Tuesday, April 29, 2014

TMNT (1987) Season 5, Part 1 Review


I'm a little late to tie this one in with Easter, but really, the "TMNT's Awesome Easter" two-parter was a greater affront to the memory of Jesus than my forgetting entirely about the holiday could ever be.

As we open season five, we have to deal with that obnoxious fucker Hokum Hare, but after that's over and done with we have some great episodes featuring Lt. Kazuo Saki (the brother of Shredder), Mutagen Man and Mondo Gecko.  Also, the Badd Family, because this show can't keep up a winning streak for very long.

Here's my review of TMNT (1987) Season 5, Part 1 at Adventures in Poor Taste.

Because "Donatello's Badd Time" was the series finale in Japan (I'm so sorry, Japan), that seemed like a good enough point to segue into the two-part anime OVA series.  So I'll be doing those next.

If I survive.



Sunday, April 27, 2014

Mikey's Map


Originally published in: TMNT New Animated Adventures #10
Publication date: April 23, 2014

Story: Landry Q. Walker
Art: Chad Thomas
Colors: Heather Breckel
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow

“Mikey’s Map”

Summary:

In the Shellraiser, Mikey is acting as navigator, telling Leo to make all sorts of hairpin turns.  Leo wants to know what the emergency is, but Mikey insists there’s no time.

As they careen through the city, the Turtles inadvertently foil a Purple Dragon robbery, bust up a Kraang research operation and spoil Rahzar’s ice cream cone.


Eventually, they arrive at their emergency destination: Gino’s Pizza.  Mikey insists that they needed to make it there before they close, as they’re The Best Pizza in the World (according to the restaurant’s website, anyway).  Sadly, they arrived too late and the joint closes.  The Turtles promptly leaves Mikey behind with only his shredded map and navigation skills to guide him home.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from “Love Bytez”.  The story continues in TMNT New Animated Adventures #11.

*Dogpund was double-mutated into Rahzar in the season 2 episode “Mikey Gets Shellacne”.


Review:

Landry Walker, better known for writing the shorter form comedy relief strips over in Panini’s Nickelodeon TMNT magazine for UK markets, makes his debut on IDW’s TMNT New Animated Adventures.  “Mikey’s Map” is very much in the same mold as the UK comedy strips, forgoing logic and dignity in the name of humor.  And as a back-up strip to the main action-adventure story, that’s perfectly fine.

Walker seems to get a kick out of writing for Mikey, as he’s the Turtle most often spotlighted in Walker’s stories.  He has a good handle on Mikey’s characterization, even if it’s the “brainless fuckup” take on the character (but again, these are comedy relief shorts, so that’s to be expected).  Rahzar makes his first appearance in IDW’s comic and it’s not exactly his most ferocious outing.  It makes for a cute visual, though.

There’s no sense in over-thinking or over-critiquing these humor strips; they’re fun for what they are and I’m glad to have them.


Grade: N/A (as in, “Now was that a mint chocolate chip or pistachio cone?  Because if it was the former, I can completely understand Rahzar’s rage.  If it was the latter, then I think the Turtles did him a favor”.)

Love Bytez


 Originally published in: TMNT New Animated Adventures #10
Publication date: April 23, 2014

Story: Derek Fridolfs
Art: Dario Brizuela
Colors: Heather Breckel
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow

“Love Bytez”

Summary:

It’s Valentine’s Day and Mikey wants to share the love amongst his brothers with some valentines.  Unfortunately, they’re all too busy to notice his handiwork, so Mikey wanders off to the rooftops to be alone.  While watching the happy couples on the streets below, he notices how every time he looks away, they vanish.


The other Turtles respond to Mikey’s call and find him on the roof wearing a tinfoil hat and rubbing himself down in pizza grease.  Mikey suspects the disappearances to be the work of the Kraang, ghosts and Bigfoot working together, so he’s prepared his countermeasures accordingly (the Kraang can’t read his mind through the tinfoil hat, Bigfoot can’t grab him if he’s all greasy and ghosts aren’t scary if you have a group with you).

