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TMNT: Turtles in Time #4 [Review]

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Walt

tmntturtlesintime004Writer: Paul Allor
Artist: Dan Duncan
Colorist: Ronda Pattison
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover: David Petersen
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

I didn’t pay attention to the issue’s credits when I started reading, but there was something familiar to the visuals. As it should be–with art by IDW‘s first regular TMNT artist, Dan Duncan. While Duncan‘s art grew on me after a bit, it did seem a bit clunky here, not being as used to it. Still, it worked quite well for the issue.

I feel like I hardly remember details from previous issues (just the general sense of the story, having read them in month-apart segments), but just knowing the turtles have been time-hopping was enough for me for this issue’s story. We find the turtles some years in the future, in what used to be Manhattan. The brothers are surprised at the lack of alarm to their appearance walking in open daylight…until they learn the entire island is hostile territory for mutant turtles of the ninja variety. Escaping to the sewers they find a potentially paradox-inducing ally, as well as a new fight in this time…but this one is of their choosing, rather than allowing Renet to simply send them home. And by the end of the story, one of the turtles is left wondering about the present in light of the future they’d just witnessed.

Even without the 2014 Annual or the previous 3 issues of this series, I quite enjoyed this issue. There’s a definite history not only of time travel in general with the turtles, but with future versions of the turtles themselves. Fondly recalling the various “future turtles” stories in the old TMNT Adventures series from Archie, I was drawn in all the more and looking at details here than I might have otherwise been. One panel alone suggests that the world’s been divided up between the Foot, Krang, and Baxter Stockman (apparently recognized as a Fly).

The only real drawback to this series–and this might just be the immediacy of this issue–is that off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything all that poignant from the previous issues to carry back into the main continuity, while this issue has some key stuff that would be great to see carried over. In a way, I’d even say this issue could (in tandem with the Annual) be read by itself, just knowing that the turtles had bounced around through several time periods before landing here.

As this is definitely a side story, I’m glad it didn’t interrupt the “flow” of the main series. But given this is the concluding issue of a 4-part mini series, unless you’re following this one specifically or single issues in general, I’d say you’re about as well off waiting for the collected volume as trying to track down the previous issues. At the same time, if you read the 2014 Annual, you should be able to dive into this issue without much problem, even without the first 3.

All told, I enjoyed the issue, and to me, that’s the main thing.

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), Turtles in Time | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of September 17th, 2014

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Walt

Another monstrous week price-wise…outside of Batman Eternal and the $1 reprint/special edition of Gotham Central #1 (perfectly timed for Monday’s premiere of Gotham) (and the freebie Banned Books Week guide), everything was that price point I so despise…but at least they were the spiffy 3-D covers that sucked me in again this year!

weekly_haul_september_17th_2014a

And of course, perhaps conspicuously so, one might notice the absence again of anything from Marvel. Such a shame, especially considering how much I enjoyed the X-Men in the ’90s and certain parts of other stuff in the last 10-12 years.

weekly_haul_september_17th_2014b

Definitely a good-looking crop of the DC 3-D books for Futures End this week. Might be the classic-looking yellow-and-red logo against the blue field, but I think that Supergirl cover is my favorite this week.  I wasn’t going to pick up Batman/Superman…but figured it’s a one-shot, already spending a lot for the week, it’s Batman, and Superman…so I might as well add it to the pile.

So here’s to a lot of interesting reading and the third of four weeks of getting fairly deeply re-acquainted with a bunch of DC output.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

From the Archive: TMNT (IDW) Reviews

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Walt

It’s interesting (to me, at least) to look back and consider how many full reviews I’ve written of IDW‘s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series to date.

tmnt(idw)001bannerwraparound

Offhand, I believe we’ve had:

  • 37 issues of the main series;
  • 16 issues of Micro-Series (8 heroes, 8 villains);
  • 4 issues of The Secret History of the Foot Clan;
  • 3 issues of The Utrom Empire;
  • 2 issues of Infestation 2: TMNT;
  • Annuals 2012 & 2014;
  • 30th Anniversary Special;
  • 3 (of 4) issues of Turtles in Time

That’s 68 issues of new story content in this current continuity…which certainly is not bad for “only” 3 years (averages to about 23 issues per year, or roughly 2 per month).

Of these 68-ish so far, I’ve reviewed 28 of them…not quite half.

So presented below are links to all of my IDW-specific TMNT reviews as of the start of September 2014.

