers questions posed by viewers. So far 52 episodes are available, covering topics such as global warming, ninja baby sitters, a ninja’s lifespan, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and film “ninjoir.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 17, 2007. Read the original PDF.