Investigating, they find a trail of spider webs leading to an abandoned building.  They all come to the conclusion that Spider Bytez is behind the kidnappings and attempt to infiltrate his lair through the skylight.  Spider Bytez anticipates their arrival, bringing down the roof with acid and then trapping them all in webbing.  Spider Bytez explains that he took the couples hostage to lure the Turtles out, but also to get revenge on all the happy people out there who are still human.  As a bonus, he wants to make the Turtles pay for getting him mutated.

Luckily, the pizza grease allows Mikey to slip through the webbing.  He proceeds to “mock” Spider Bytez by showering him with compliments and uses the distraction to slip Leo his bladed nunchakus.  The other Turtles get free and follow Mikey’s lead, irritating Spider Bytez so he spits acid indiscriminately in all directions.  Meanwhile, Mikey helps the (blindfolded) couples out of the building.  All the acid eventually brings the building down and the Turtles escape as Spider Bytez is buried alive.


Down in the lair, the Turtles apologize to Mikey for ignoring his valentines and thank him for saving the day.  As a sign of their appreciation, they have April bring in a heart-shaped pizza.  Splinter likewise thanks Michelangelo for reminding his family to never take for granted the people who care for them, as there are others out there who aren’t so lucky.  On the surface, Spider Bytez stomps around an alleyway in incoherent rage.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT New Animated Adventures #9.  The story continues in “Mikey’s Map”.

*The Turtles last met Spider Bytez in the season 2 episode “Metalhead Rewired”.


Review:

So, Spider Bytez.  Let’s talk about him.  He was one of the earliest mutant villains introduced in the Nickelodeon TMNT series and he was also one of the quickest to be forgotten.  Of his two appearances in the cartoon thus far, he’s been the focus of neither episode and is just sort of this random action figure character who shows up whenever Nick can afford to get Lewis Black in the recording booth.

While I don’t care for his design one bit, I think what really hurts Spider Bytez is that he has no motivation or resources capable of carrying a story.  He was just some overweight TV jockey who accidentally got mutated and now he’s mad at the Turtles (and really, it WAS totally their fault he got dragged into a Kraang mutagen facility).  How do you write stories around a villain like that?  He isn’t smart enough to come up with any inventive schemes, he hasn’t allied himself with the larger villainous forces so far as we know (the Kraang tried to keep him locked up, but he was hardly working for them), and he has nothing driving him to even BE a villain other than “the Frogs made me into a freak”.

There just isn’t a lot to work with and I imagine that plays a large part in why we hardly ever see him.

Newcomer to New Animated Adventures (though he previously did some inking for Mirage, on the story “The Mother of All Anger”), Derek Fridolfs does his level best to centralize a narrative around the TMNT’s most shallow adversary.  I think he does about as well as anyone working with the character can be expected.  Setting it on Valentine’s Day provides an excuse for Spider Bytez to be angrier than usual and to take his bitterness out on random people, and likewise Fridolf works the holiday shenanigans into Mikey’s side of things so it all comes together.  One of those “two sides of the coin” deals; not exactly innovative but it paces out a good story with a lesson to be learned.

Exactly what Spider Bytez planned to DO with those hostages isn’t elaborated upon.  Fridolfs avoids any mention of him eating them, which I actually liked, as it keeps him distinct from the TMNT’s other most shallow adversary: Snakeweed.  Snakeweed’s deal is that he kidnaps people, imprisons them in cocoons and then turns them into fertilizer so he can eat.  Admittedly, a giant spider capturing people so he can eat them makes a little more sense, but again, it keeps Spider Bytez’s gimmick from retreading Snakeweed’s (while also keeping him somewhat sympathetic).

All in all, I don’t think “Love Bytez” was a bad story, I think it just suffered from having to utilize a villain that hasn’t much to offer.  If Spider Bytez is ever to stand a chance of being, you know, GOOD, he’ll probably have to quit being a solo act and join up with some other mutants or something.  Because on his own, he just can’t carry a story.


Grade: C (as in, “Can’t we get an issue with Newtralizer?  That guy was awesome”.)

TMNT New Animated Adventures #10


Publication date: April 23, 2014

Contents:

*“Love Bytez


Turtle Tips:

*These stories are continued from TMNT New Animated Adventures #9.  The story continues in TMNT New Animated Adventures #11.

