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Raphael and Pepperoni continue their trip out West after their troubles at Area 51. They’ll make a pit stop at a diner that will take Pepperoni on an expected adventure! Then, the Punk Frogs jump onto the scene with their own short! They take on The Purple Dragons and their rich dude-bro bosses for the Punk of it! TMNT: Mutant Nation rolls on!
Pepperoni on the Side
- Written by Paul Allor
- Art by Jose Jaro
- Colors by Adam Guzowski
- Letters by Rus Wooton
- Assistant Editor Ellen Boener
- Editor Dave Wielgosz
- Design Brian Kolek
Frogs vs Punks
- Written by Caleb Goellner
- Art & Colors by Ilias Kyriazis & Auguste Kanakis
- Letters by Rus Wooton
- Editor Andy Khouri
- Design Brian Kolek
One Mutant Nation Story Continues
Mutant Nation wrapped up Casey Jones’ stint with the Foot Clan in issue #4. Raphael and Pepperoni break out of Area 51 and save some of their friends in the process, but their story continues. We find Raph and Pep down and out, just trying to enjoy a meal in a roadside diner. With Raphael being at a low, he doesn’t notice someone take his bag, full of everything he has to his name. When Raph realizes it, he loses his temper (shocker) and Pepperoni runs off to find it! A wild adventure ensues, including a house full of cats, and Raphael has to find Pepperoni before something terrible happens to his best friend!
A home in turmoil for the Turtles in issue 7!
The Punk Scene Debuts in Mutant Nation!
With our other tale, the Punk Frogs make a showing! Rolling through the neighborhood, now being developed for luxury condos by “Infini$pend”, they come across The Purple Dragons running security and talking smack. The Punk Frogs decide to have a little fun and smack the Dragons around a bit. After causing a TON of destruction ion the fracas, The Punk Frogs find out their actions may have actually helped the wrong people!
Pepperoni on the Side is a Wholesome Adventure
Paul Allor dives deep into Raphael’s head space in this moment in time. He’s having one of his down moments after a big fight and a loss of excitement for his trip. Pepperoni isn’t even enough to snap him out of it and he lashes out at the one person you wouldn’t think he would. Now, we end up with an adventure through Pepperoni’s eyes, tracking down the lost bag into some really odd situations. That means action, comedy, and even some serious dramatic moments. It’s an all around great segue into where they are going next.
Check my review for issue #4
The artwork by Jaro and Guzowski is wonderful. Beautiful detail and rich colors pop off the page. The action moves the story really well and Jaro creates some fantastic angles that keep everything fresh from panel to panel!
Frogs vs Punks Takes on “The Man” in Mutant Nation!
Caleb Goellner takes the social commentary route in this story when the Punk Frogs decide to cause some chaos! A billionaire group is building Luxury Condos and gentrifying the neighborhood. Not only that, they’ve hired The Purple Dragons to run some security for them! The Punk Frogs are out and about when they overhear the Dragons talking, and they are waxing xenophobic. This story really does primarily encapsulate the one fight between the two groups with some fun quips!
Kyriazis & Kanakis give us a clean easy to follow page turner. The Punk Frogs look amazing and the action slaps! As I said above, this story is the fight, and it doesn’t disappoint. Weapons are flying at you and unique panel designs make this fun to read.
Overall Grade: 7.5/10
It was a lot of fun to see Raphael and Pepperoni continue on. This may technically be “filler”, but Raph’s headspace is always fun to explore and love seeing more cute Pepperoni adventures! I am attached to their story and excited to see where they go next. The Punk Frogs issue was fun and light-hearted, but at the same time heavy on the social commentary. Really cool action makes it a blast! What do you think?
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