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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1:
Creative Team:
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Joelle Jones
Colors: Ronda Pattinson
Letters: Shawn Lee
Cover: Rafael Albuquerque
Editor: Jamie S. Rich and Maggie Howell
publisher: IDW PUBLISHING
The beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have all gone their separate ways to follow their own dreams and interests. But, when Raphael finds himself behind prison bars, he must find his way out to warn his brothers that trouble is on the horizon!
The Art:
You know this is going to be an incredible issue when Joelle Jones is tagged to craft the art. No stranger to gritty and violent action, Joelle lends her pen in a mighty way to kick off the year-long story with our beloved turtles. There are some beautiful shots of Raph drawn to show the anger that is always simmering beneath his hard exterior. This story takes us to various locations in prison. Joelle can make us almost smell and feel the grime in the detail left within the panels and pages.
MORE TMNT!
Ronda complements perfectly with the immensely vibrant colors painted in this opening issue. A few scenes standout art-wise to me such as the large one page shot of the four turtles in their prime scouring the New York skyline and beneath is Raph dragging unconscious prisoners through a tunnel alone. Following that up is a beautiful panel where we see a dark hallway with cells and a single shining light through it. Something about the colors and detail stood out to me as one of my personal favorites in this issue.
The Writing:
This opening issue is written in Raph’s narration in a way that reminds me of old-school noir films of a gritty detective scouring the streets lost. We are immediately reminded that these are not the kid-friendly, happy turtles we grew up with, but something has happened, and they are now split up.
It’s a very bold way to kick off a year-long event, but I am a sucker for these styles of stories, and Jason expertly guides us with his script every step of the way.
THE LAST RONIN II!
Shawn brings home through the letter the amount of rage and anger Raphael is holding onto. Aaron really sucks us into this mystery that we forget about the other turtles and we are left hanging onto every word on the page.
Overall:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 kicks off this big year-long event by IDW in a hate-fueled, fist-clenching way. Nothing is being held back in this story, and if issue #1 is anything to go by, nothing is off the table as far as they will be going. We are left yelling at the sky as this issue ends in an epic cliffhanger and needing the next issue fast. Fans will not want to miss this and will want this run at the very top of their monthly pile.
10/10 Cigars
This has been a review by Matt of Hopsgeeknews, a podcast that discusses comicbooks, movies, and TV shows. If you enjoyed this review head to http://linktr.ee/hopsgeeknews to find his other reviews as well as links to the podcast.