*This issue was originally published with 2 variant covers: Regular Cover by Brizuela, and Cover RI by James Silvani and Amy Mebberson.



Saturday, April 26, 2014

TMNT (IDW) #33


Publication date: April 23, 2014

Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Mateus Santolouco
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow

"Monsters, Misfits and Madmen, Part 1"

Summary:

After dark in New York City, a trio of bank robbers attempt to abscond with the loot when they’re felled by the Turtles.  Mikey is thrilled to fight crime, but Leo reminds him that they’re just on a training exercise and that they AREN’T superheroes.


At Foot HQ, Hun reports to Shredder that under his orders, Bebop, Rocksteady and the Purple Dragons successfully knocked over an armored car and scored $500 grand.  Shredder congratulates Hun and informs him that he’ll be leaving for a “business trip” and in his absence, Karai will be in full command.  Shredder dismisses everyone but Hun, as he wishes to talk to the Purple Dragon about his son.

At the church lair, April is packing up Harold Lilja’s anti-gravity gauntlets whilst trying to convince Casey to go back to school.  Casey dodges the conversation and says he has to leave and check in with Angel at the Skara Brae.  The Turtles come home and Don asks April what’s the matter.  April explains that due to his injury, Casey lost his hockey scholarship.  She’s been trying to convince him to get financial aid and finish school anyway, but he hasn’t wanted to talk about it.  Don suggests that Casey’s probably still trying to work through his stuff with Hun.  And anyway, Don says he can relate to April, as he also feels like he’s been trying to tell everyone something important only to be ignored.  He has the schematics for the Fugitoid’s teleporter, but no one seems in a hurry to coordinate the resources to build it.

At the Skara Brae, Hun pays Brooklyn a visit.  Kid Kennedy and Ferguson try to strike up a conversation with Hun, but he shoos them away.  Hun demands to know where Angel and Casey are, but Brooklyn remains obstinate; not knowing where Casey is and making up a cover story to hide the fact that Angel is in his back room.  Brooklyn, a former Purple Dragon, insults Hun for sinking so low as to take orders from the man who nearly killed his own son.  Hun recalls his conversation with the Shredder…

Shredder reveals to him that he stabbed Casey.  It was part of a plot to use the boy and he had intended to merely use Hun, as well.  However, after Hun proved highly capable as a gang leader, Shredder chose to keep him around.  Shredder tells him that there is a place amongst the Foot for Casey, but Hun must be the one to invite him into the fold.  If Casey refuses, he will be treated as a threat to the Foot and hunted down accordingly…

In a rage, Hun attacks Brooklyn, prompting Kid, Ferguson and Angel to come to his rescue.  Hun tosses the two drunks aside and has a chat with Angel.  Angel also refuses to say where Casey is, but before Hun can beat the truth out of her, Casey steps into the bar.


Down in the lair, Leo goes to convene with Splinter.  He tells his sensei that Raph and Mikey have left on their mission while Don and April have gone to see Harold Lilja.  Splinter asks how his son is feeling and Leo expresses that he’s just happy to be back.  Splinter is pleased, as they don’t have much time before the Shredder realizes they’ve returned to New York and they must all be in prime condition.

Outside the Skara Brae, Hun explains the situation to Casey and implores him to abandon his mutant buddies and join the Foot.  Casey, of course, refuses.  Rather than get violent, Hun realizes that he can’t force his son to join.  Instead, he offers to give Casey a cut of the cash he’s stolen so his son can leave the city and start over somewhere far away.  Casey asks Hun that if he DID take the money and run, would he come with him?  Hun says no.  Casey tells his father that he isn’t going anywhere and the two part ways.

Inside the Skara Brae, Casey tries to smooth things over with Brooklyn, but the bar owner is furious.  He thinks that Angel and Casey have gotten in over their heads and now their actions have nearly destroyed his livelihood and his family.  Angel storms out of the bar and Casey follows her.


In an alley, Hun looks at an old photo of himself and Casey.  He makes his choice and crumples up the photo, throwing it away.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT (IDW) #32.  The story continues in TMNT (IDW) #34.

*Donatello received the message from the Fugitoid with the teleporter schematics in TMNT: Utrom Empire #3.

