Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2012 Review


Do the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles truly earn an additional issue or is this simply a waste of time?  Read on to find out.

The official description from IDW:

Raphael and Casey find themselves in the middle of a criminal caper gone awry that touches the lives of many of their friends… and enemies! Double-cross upon double-cross leads the Turtles to the heart of the NYC criminal underworld. Various factions jockey for power, but at the end of the day only one can end up on top. Will it be the Foot Clan? Expect the unexpected in this exciting, all-new Kevin Eastman-written/drawn tale!

If you’ve read any of my other annual reviews, I’ve been very upfront and honest about my distaste for comics like this.  They’re a waste of both money and time, meant to milk the fans for additional cash while not progressing any of the ongoing story lines.  Now the Ninja Turtles have fallen victim to it, and thank goodness they have.

Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz tackle the script with simplistic grace.  Their story is a silly romp that goes from bad to worse as Raphael and Casey Jones take center stage.  The dialogue is loose but sharp enough to remind you when it was written, as each character is realized with a stylistic blend of the current and previous renditions.  Whether you follow the main monthly series or not, you can easily pick this up and enjoy it from start to finish.

Kevin Eastman has not lost his artistic touch in the slightest.  His panels carry the nostalgic design sense imbued in the original comic series as his pencil strokes offer up some work that is nothing less than a love letter to the old-school followers.  Black and white character designs take the current series for a spin while offering an experience that will have fanboys flipping pages as they grin ear to ear.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2012 is a worthwhile additional issue that more than earns its own existence.  Highly recommended.

4.5/5

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