Main Series:

Heroes Micro-Series:

Villains Micro-Series:

Misc:

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #37 [Review]

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Walt

teenagemutantninjaturtlesidw037Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Cory Smith
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover: Cory Smith
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

This is easily one of my favorite issues of the series so far…yet it’s not exactly one that would stand alone entirely as an introduction to the book. The fact that it deals deeply in established continuity, bridging the previous arc(s) and leading into the next is a huge strength for the issue.

When I first saw this cover (I get the “A” covers as a matter of principle) I almost grinned. Shredder and Krang facing each other as if an uneasy alliance or entering an alliance, with the under-construction Deathsta…er…Technodrome in the background? This could easily be a poster, and one I would frame and hang if I had it. So to say that the cover caught my attention in and of itself is an apt bit to note in an age of generic interchangeable covers and variants.

The interior art is similarly eye-catching, which makes sense–Cory Smith provides the interiors as well as the “A” cover. The characters’ appearances all look very good, fit established appearances from other artists, and on the whole I just can’t find anything disconcerting or off-putting that drew me out of the story or any negative reaction. I’m not typically an art-focused reader, but to put it simply: I really enjoyed the visuals to this issue.

The story opens on Shredder and Krang and immediately had me curious what they’d be up to in this issue, and half-wondering if it’d be a “talky” issue. We then shift to see what Alopex is up to, with Kitsune, and see that there’s definitely something building there. The story returns to Shredder and Krang’s conference, which doesn’t get either very far before violence breaks out and it becomes quickly apparent that the two will be at odds with each other even while having a common foe in the turtles.

This was indeed a bit of a “talky” issue…though moreso, it was Shredder vs. Krang (with a bit of Shredder’s goons vs. Krang’s goons thrown in for good measure). From the characters’ exchange I’ve realized I definitely–as I’ve somewhat suspected for awhile–missed an issue of the Utrom Empire series somehow. I found myself rather engaged throughout the issue, enjoying it immensely and wishing it wasn’t quickly drawing to a conclusion.

That the story credits three creators is something that I think has made this series extremely enjoyable for me: Eastman as original co-creator of the property, and three years in Curnow and Waltz have certainly established themselves. As a team they’re providing stories and character moments and concepts that have made IDW‘s TMNT continuity possibly the most well-rounded and pretty much my favorite of the myriad TMNT continuities out there.

There’s a definite nostalgia factor for me with Alopex–I’d initially thought she’d be a stand-in for the Ninjara character that appeared in the ’90s TMNT Adventures series…though that could yet be, just (like everything else with IDW‘s continuity) developing a bit slower and with more detail as we go along. I also far prefer this version of Krang to any other version, much as I prefer the comics Cobra Commander to the GI Joe cartoons’ version(s) of the character.

Koya and Bludgeon also remind me of TMNT Adventures characters–Koya of a character whose name I don’t recall offhand, and Bludgeon of the time-travelling shark Armaggon…whether or not these current characters have any bases visually or otherwise on the classic characters doesn’t much matter as I simply enjoyed seeing these, and have the freedom to “hope” there’s some sort of tie.

While I wouldn’t really recommend using this issue as a cold jumping-on point, it’s a strong done-in-one “interlude” that carries itself while bridging arcs and reminding readers of what’s come before that presumably will come into play in the next arc. If you’re a fan of Shredder and/or Krang this isn’t a bad issue, either, even if you’ve been away for an arc or few. 

(However, if you’re looking for the turtles themselves? They don’t appear in this issue’s story. And I’m more than fine with that–the conflict with Shredder and Krang was so engaging that as I read, I was hoping this’d be the case so as to not steal page-time away from the villains.)

As much as ANY comic is these days, this is definitely worth its cover price for the read, particularly as an ongoing reader of the series/continuity. Highly recommended.

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Bargain Bin Haul: GI Joe and Quantum & Woody

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Walt

This week proved to be another fantastic week for bargain finds, as the local shop had just recently bought a huge collection.