*Harold Lilja last appeared in TMNT (IDW) #26, which is when he leant April his anti-gravity gauntlets.

*This issue was originally published with 7 variant covers: Cover A by Santolouco, Cover B by Eastman and Pattison, Cover RI by Stephen Mooney, Cover RE Jetpack Exclusive with recycled art from Dan Duncan, Cover RE Jetpack Exclusive with recycled Eastman/Laird art from ’83, Cover RE Jetpack Exclusive with recycled Mirage staff jam session spread, Cover RE Jetpack Exclusive with recycled Eastman/Laird art from TMNT #50.


Review:

“Northampton” is over and we’re back to our regularly scheduled program.  This issue starts out fast, getting back into the swing of things as the Turtles return to all the ongoing story arcs they left simmering four months ago.  And all the better for this approach, too, since “Northampton” was essentially the breather arc after “City Fall” and I think we’ve all had enough chilling and twiddling our thumbs, right?

Before we get to the meat of this story (Casey and Hun), let’s talk about some of the other moments.  I recall way back near the start of the series, there was an issue where the Turtles mentioned “going on patrol”.  That seemingly innocuous statement elicited some consternation from the fanbase, as the TMNT aren’t vigilante superheroes who go on nightly patrols, looking for crime to fight.  Leo’s and Mike’s conversation on that very subject at the start of this issue seemed like Waltz’s belated response to those concerns.  It sets the record straight, though the talk drags a bit and threatens to pierce the Fourth Wall.  I’ll just say that “Turtles on Patrol” isn’t one of my personal hot buttons, so I never got all up in arms about the situation either way.

There’s a weird imbalance in this issue regarding subtlety vs. “are you for real?”  In regards to the former, during April’s entire conversation with Casey and then Don, she’s seen packing up the anti-gravity gauntlets she borrowed from Harold.  They’re never addressed in the dialogue but they’re ever present in the image, particularly when April and Don segue into a discussion about getting help to build the Fugitoid’s teleporter.  At the end of the issue, Leo offhandedly mentions to Splinter that April and Don have gone to visit their “computer friend” and you can put two and two together on your own (they left to return the borrowed gauntlets and pitch the teleporter project).  It was all there, but required a smidgen of reading comprehension to pick up on and I appreciate the confidence in my cognitive faculties from the IDW staff.

But then there’s all the expository dialogue where everyone inexplicably soliloquizes their life story to each other or suddenly feels compelled to tell their closest friends and confidants what their own names are (the bank robbers at the beginning).  Kid Kennedy and Ferguson, two of the more irritating hangers on from the 2012 TMNT Annual, are probably the worst in that regard.  While I know it’s nothing new in the world of comic book storytelling for characters to remind other characters about their names and histories for reader benefit, some of this stuff is pretty clumsy.  And man, Kid and Ferg’s dialogue is one marshmallow clover away from being a Lucky Charms commercial ("Me boyo"...?  Seriously?).

The real core of this issue is the interaction between Hun and Casey.  Their deal is complicated in a way that they can’t really maintain any sort of status quo as opposing forces without stretching the credibility of the narrative.  So I’m really glad it was the first thing Waltz chose to address after getting things going again.  While I don’t think the turmoil is necessarily stabilized between the two (far from it, I’m sure), their animosity has reached an understanding so both sides can continue down their paths without the reader having to constantly stop and ask “But what about this?  But what about that?”

What I liked best about their father-son chat was the direction Waltz chose to take it in, or rather, the direction he chose NOT to take it in.  After seeing Stephen Mooney’s variant cover, I was fully expecting there to be some violent showdown between the two.  When Hun grabbed Casey’s arm at the end of page 17, all I could think was “Yep, here it comes”.  And then… a complete U-turn and a nonviolent resolution.  It’s not just because this was the unexpected way to go, but because on a storytelling level it was the RIGHT way to go.  Hun has been priding himself on his “reformation” and along with abstaining from alcohol, he’s also sworn off beating his son.  He continues that attitude of being a “better person” by talking things out with Casey regardless of how heated their discussion becomes, which serves to make him that much more interesting and relatable a character.

