By: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz (story), Andy Kuhn (art), Ronda Pattison (colors)
The Story: The Turtles must endure their most torturous challenge yet—the game of Twister.
The Review: All in all, the Turtles have had a pretty eventful first couple arcs. Even though I picked up this title only a little more than half a year ago, we’ve had quite a few changes from where the Turtles stood then and now. At any rate, they’ve definitely beat several titles from DC’s new 52 in terms of plot and character development, despite being nearly the same age. The series has earned a breather issue, one where they can relax and regroup for a bit.
Eastman-Waltz seem like they’d rather keep riding on the momentum they’ve built, though. To be fair, the Turtles take their fun wherever they can get it, so even with ninjas attacking from all sides, they can always deliver a few moments worth laughing over. Still, it’d be nice to have an issue committed to the comedy side of things again. An impromptu game of Twister (or at least some facsimile of it) is an amusing aside, but I’m looking for a bigger dose of humor than that.
Instead, Master Splinter and the Turtles are already beginning to anticipate their next move in the war against Shredder. Leonardo has the right attitude, encouraging his bros to keep the enemy in mind, but also allowing for a bit of a break. Splinter’s meditative ruminations, which are something of a downer (“…it falls on me to prepare them for the long conflict that lies ahead—and for the grim realities that exist within all wars.”), we can live without.
Meanwhile, I appreciate the exploration of Karai and Shredder’s relationship. Since Karai is something of a new (?) character in this series, Eastman-Waltz do right to delve into her background a bit. I don’t know how much you sympathize with her—she is a shameless murderess, after all—but her resentment against her grandfather seems justified, and the tension between the two gives them some extra color besides being mere antagonists to the Turtles.
At the same time, we still have Krang running around out there, though movement on his story remains sluggish. It’s about time Eastman-Waltz did more with the conqueror than just check in on him for a couple pages every month, and it looks like that’s definitely coming down the pike next issue. It’ll be particularly interesting to see how the Foot Clan and Krang’s alien army will counterbalance each other.
The real driving conflict of this issue, however, is Casey’s family troubles, which have finally come out in the open. This can only advantage the series, honestly. Casey’s abuse at the hands of his father is the one thing that comes closest to a relatable plot thread for this title, and we’ll need a little bit of that humanity to challenge the Turtles from getting too out-of-control with their wacky antics.
Kuhn’s art doesn’t have the playful charm of Dan Duncan. His Turtles are much more angular, making them appear harsher, more aggressive, a little less human. His April looks a little bit too rubbery in the head, at times appearing slightly deformed. Otherwise, he brings a similar level of cartoony sophistication to the series.
Conclusion: It’s not so much the substance of the issue that’s disappointing, but the timing. I’d appreciate more levity in my Turtles, please.
Grade: B
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – Not that it’s any surprise, but Shredder is showing a considerable amount of ingratitude here. Considering Karai brought him back from the dead, you’d think she deserves at least a second-banana position in the Clan.
– Isn’t Casey in college? Why doesn’t he just leave his dad? Oh, right—love. Pssh.
Grade
Conclusion