Having bought a large run of GI Joe comics recently, I was offered another SIGNIFICANTLY larger run…

gijoe150_155

The “gem” of the run is easily the final few issues of the original Marvel-published series. If I were to attempt to purchase these off eBay, these six issues alone–#s 150-155–would cost more than I paid for what (in today’s single purchase) is an instant major “subcollection” in my overall collection.

quantumandwoodyTPBs

The store owner also–though putting most of the collected volumes out for general sale–pulled these four Quantum and Woody Acclaim Comics volumes for me. These worked out to about $2.50 per volume, and seem to have at least 4 issues’ content each.

gijoelongbox_sideview

All told, the GI Joe collection more than filled a longbox, and what didn’t fit–when combined with what I bought last month and allowing room to fill in a handful of minor “gaps” in the collection–will surely almost fill another. This collection is: Original Marvel #s 21-155, Devil’s Due 1-43 and America’s Elite 1-36, IDW‘s first volume 1-24, Origins 1-18ish, Cobra 1-13 and Cobra II 1-4, plus a bunch of other mini-series, specials, one-shots, etc.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

More Than Doubling my GI Joe Collection

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Walt

full_stackThough I had limited exposure as a younger kid, I consider my true “introduction” to GI Joe to be the Image/Devil’s Due relaunch back in 2001 (as a friend pointed out, it was interesting timing, debuting September 12th, 2001).

Even letting the series go after a few issues, I got pulled back in for the Serpentor story around issues 22-25, and stuck around as Devil’s Due struck out on its own, its logo replacing the Image “I” on the covers. I was going to let it go again, but my friend suckered me with a copy of GI Joe: Master & Apprentice #1, and I was hooked through into the early few issues of America’s Elite before I did trail off.

I dabbled with jumping back in when the license moved to IDW (though I was rather irked at “losing” the Devil’s Due continuity and the property “starting over”). Of course, my aversion to $3.99-priced books led to my refusing to follow MULTIPLE ongoing series, and I lapsed.

Interesting as things seemed to be from “watching from the outside,” I just couldn’t talk myself into the investment, thinking “someday” I might get the paperbacks…but IDW‘s pricing on their paperback volumes rivals Marvel‘s these days in the “excessive pricing” area, so I’ve stuck to bargain bin finds.

I hit the figurative “jackpot” this week.

day1_old_joes

I decided to flip through some issues in the bargain bin, despite a heavy week of “regular” new comics, and noticed a number of GI Joe comics, and figured hey, why not? Maybe I’d find a small run, a full story.

day1_misc01

After a handful of scattered issues, I noticed a bunch of issues of the GI Joe: A Real American Hero (ARAH) series (that continues the numbering from the classic Marvel series).

day1_arah01

As I was pulling these, the owner–still sorting through a collection–said something about maybe finding someone interested in all the GI Joe comics, which caught my attention…as if my mind had been read.

day1_arah02

So I wound up with most of the issues of ARAH from #162-190 or so…

day1_gijoe

Most of the first year of the GI Joe relaunch from Cobra Civil War…

day1_snakeeyes

Most of the first year of the Snake-Eyes series…

day1_cobra

And most of the first year of the Cobra series from Cobra Civil War including the 2012 Annual.

day2_arah

Given my interest in them, the rest of the GI Joe comics from the collection were held for me, and I picked them up Thursday. A scattering of ARAH issues, that filled in what I was missing, giving me a run of #162-191 (30 issues).

day2_gijoe

What turned out to be the latter half of the GI Joe run from the Cobra Civil War era, giving me a full run of #s 0-21.

day2_snakeeyes

The latter half of Snake-Eyes, which co-starred Storm Shadow for most of the latter issues, giving me a complete run of #s 1-21.

day2_cobra

And the latter half of Cobra, for a complete run of #s 1-21.

day2_misc1

I also wound up with both of the Infestation 2: GI Joe issues, a couple of the “classic” Image/Devil’s Due series, and the GI Joe: Retaliation Prequel, as well as early issues of the next relaunch of the franchise post-Cobra Civil War era…

day2_misc2

GI Joe #s 1-3 or so; GI Joe Special Missions #s 1-4 or so, and the first couple issues of GI Joe: Cobra Files.

full_stack

All told, just over 100 GI Joe comics–over $399.00 cover price–for just over $26. That’s less than the price of two PAPERBACK collections from IDW (or for that matter, Marvel).

Not a bad haul, and now I’m truly interested in the earlier issues of the pre-Cobra Civil War books, and might consider picking up the more current stuff. Of course, time will tell in the end…

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Weekly Haul | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

TMNT: Turtles in Time #1 [Review]

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Walt

tmntturtlesintime001Turtles in Time (part 1)

Writer: Paul Allor
Artist: Ross Campbell
Colorist: Bill Crabtree
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

Two TMNT comics in one week? I’m not a fan of the $3.99 being doubled-up in the single week, but it IS TMNT, and this is a fun issue, so I’m not about to complain about “more TMNT” than less!