The dialogue, again, spells it out a bit too much for the reader, but there’s a lot in here about choices; selfishness vs. selflessness and how to truly differentiate between the two.  Hun, shortly after learning that Shredder had planned to discard him but only elected to keep him around because of his dependability, offers to put his reputation at stake to keep his son safe.  He says he’s willing to give Casey money, make up a cover story for him and help him get out of the city so he can start over.  On the surface, that does seem like a very selfless and caring thing to do.  But then Casey asks if he’ll come with him and Hun has to make another choice… and he chooses to stay behind with the Foot because, from his perspective, it’s the Foot that have revitalized him and made him a better person.  So when push comes to shove, he’s STILL choosing himself over his son; an ultimately selfish decision.

I’m wondering where all these bombshells are going to send Casey.  In addition to coming to an “understanding” with his father and drawing the battle lines in the sand, he’s also lost his scholarship due to his injuries (and he’d been struggling to keep that scholarship since the first year of this book).  He’s lost his dad and he’s lost his scholarship and heck, even Brooklyn kicked him out of the Skara Brae and he’s now essentially lost his old “neighborhood”, too.  Casey’s been a bit too mellow in this comic and he’s spent a LOT of time on the sidelines for the past year or more (excluded from “Krang War”, stuck in the hospital for almost all of “City Fall”, chilling in the farmhouse during the big fight in “Northampton”).

It really is long past time IDW gave Casey something to fucking DO; to be the badass street fighter he’s supposed to be.  And maybe all this drama will give him back his attitude, which has been sorely missing for I don’t know how long.

TMNT #33 was a pretty solid issue.  Since the meat of the story is a lengthy, emotionally charged conversation about parental neglect, the comic has to take its action sequences where it can find them (a dumb bank robbery at the beginning, Kid and Ferg starting a dumb fight in the bar).  The action sequences, meaningless as they are, do break up the monotony of all the talking talking talking, so I guess they aren’t all that meaningless, after all.  Santolouco’s back and in top form, too, so this is a good-looking comic (to put it mildly).


Grade: B- (as in, “But I’m a little more excited about next issue because of very childish reasons”.)

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

TMNT (1987) Season 4, Part 7: Review


And lo, I have completed season 4 of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon produced by Fred Wolf.  As it happens, this is the first season of the series to end without a proper season finale.  Bummer.

TMNT (1987) Season 4, Part 7 Review at Adventures in Poor Taste.

There are some real gems in this batch of episodes.  I absolutely love "Splinter Vanishes" for its Leatherhead/Rat King team-up and "The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting" remains one of the funniest episodes in the entire series.  "Big Bug Blunder" is a bit in the middle, but is memorable for bringing back Metalhead and Genghis Frog for another go.

The rest of the episodes aren't so hot and some are downright incomprehensible ("Beyond the Donatello Nebula" is a jigsaw puzzle of an episode thanks to errors at every step of production).  A shame they didn't air "The Foot Soldiers Are Revolting" as the season finale; it might have actually worked in that regard.  Instead, we get "Unidentified Flying Leonardo", where an ambiguously gay cowboy tries to solve world hunger and the Turtles kick the shit out of him because that would destroy capitalism.

YOO ESS AYE!  YOO ESS AYE!



Sunday, April 20, 2014

The Last of the Viking Heroes Summer Special #2


Published by: Genesis West Comics
Publication date: April, 1990

Drawn and written by: Michael Thibodeaux
Inked by: Michael Thibodeaux and Marty Lasick
Colored by: Linda Yamasaki, Richard French, Michael Thibodeaux
Lettered by: Richard French
Front cover by: Michael Thibodeaux and Richard French
Special thanks to: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

Summary:

Part 1: “Tomgar”

The teenage Jon is a crappy magician.  He attempts to entertain a band of drunken mercenaries (Sigvald, Blackthorn, Slagfinn and Gravit) but they hate his antics and attempt to kill him.  The warrior Tomgar comes to his rescue and the two friends stride away, with the beaten mercenaries swearing to get even with Jon.

Part 2: “The Potion?”

