Back, Plus TMNT

I miss writing about comic books. 5 months was too long to be away.

So I'm back.

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Five issues in, IDW's run with the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is, in my opinion, a hit.



Co-creater Kevin Eastman is on board, lend the book some of the cred it needs, as an 80's-90's property trying to make it in the comic shops. But more importantly, the book is good. Plain as that. The art by Dan Duncan is good. It's a bit sketchy, and bit on the dark side, but for a property that has its roots in the indy comic scene, it is totally appropriate.

Kevin Eastman is guiding Tom Waltz in creating a new origin for the Turtles, and they are blending a nice mix of tradition with modern sensibilities. The essentials are all there, of course; four turtles and a rat, mutagenic ooze, evil scientists, an ancient clan of ninja and a street kid with a hockey mask looking to get his licks in on the criminals in his neighborhood. Yet, the changes they've made help work the story into comfortable areas. For example, Raphael is separated from the turtles shortly after getting hit with the ooze, and mutates alone and on his own. They find him soon enough, but this little twist in the history help set up Raph as the outsider of the four. It works, and that's why I like the changes they've introduced.

Five issues in, and I'm digging just about everything about this book. It's worth a read.