By: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz (story), Andy Kuhn (art), Ronda Pattison (colors)
The Story: A new development shows that not all turtles share a love for pizza product.
The Review: While you’d be correct in saying that I read this series purely for its entertainment value, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that reading TNMT is a brainless exercise. Obviously, history will not look back on this title with the same reverence for its themes and character development as, say, Watchmen. At the same time, though, the Turtles have moments that deserve to be taken seriously, albeit only mildly so.
Master Splinter opened the door to some fairly thought-provoking problems when he declared that conflict with Shredder will inevitably require deadly violence on the Turtles’ part. Eastman-Waltz have never shied away from these kinds of conflicts, although they don’t attempt to examine them in much depth. It’s clear that most of the brothers are troubled by the prospect, although Raphael takes a practical view of it: “It is what it is, bro. No point dwellin’ on somethin’ you can’t control—sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.”
This response doesn’t satisfy everyone, though. Mikey probably makes the best and most interesting argument against putting themselves into a situation where they’d have to kill or be killed: “[W]hat’s the point of bein’ reincarnated and changed if we still gotta fight just like we’re in olden-times Japan?” You have to admit, it does sound like a rather mean situation to get a second lease on life just to risk losing it again. Perhaps the whole point is this time, they’ll get to survive their war with Shredder, but does that mean losing their honor in the process?
Here’s another moral quandary coming up for the Turtles, one a little more imminent: what to do about their fellow mutants? Giving the beatdown to Old Hob or Apolex and leaving them to fight another day seems all well and good, but they don’t have that kind of luxury with “Slash” (as the in-comic media call him). For one thing, Slash is capable of a great deal more damage and a lot less control than either Hob or Apolex (though it’s worth pointing out he hasn’t actually seriously injured anyone—yet). For another, the Turtles are dealing with a fellow reptile in the same family, as it were. That’s got to complicate things a little.
At the end of the day, all these bumps in the road make good story material, but the real reason you read TNMT is for its fun and good humor. Although the Turtles each have a kind of a shtick which makes them more overtly funny, Splinter actually produces the most laugh-out-loud gags in the issue. Given the Zen master thing he’s got going for him, putting him in any kind of modern outfit guarantees a laugh, particularly when it’s an apron with the slogan, “I wok therefore I yam.” And I find his totally serious interest in daytime soaps all kinds of hilarious. Check his commentary to Casey, who listens tolerantly:
“Doctor Phillip Anson may come out of his coma, only to learn his new wife is, in fact, his own stepsister. A sordid affair, indeed.” Quite right, Splint.
While I still don’t find Kuhn’s blocky art style as capable or pleasant to look at as Dan Duncan’s work, admittedly you don’t need to have a particularly fancy way of drawing to adequately deliver a TMNT issue. Still, the gaunt, pinched faces of the characters do bother you, and clearly limit the kind of expression they can have. Pattison’s colors remain supportive, despite the step down in linework. I especially like her use of shadow and flashlight to make Kuhn’s narrow panels feel even more claustrophobic.
Conclusion: It’s always a nice break to catch up on the Turtles’ adventures, even if the drama is a bit light in the darkest of times.
Grade: B+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – In the gentler world of TMNT, Stockman’s merciless taunting of a lesser scientist’s stutter probably counts as evil of the most depraved kind.
– “Keep the positive energy flowing, listen to that good heart of yours, and things’ll work out just fine, you’ll see.” Since eighties lingo is the thing here, allow me to respond to that bit of lameness appropriately: gag me with a spoon.
Grade
Conclusion