Jon goes to visit his mentor, the wizard Zon, to ask for a sleeping potion.  It’s Jon’s birthday and after he parties all day, he wants to make sure he can sleep all night.  Zon gives him the sleeping potion plus an additional gift: A special potion that will give him the power to deal with any situation.  He simply has to drink it and the potion will do the rest.  Jon thanks Zon and leaves.

Part 3: “Birthday Surprise!”

Jon meets up with Tomgar, Erik and Sven at a tavern to celebrate his birthday.  They each give him gifts: Erik gives him a volume from his little black book collection (just A to C), Tomgar gives him a sack of ninja weapons he pillaged from the Orient, and Sven gives him a specially prepared bowl of turtle soup.  Jon likes the turtle soup so much that he mixes it with the potion Zon gave him to improve the flavor.

Jon notices a fair wench named Glissandra and invites her to sit with him.  Unfortunately, she’s only interested in the dashing Erik.  Undeterred, Jon takes a drop of Zon’s potion, hoping it will make him extra charming.  It knocks him out cold, instead (because he took the sleeping potion by mistake).  As Tomgar takes him upstairs to sleep, the mercenaries look on and await their chance for revenge.


As Tomgar sets Jon down, Gravit sneaks up on him and knocks him out.  Jon wakes up in time to see the mercenaries do the same to Erik and Sven.  He quickly takes some of Zon’s potion so he can protect his friends.  Thanks to the turtle soup he mixed in with the potion, and the ninja weapons he received as a gift, Jon mutates into… a teenage mutant ninja turtle!


The mutated Jon makes short work of the mercenaries, knocking them all out.  Zon then comes storming in and with a blast of magic he restores Jon.  He admonishes Jon for changing the formula of his potion, as even the slightest change could bring about disaster.  Jon whines that all he did was add some turtle soup for flavor, but Zon explains, “The combination of mutagen and turtles are reserved for future wizards.  I believe their names will be Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird”.

Epilogue

Tomgar and the others come to.  Tomgar is furious and wants to kill the mercenaries, but sees they’re out cold.  He wakes up Sigvald and demands to know who beat them up before he could have the chance.  Sigvald says that it was Jon and runs away screaming, thinking Jon a monster.



Turtle Tips:

*Chronologically, the next crossover between the TMNT and the Viking Heroes will occur in Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #4, in the story "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle".

*This issue was collected in The Last of the Viking Heroes Limited Edition.

*Although the “teenage mutant ninja turtle” who appears in this issue is not one of THE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the indicia credits Eastman, Laird and Mirage Studios for giving permission to use the character likeness and the franchise name.


Review:

These Viking Heroes crossovers are the last of the weird little indie comic guest appearances by the TMNT that I own.  I saved them for last because I just wasn’t that interested in reading them, much less reviewing them.  But now that I’m at the bottom of the barrel I’m not exactly spoiled for choice.

To my surprise, these comics have some GREAT artwork by Michael Thibodeaux.  Reading up on the Viking Heroes series, it apparently attracted a lot of A-list guest contributors, such as Jack Kirby, John Byrne and George Perez.  So back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the Viking Heroes were a big deal.  I guess.  Their comic got cancelled after 12 issues and 3 specials, so you know.

I'm not familiar with any of these characters, but that was surprisingly not an issue for me, as every member of the cast is a pastiche of some other fantasy comic adventurer.  Tomgar might as well be Conan while his buddies, Erik and Sven, are less-than-subtle stand-ins for Mighty Thor supporting characters Fandral and Hogun (I presume there’s also a pastiche of Volstagg somewhere else in the series).  So long as you can project those characters onto these knock-offs, you can pick up the book and go without any trouble.

The inclusion of a “teenage mutant ninja turtle” struck me as being a last minute sales-boosting gimmick.  Thibodeaux actually includes a look at the original cover by Marty Lasick as a bonus feature and guess what?  It shows Jon transforming into a generic monster, NOT a ninja turtle.  The ninja turtle gag was tacked on, for sure, but Thibodeaux manages to work the joke into the script and set it up so it feels more or less organic.

