Friday, August 5, 2016

REVIEW: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Enemies Old, Enemies New by Kevin B. Eastman & Tom Waltz (Authors), and Mateus Santolouco & Dan Duncan (Artists)

***(3) out of 5 stars

This story was just a little too... well... WEIRD for me! Okay, not that the entire concept of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles isn't sufficiently weird in and of itself. But this version throws in a whole reincarnation aspect that I found very hard to buy into. That whole spiritualist side just didn't seem to jive with the general freaky science experiments vibe of the story. I did enjoy the usual banter between the brothers. My favorite line (poor English aside): "Cripes, who'da thought Nerd Ninja and Captain Butt-Kiss would be even more annoyin' when they're not arguin'?" I wasn't too impressed with the graphics. The turtles all looked exactly like, and without their voices to differentiate them (like in the shows), it was impossible to tell them apart. And many of the other characters were just weirdly drawn. Splinter looked like a mutated dog, not a rat; and Hob's cat face was just plain disturbing. The drawings of the Parkour were very strange as well, and you never do discover how he fits into the story. I hate how the ending of these comics/graphic novels are never really an ending. Even if not exactly on a major cliff-hanger, there is more of the story left untold than resolved. The apparent connection to April in this incarnation is quite intriguing. And Casey's character is very sympathetic and rather funny, especially in the closing line of: "I just wish I never taught her how to punch, 'cause somethin' tells me when she wakes up... she's gonna break my face." Overall, a good, entertaining read, even if a bit weird in the backstory arena, and with graphics that could use some improvement.



I received a pdf version of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

No comments:

Post a Comment