DC COMICS/IDW Publishing – @DCComics @IDWPublishing
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: James Tynion IV
ART: Freddie E. Williams II
COLORS: Jeremy Colwell
LETTERS: Tom Napolitano
COVER: Freddie E. Williams II with Jeremy Colwell
VARIANT COVER: Kevin Eastman with Tomi Varga
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2018)
Rated “T”
“A Knight in New York”
Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also known as TMNT and Ninja Turtles) are a media empire, including animated and live-action films and television. The Ninja Turtles began as four fictional characters that first appeared in a comic book created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (cover dated: May 1984), which was published by Eastman and Laird's Mirage Studios, gave birth to a comic book series that led to the TMNT media empire
The Ninja Turtles are teenage anthropomorphic turtles, meaning they walk and talk like humans. Each turtle is named for an Italian Renaissance artist: Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Turtles were adopted by an anthropomorphic rat, Master Splinter, who was their sensei and who trained them in the art of ninjutsu. The Turtles live in the sewers of New York City and battle every kind of bad guy, from petty criminals and overlord-mastermind types to alien invaders and mutated creatures.
Since late 2015, DC Comics and IDW Publishing have united to publish the two crossover comic book miniseries teaming Batman with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. DC comics began with the six-issue miniseries, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. DC recently began publishing a sequel six-issue miniseries, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. It is written by James Tynion IV; drawn by Freddie E. Williams II; colored by Jeremy Colwell; and lettered by Tom Napolitano, the creative team behind the first series.
Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1 (“A Knight in New York”) explodes in the subway tunnels of New York City. The Ninja Turtles are pursuing the “Ninja Elite,” a... splinter faction of the Foot Clan. In the wake of the death of the Foot Clan's founder and master, Shredder, the Ninja Elite want control of the Clan, even if it means killing Shredder's daughter, Karai.
Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Batman and Robin (Damien) are tracking ninja belonging to Ra's al-Ghul's The League of Assassins. What they find instead is Bane, but inter-dimensional technology is about to gather heroes from two different worlds to stop a criminal conspiracy on two different worlds.
When I first heard about DC Comics and IDW Publishing's first Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book back in 2015, I wanted to read it, although I was (and still am) cynical about crossover comic books. Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised by Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 all the way to the sixth issue finale; I wanted a sequel. [I only read the first issue of the IDW-published Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures.]
With good reason, I am cynical about sequels, but I am, once again, pleasantly surprised. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1 promises more fun. Writer James Tynion IV delivers a story that hits Batman and Ninja Turtle wheelhouse favorites with wild abandon, and there are some interesting subplots. In fact, it is all so enjoyable that I am already, in typical fanboy fashion, hoping that there is a second sequel.
As I wrote in my previous reviews of the first miniseries, I like that artist Freddie Williams II's illustrations recall the visual and graphic presentation of the early TMNT comic books from Mirage Publishing in the 1980s. Williams' take on Batman is edgy and different; it is as if Williams were drawing Batman for those old science fiction comic book magazines like Heavy Metal and Epic Illustrated. This art is pulpy and futuristic at the same time.
Of course, I am ready for the second issue of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, and I recommend it to fans of the first series. I think all Batman and TMNT comic books should try at least one issue of this new series.
8 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
----------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment