KIAI! #42: Las chicas ninja

Museum Catalog Note *Las Chicas Ninja* by Ralph Barby is the featured story in this 1977 Spanish-language pulp collection from Editorial Bruguera. The narrative follows six Oriental dancers—Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai women—who perform at the exclusive Only Rich Park nightclub in Malibu. After their evening show, they transform into motorcycle-riding ninjas, equipped with black trial Suzuki bikes, nunchakus, bo staffs, and specialized combat gear. Led by Moon, an Okinawan woman trained in martial arts, the group rides into California's agricultural region toward a labor camp. The story intersects their mission with a gathering of Mexican migrant workers debating wage demands and labor conditions, led by a worker named Sebastián who advocates collective action against exploitative landowners, while older workers like "the Grandfather" express skepticism about resistance. The narrative sets up conflict between the ninja team's covert operation and the migrant workers' struggle for fair treatment.