Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics Micro-Series: Michaelangelo…
IDW are currently reprinting issues of the original Mirage Comics run, in colour! This time we have the Michaelangelo one shot, which as it turns out is very apt for this time of year. This also happens to be the first Eastman/Laird original TMNT story that I’ve read.
The story is set at Christmas, with Mikey the only Turtle venturing out into the cold to take in some Christmas festivities. We get a really good chance to see his playful innocent personality, as he joins in some games with people in the snow. He’s funny, but not in the usual dopey way we’ve come to associate with him. He jokes about not being able to find skates that would fit him, and as he chuckles away to himself you can’t help but get carried along with it.
It’s in this issue that Mikey first discovers his pet cat Klunk, and the fun they have in a Toy Store together is very sweet and charming.
Of course, things soon take a turn for the worse, and it’s up to Mikey to step up and save the day! The bulk of the action is a truck chase, and although it is a decent piece, the more important part is seeing how Mikey reacts to the idea that some children could be missing out due to the actions of the villains.
If you’ve read my review for TMNT #16, you’ll notice that I’m really coming round to Michelangelo as a character lately. He is written far better in both series of comics than he has been in the TV series, with his empathy for all others really endearing him to me. Whisper it, but he might be second to only Leonardo in my thoughts now!
Without having seen the original, I can only guess at the quality of the reproduction (though I’ve found some black and white pages online and the colourists have done a great job), but I did notice straight away that they kept the original missspelling of Michaelangelo. Kudos if you noticed that in the title! The art style is quite busy, and long with some of the dialogue quite of its time.
But the character shines through and makes this issue a nice little stocking filler.
Chris Cooper
Originally published December 4, 2012. Updated November 6, 2019.