We pick up with the turtles randomly running from dinosaurs and utroms–either on prehistoric Earth or a planet much like it. The group is quickly split, with Raph captured by utroms, and the others chased off by the dinosaurs. As Raph recruits a baby Triceratops (he’s named her “Pepperoni”), the others mount a rescue operation that doesn’t go too badly…until the utrom military arrives. The turtles get some clue as to what’s going on when Renet shows up, but she’s not as helpful as she could be. Finally, the utroms’ military leader sees potential in what’s to be found on this world.

Visually, the Peterson cover is awesome…even if it is a bit misleading. It was rather jarring to go from that beautiful cover to the interior, which is a much different style. That gave me a bit of pause, and it took several pages to “adjust” but once I did, I quite liked the interior art as well. Though This is presumably set within current IDW–TMNT-verse continuity, their was something to the look that struck me as being almost more like the current animated series than the ongoing IDW book.

There’s a blurb on the inside of the cover explaining that this series takes place after the 2014 Annual, but that Annual is not yet out. Perhaps that’d be a bigger deal to me on other stuff, but for the TMNT, it doesn’t bother me too much. The “spin” of it being a “time malfunction” is just cutesy enough to be amusing, and could loosely be seen as a bit of “augmented reality” or whatever buzzword folks want to use for trying to immerse a reader in stuff related to the issue.

Story-wise, this actually ALMOST functions as a sort of one-shot. We’re as readers already thrown off a bit by being tossed into the middle of a situation-in-progress, and we end on a similar note in such a way that it sort of brings things full circle, even though the story whole is continuing into the next issue.

I like the characterization, particularly Mikey and Raph in this issue. I “heard” the voice of the current animated series’ Mikey in this, and chuckled at an amusing bit where an utrom unknowingly repeats something Mikey did, allowing readers to make an assumption as to what happened off-panel.

I don’t recall seeing any solicitation info or any blurbs in the back of any TMNT issues I’ve read mentioning this series, so its appearance this week was a pleasant surprise and definite “treat.” While it seems this story will spin out of the upcoming TMNT 2014 Annual, there’s certainly enough in-story context to bring one up to speed on what matters to the current story. Really, other than involving utroms and a mention of Krang this seems to sit alone quite well, not contradicting anything in continuity but not drawing from any specific moment in the ongoing series…so it’s well worth jumping in on this mini-series at least, even if you’re not following the ongoing in particular. And if you do follow the ongoing, this is a fun side-adventure that’s an enjoyable read…whether or not it plays much into the ongoing book.

Highly recommended!

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), Turtles in Time | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #34 [Review]

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Walt

teenagemutantninjaturtlesidw034Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Mateus Santolouco
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover: Mateus Santolouco
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

While heading to Harold’s lab to seek his assistance, Donnie and April run across Casey and Angel. Angel accompanies the duo to the lab, while Casey heads off on his own, still dealing with recent events. Harold’s been busy, and whatever his intentions with a security robot, the thing predictably-ish loses control, forcing the turtle and his human allies into combat…which leads to the introduction of another familiar name to this series. Meanwhile, Leonardo and Splinter discuss priorities, and we leave off with the latest development with a couple of uneasy allies.

Story-wise, not a whole lot to say for this issue. This definitely feels like a developmental issue…not really “treading water” or anything, but definitely <b>A</b> “middle chapter” of a middle chapter, so to speak. We do get some good development in Harold’s place in things, though that sort of adds to this middle sense–after City Fall and the quieter Northampton, this issue (and arc) feels like it’s more laying the groundwork for a coming showdown with Krang and his Technodrome.

We have the introduction of a familiar turtle robot, which is ok–I’m not a particular fan overall, though I’ve owned the action figures and not had a terrible problem with the cartoon episodes. This take on the thing put me in mind of the current animated series’ version…perhaps simply because that’s the most recent I’ve seen. Whatever my feelings about the use of the character (which works well even if I’m not the biggest fan)…I really like the visual!

Which leads to the issue’s art: I continue to really dig Santolouco‘s visual style with these characters! As I’ve probably said previously, I don’t care for April’s hair style of late, but that isn’t necessarily a comment on the art as much as one guy’s preferences. The visual take Santolouco brings to the book is enjoyable, and a bit different (moreso for the turtles), but has come to be another favorite of mine.

