Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #51…
“A new age begins for the TMNT. The epic events of TMNT #50 have created new opportunity… and dangers. Will the family stay united in the face of a devastating new foe?”
Issue 51 heralds the beginning of a very different world for the TMNT.
With The Shredder dead, and Splinter the new head of the Foot Clan, it’s extremely fertile ground for new stories. As far as I’m aware (I’m sure I’ll be corrected otherwise!), this is a new situation across the various strands of the franchise.
IDW have always been keen on making use of ideas from other incarnations, and it appears that they are pulling heavily from the 2003 TMNT series here with their new villains. Fortunately they do much more than copy and paste, so I’m in completely uncharted waters. It’s exciting!
With Mateus Santolouco taking a well-deserved break, Ken Garing has stepped up to provide a fresh look. Though it doesn’t strike me as particularly fluid art, it reminds me quite strongly of the 1990 film in some panels. Any similarity to that is more than welcome in my book. Most artists have taken a couple of issues to settle in, so between that and us all getting acquainted I’m expecting more next month. It’s good to see other takes on the characters every so often.
This issue is all about setting the scene. It contains some very cool imagery, and moves towards a story that is going to be quite unlike what we’ve seen before. A few things were rushed I feel in the build up to #50 (Donnie for instance), so I hope some more detail is given even as we more on forward.
I’d love to go into more detail, but I am looking forward to seeing what Mikey is going to get up to. I had my guesses after #50 but now they seem confirmed. He’s always been the most empathetic, a trait I respond strongly too, but this new situation could allow us to see a different side to him.
April gets a cool scene too. She’s been through a lot, and it looks as though it’s hardened to the freakier things that are going on around her. A nice piece of character progression, which makes up a bit for the awful mini-series she just starred in.
With characters spinning off in new directions, IDW have a golden opportunity to build on the quality of the last four years story telling. They’ve proven before they can live up to expectations so I expect nothing less than thrilling times ahead.
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=W04aXcyQ0NQ
Originally published October 29, 2015. Updated November 7, 2019.
