The first thing that you will notice when you pick up this book is that we have yet another new artist on board. After 12 issues, artist Dan Duncan has left as the artist of the TMNT comics to pursue a TV animation job. Andy Kuhn replaced Duncan for Vol 4, issues 13, 14, 15, 16. Which brings us to Ben Bates, the artist on duty for issues 17, 18, 19, 20. At first, the artist changes bothered me because I was so used to Duncan’s style, but after seeing different takes on the Turtles, I enjoy them. The styles suit each arc nicely.
As I had mentioned in my previous review, Tom Waltz and the gang are taking the Turtles down Fred Wolf memory lane which coincides with the release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection Party Van. This DVD set includes 23 discs and features all 10 seasons of the original cartoon. This being the case, there is still a surprising amount of Mirage influence packed within these pages. The Fugitoid micro-series issue leads into this book both in the IDW continuity, but also in the Mirage story arc that the events of this book were inspired by.
Every Turtles fan knows Krang; he is the squishy brain-like alien from Dimension X in the Fred Wolf animated series. While the Mirage books did not have Krang per say, they did have a race of “Krangs”, known as Utroms. IDW has been inspired by both incarnations and has made Krang an Utrom from Utrominon who is attempting to take over the Neutrino’s homeland Dimension X. I am glad that Krang has more of a back story and is not just a lone brain-like alien with no other explanation as to his origin or race.
Pulling from the past, our IDW Turtles are teleported across the galaxy by accident. The Turtles get teleported to the Triceraton Homeworld and meet the Fugitoid there in Mirage, while the Turtles get teleported with the Fugitoid to Dimension X in IDW. I like how Krang is the evil force the Neutrinos have to battle instead of the Triceraton. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the Triceraton, but they would not fit in IDW, at least not at this time. There is so much going on right now that a little more focus would be greatly appreciated. Speaking of Neutrinos, we have seen King Zneter, Queen Gizzla and Princess Tribble before in the Fred Wolf TMNT animated series episode “Four Turtles and a Baby”. Neutrinos Dask, Zak and Kala look exactly as their Fred Wolf influences did, but act like the Neutrino Resistance Fighters that they are. The Neutrino and Rock Soldier war machines were heavily influenced by the 1980s Playmates toys, including Flying Foot Skis, Turtle Blimp Gliders, Turtle Tanks and more! Really nice job of Ben Bates to reference those old toys.
One of the great things this series has made a point of doing has been to put the focus on its strong female characters. For example, April handles the Turtles disappearance in very different ways. Originally in Mirage she was scared and helpless without them. IDW April does everything she can to help while they are gone. She even goes so far as to put herself in harms way, sneaking into Stockgen Labs to get more information while the Turtles are away. Another strong female character is Karai. We get glimpses of her undercover mission where she ends up escaping from Burnow Island with a sample of ooze that she retrieved by breaking an Utrom’s cryo-stasis chamber. She’s hardcore!
While we do get some character development in these issues, what I enjoyed the most was Donatello’s use. Donatello and the Fugitoid work together with Felix, the Fugitoid’s old partner, to complete the END (Electronics Nullifying Device) missile which will force Krang’s troops to surrender once their weapons have been rendered useless. There were some sci-fi elements being discussed, like their explanation of the teleportation device, and I enjoyed the way it was handled. But the rest of the book seemed forced. What could have been told over 1 or two issues was spread over 4 issues in what I felt was simply done to fill pages in a trade.
Personally, both the Mirage and IDW story arcs are my least favorite of the major Turtles arcs in each run. I enjoy science fiction and space travel, but not really when it involves the TMNT. That being said, I loved the integration of the Neutrinos and making them bad ass. If you’re not a diehard Turtles fan and/or aren’t a comics collector, I would say this arc in skippable. All in all, I'm glad they are back in New York City.
Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s Secret History of the Foot Clan will be released in June 2013 and collects the 4 issue mini-series.