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Tales of the TMNT #58 [Review]

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Walt

Quick Rating: Good
Story Title: All Tomorrow’s Yesterdays

The TMNT and the C.O.W.Boys of Moo Mesa team up again, this time to face the ultimate threat to the C.O.W.Boys’ Earth.

talesofthetmnt058Plot: Murphy & Ryan Brown
Script: Murphy
Art: Dario Brizuela
Lettering: Eric Talbot
Frontispiece: Michael Dooney
Editor in Chief: Peter Laird
Managing Editor: Dan Berger
Design: Eric Talbot
Front Cover: Dario Brizuela and Steve Lavigne
Back Cover: Fernando Leon Gonzalez

This issue is the latest installment in a series of teamups between the TMNT and the C.O.W.Boys of Moo Mesa.

Picking up from the most recent installment a few months ago, Utromi Preservi (an elite/secret society of Utroms) has gathered what they need to awaken a cosmic vampire, Galactose (think “Milky Way galaxy” for the joke). While the Turtles and their allies rush to try to save the C.O.W.Boys’ Earth, Donatello may have the secret that will save everyone. We also have a brief appearance by Cudley the Cowlick, who longtime TMNT fans will recognize from the TMNT Adventures series…nothing too significant about the appearance, but a great nod to said fans. There’s also a moment where the Turtles are shown other incarnations of themselves, which was VERY cool to see.

The art by Brizuela is very good. The style is enjoyable, though different from other TMNT artists (while keeping the characters recognizable and other expected things with a comic). The comic’s interior is black-and-white, but as the front cover is done by the same artist as the interior pages, one can see what everyone looks like in color and almost forget the interior is not in color.

One of the thing that’s been great about this title shows through with this issue’s story. For the most part, each issue is its own standalone story. However, creative teams will re-visit and expand upon earlier stories, building larger stories, even if they’re not consecutive issues in this title (which is almost an anthology, except that each story/creative team gets a full issue rather than having multiple stories/creative teams in a single issue).

The story is fun, though one has to really suspend disbelief on a few points. The cosmic vampire as a nod to Galactus is–while derivative–also kinda cool if one recognizes the association–on a metatextual level it adds plenty that there’s not time for otherwise in a single-issue story.

This isn’t the best single issue for one jumping aboard clueless about the characters; but so long as one isn’t looking for lengthy, drawn-out continuity and depth, it’s a fun issue with plenty of action and some jokes thrown in.

Additionally, as I noted when I reviewed the prior chapter of this story, another thing Mirage gets right is not only including a pin up page in the back of the issue with an image related to the story but a color alternate image also related to the story is presented in color on the back cover…no need to seek out extra copies of this comic for these bonus images.

All in all, this continues to be a strong title, telling TMNT stories from throughout their continuity by different creative teams, keeping the book always fresh and with some real heart behind the individual tales.

Ratings:

Story: 3/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 3/5

Filed under: Classic Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Tales of the TMNT #32 [Review]

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Walt

classicreviewlogowhite

Quick Rating: Very Good–Fun!
Story Title: The Eye of Aga-Moo-Tou

Summary: The TMNT and the C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa team up again to tackle the threat posed by Savanti Romero gaining access to the Eye of Aga-Moo-Tou.

talesofthetmnt032 Plot: Laird & Brown
Words: Murphy
Layouts: Ryan Brown
Pencils: Dario Brizuela
Inks: Joe Rubinstein
Letters: Eric Talbot
Editor, Creative Consultant: Peter Laird
Managing Editor: Murphy
Production, Design: Eric Talbot
Covers: (main): Dario Brizuela, (variant): Andres Ponce, Ryan Brown, Steve Lavigne
Publisher: Mirage

Despite never having been a fan of the C.O.W. Boys (I was aware of them briefly in the 90s, but never "into" them), this is great fun. We get those characters back, interacting side-by-side with the TMNT in a way that makes perfect sense in the TMNT-verse, and is just…fun.

A nearly-immortal figure locates the mystical Eye of Aga-Moo-Tou, though the Eye is also located by old TMNT villain Savanti Romero. Meanwhile, at Moo Mesa, the C.O.W. Boys are going about their regular business, when things go all wacky thanks to Romero. Back on Earth, Tsou-T’an-Jin makes contact with and transports the turtles to Moo Mesa, where they find their old friends mind-controlled/possessed by Romero, and the battle for the Eye is joined…

At its surface, this is a rather simple, stereotypical story…mega-powerful mystical artifact located by a villain, first protagonists on the scene defeated and turned on second-wave fellow heroes, yadda yadda yadda. Then again, it really isn’t much deeper than that, if you look strictly at story elements. The fun and enjoyment comes from the specific characters–here, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles AND the C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa thrust together in a single story.

The story flows, hitting key beats of structure. Not being terribly familiar with all the characters, I can’t say for certain that everyone’s in-character; the turtles seem to be right on track, so I presume the COW Boys are, too..and given that (as far as I can tell) original creators of all characters involved are…well…involved with this issue, I’ve no reason to believe this does anything but fit both sides of the "crossover" of the properties.

The art throughout is just fine, with all the characters being totally recognizable, and panels clear/clean as to what’s going on. This isn’t just some comic adaptation of a cartoon, but it’s also not one of the darker, gritter of the TMNT stories.
For jumping in cold and just wanting "a" TMNT story, this is a great issue to do so with, and it’s even kid-friendly on the whole–probably moreso than a certain teen wizard’s exploits, for point of comparison.

The great thing about this title is that it features a monthly supply of in-continuity TMNT stories by a variety of writers and artists that include stories set in the characters’ past, present, and future, as well as easily contain property crossovers like we have here. While many titles from bigger publishers might suffer from radical shifts in creative teams from issue-to-issue on writing and visuals, it’s become a sort of staple for this book.

If you can find it, I highly recommend this issue…and really, the series in general for any of you longer-time TMNT fans.

Ratings:

Story: 3.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

Filed under: Classic Reviews, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Tales of the TMNT (Mirage) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »