Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
IDW Comics
Eastman, Waltz & Duncan
The reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles provides a good but not great read in the opening issue. The comic contains plenty of action and gives a good amount of back story but the characters are largely left untapped in terms of personality. Overall, it's good to see these characters back but the opening issue just didn't make feel the same excitement as I did in anticipating the reboot and this issue. Still, I think those that are looking to jump on board then this issue will probably keep you coming back. However, the casual fans or the ones that were fans of the original series may not find all that much in here to get hooked on.
The issue immediately launches into action as the turtles, led by Splinter, are fighting off a gang led by Old Hob. The action is great and provides a bit of a sigh of relief that this book will be a fast paced read. So many of IDW's books are of the slow burn variety I was afraid this one would follow in those footsteps, but it does not appear to be headed down that path.
However, the opening scenes don't really establish any of the characters very well. It was only at the end of the sequence did I even realize that one of the turtles isn't there. That's not good in my opinion.
The rest of the issue is spent going over the origins of the turtles and Splinter back in the lab some time ago. It's a little slow moving but it provides a larger conspiracy for future issues. The ending focuses on where the missing turtle seems to be but isn't really revealing the why just yet.
The artwork walks a fine line between really unique to out of place. Since the original series was in black and white the details came out so clearly. However, the turtles were tougher to tell apart at times. Here, the book is colored but the line work is so light that the characters seem to bleed into the background (or lack thereof). As much as I enjoyed the action scenes I actually found the art to excel when dealing with the lab and the emotions among the scientists. Overall, the art was good but I think the action scenes need to feel more alive in order to serve the story better.
With the introduction over now the story has to take over. This issue does a good job of showing how the series is going to be made up. It's got action and some mystery to it, which should be good enough for now. However, unless we get a handle on the characters and what makes them tick this series may not fulfill my needs for this franchise. This was a moderate start.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