All in all, another quite solid issue of a series that–nearly three years in–continues to have me looking forward to each new issue, and marveling at the excellent blend of all the previous iterations of the TMNT that this brings to the fore: a sort of mash-up, taking the best of all the past and giving us this present continuity…a continuity that I’m coming to regard as a favorite in itself.

Given IDW’s short 4-issue arcs / 4-issue-TPB pattern, this is the 2nd chapter of 4, so not in itself a jumping on point, though still a strong “episode” in itself, worthy of reading for a casual fan–particularly one of Donatello–if not essential.

I enjoyed the read; the look of Metalhead, and exclaimed out loud at the recognition of Nobody.

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #30 [Review]

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Walt

teenagemutantninjaturtlesidw030Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow & Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Ross Campbell
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover: Ross Campbell
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

This issue turned out to be somewhat like I expected based on the cover image, even though I hadn’t really thought too much about what its content would actually be. Recovering from their encounter with Shredder in Cityfall, our heroes are hanging out in Northampton, having (for now) left New York behind. Here, we find Mikey writing a letter to his friend back in the city, talking about the experience and how things are going. While Mikey’s writing is in broad strokes, the situation is fleshed out as we see the specifics of the characters’ interactions.

Visually, something seemed a bit “off” this issue that I wasn’t expecting. Yet, as I’ve said plenty of times previously, I’m quite used to and almost “expect” a number of different visual interpretations of the Turtles and cast. So despite the “off-ness” I really didn’t have any actual “problem” with the art. Despite that “off-ness,” Campbell‘s style here is similar enough to Santolouco‘s that if I wasn’t reviewing this I probably wouldn’t have paid attention to the credits to realize it WAS a different artist.

The story in this issue is a bit of a lull in the action, things are relatively low-key. And I very much enjoyed that! It also reminds me of one of my favorite issues of the original TMNT series by Eastman and Laird (for that matter, one of my all-time favorite issues of TMNT, or anything, period). I feel like I always enjoy this type of issue–just getting to see the characters interact, without there having to be some grand amount of action.

As usual, I enjoyed the “latest issue” of this series, and am definitely looking forward to the next. While I loathe the $3.99 pricing, this also continues to be a series I’d grudgingly pay that weekly for, provided it maintained its quality.

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Maxx and Expiring Digital Codes

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Walt

Time certainly flies…especially when LOOKING BACK over the time that has PASSED. With this week’s new comics, I picked up The Maxx Maximized #1. It’s a recolored reprint of the original series. The cover reminded me a lot of the original–I originally thought it was simply a recolored version of the original, but it’s not quite–and I wound up picking it up simply for the nostalgia, and I’m gradually becoming a “sucker” for seeing what something from when I was a kid looks like with modern technology and techniques.

The original is dated March, 1993…so these are technically 20 years apart, nearly 21.

maxx20years

…and then I found a copy of the ORIGINAL in a quarter-bin, so I actually get to (conveniently) do a side-by-side comparison of the thing. And the new one looks good. I do like its coloring better, and it LOOKS more modern.

While on the subject of time passing, though…you know those “free” digital codes that Marvel does with their $3.99-and-up books?

Yeah, I was still getting the AvX stuff in single-issues at the time they started. Unfortunately, I’d never gotten around to peeling the stickers off and keying the codes into the redemption site.

So last night I sat down with a stack of last year’s AvX books and keyed a bunch in.

But alas…of all of these, only TWO worked. The others all gave me an error saying the code had EXPIRED.

expiredcodes

Now, I GET that they don’t want to have “rogue codes” out there for years and years…but REALLY? It’s a freaking DIGITAL FILE. There’s no “original,” there’s no “shipping,” the thing’s out there ANYway for people to BUY to this day…so where’s the harm in allowing the code to work so long as the file is AVAILABLE? I mean, yeah…in 4, 5 years, THAT might be excessive. In 4-5 years, maybe Marvel will have yanked their stuff from Comixology, and thus the current system/databases may not work and all.

But this just makes me feel like I got “shorted” on my purchases, EVEN THOUGH I “knew” they expired “in a year.” I guess I’d better get to digging through stuff from the past year or so and see what I can still actually GET, just for the sake of redeeming ’em.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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