Chris Cooper reviews the latest in IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series…
“Raphael and Michelangelo pay a visit to Old Hob. Turns out the cat’s been busy trying to create new mutants while the Turtles have been away! Will Raph and Mike try to stop him? The choice becomes more difficult when Slash reveals a surprise!”
Picture the scene. A TV, flickering in the corner, with pizza boxes strewn around the room. DVDs of the ’87 cartoon stacked up alongside copies of the old Mirage turtles comics. In the middle of it all is Tom Waltz.
This is how I imagine he manages to include so many callbacks to previous incarnations of our heroes, and the myriad characters that inhabited those worlds.
I’ve had to visit TMNT wikis on several occasions to see if a new character is an old one, and I’m always pleasantly surprised by not only the reference, but also the fresh spin that is put on them to seamlessly integrate them into the IDW universe. Of course Mateus’ strong designs and artwork helps things.
But are these guys also clairvoyants? Two weeks ago (wooo for not waiting a month!) I mentioned how I’d like to see more Mikey. Well hot dang, here he is, and wearing his ushanka!
Raph and Mikey is a pairing you rarely see, so it’s nice to see Mikey’s empathy and idealism come up against Raph’s pessimistic / realistic view of the world. They are definitely looking at the glass in different ways.
This issue continues the set up of previous issues, with more pieces making their way onto the board and taking their positions. What’s cool is I have no idea what’s going to come of it all! Will there be any double-crosses? Probably. Any surprise characters? No doubt.
This isn’t a simple battle of good vs evil. We have multiple factions with their own agendas. Who do you prioritise as a target and who is really evil?
I’ll tell you who is for sure. That bastard Hun. With Krang and Shredder you know where you stand. But he has definitely turned to the dark side. The progression from alcoholic, to gang boss, to near right hand man willing to kill his own son, is fantastic. If I were keeping a points score I’d be awarding a few there.
What are Krang and Shredder up to anyway? Arrggh the suspense is killing me! Issue #36 please! If only to give me more Slash and Hob.
The paternal approach Hob appears to display toward the ‘big guy’ is rather sweet. No more pain indeed. I adore how Slash looks up to Mikey too. Can we have a Mikey / Slash road trip issue? Touring around pizza restaurants maybe? I may need a drawing of Mikey on Slash’s shoulder. That would be sweeeeet.
Just like this issue is.
Chris Cooper is a Flickering Myth Staff Writer, and owner of the blog Super Duper Stuff. Follow him on Twitter @SDCCooper or visit the blog’s Facebook page.
Originally published June 18, 2014. Updated November 7, 2019.