It’s a short moment and fans expecting an actual crossover with the REAL Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might walk away feeling they’ve been flimflammed by the cover.  If it’s any consolation, there’ll be two more Viking Heroes/TMNT crossovers after this one and those will actually BE crossovers.  So while this story isn’t exactly essential, and doesn’t actually include a real Ninja Turtle, Thibodeaux got permission from Eastman and Laird to use the name and likeness, so I guess in some way it “counts” as an official appearance.


Grade: B- (as in, “Batman also makes a silly cameo in this comic as an alternate identity for Jon, but I forgot to summarize it”.)

Saturday, April 19, 2014

The Last of the Viking Heroes Limited Edition


Originally published by: Genesis West Comics
Publication date: May, 1992

Contents:

*The Last of the Viking Heroes Summer Special #1
*The Last of the Viking Heroes Summer Special #2
*The Last of the Viking Heroes Summer Special #3


Turtle Tips:

*Only the second and third Summer Special contain any Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles content (although the first Summer Special has a sweet Frank Frazetta cover).  As such, I won't be reviewing the first issue.

*Not collected is the third published (and second chronological) crossover between the TMNT and the Viking Heroes, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle", published in Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #4.

*This collected edition, in addition to the new cover, also features a number of TMNT pin-ups and spreads by Mike Thibodeaux exclusive to this release.

*This collection was limited to only 1750 copies, each individually numbered and signed by Thibodeaux.



Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Awesome Turtle Picture #31


In retrospect, this probably should've been Awesome Turtle Picture #30, but unfortunately I couldn't see into the future when I did that one.

So IDW's TMNT 30th Anniversary Special is still a few months away, but they've released a look at all 12 variant covers (because at IDW, it's ALWAYS 1994!).  There are some familiar faces in there, such as Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Chris Allan, Dario Brizuela and more.  But who takes the cake?

Ozzy Fernandez and Tony Kordos with their Heroes' Haven exclusive cover:


I'm a sucker for Playmates action figure goodness and this right here as about as good as it gets.

Well, that's not 100% true.  It lacks Pizzaface.  Though I think Fernandez and Kordos were limiting themselves to characters who appeared in the Fred Wolf cartoon, but using their Playmates character designs.  So I can excuse the omission of Pizzaface on that account.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Michelangelo: The Third Kind #4


Publication date: December, 2008

Story and art: Jim Lawson
Inks and letters: Eric Talbot
Cover: Jim Lawson and Steve Lavigne

“The Third Kind, Part 4”

Summary:

Strolling down the street, Michelangelo meets up with Klag (who is wearing a “skin suit” to disguise himself as a human).  Klag tells Mike that he called him with urgent news: H.A.A.R.M. has placed bombs all over the city and is threatening to detonate them unless Ambassador Cesse Mon Zir Te is handed over to them for execution.  Mike asks why the Utroms don’t just do a weapons scan on the city like before, but Klag says the atmospheric rings would tip off H.A.A.R.M. and they’d detonate the explosives.  Klag asks Mikey to come with him to the park where they’ll be making the exchange and try to help him resolve the conflict bloodlessly.  Mikey hops on the hovercraft and they vamoose.


At a park near the docks, Klag parks his hovercraft and tells Mikey that he has to coordinate the NYPD standing guard, but asks Mikey to keep watch in case things go sour.  Mikey finds the H.A.A.R.M. mob in a clearing as the Utroms deliver the Ambassador to them.  Jingo then comes strolling to the center of the clearing to the tune of a standing ovation from his loyal followers.  Jingo asks them to settle down, as he has a speech to deliver.

Jingo says that he’s taken the time to reflect on his behavior and has come to the conclusion that he was motivated out of fear and distrust.  However, he says he realized that in order to move forward as a person, he needed to overcome that fear.  He tells the crowd that they, too, need to overcome their fear and accept the change with an open mind. 


Barry erupts from the crowd, saying that the aliens have brainwashed Jingo and pulls a gun on the Ambassador.  Before he can fire, Mikey knocks it from his hand with a shuriken and asks Jingo to finish his speech.  Jingo simply says that they must overcome their basic urges to fight and lash out with violence so that they can learn and grow as a people.  The Ambassador shakes his hand, settling the feud.  Detective Clover and the NYPD then take Barry into custody.  Clover sees Mikey disappear into the woods but, after having witnessed him save the Ambassador’s life, chooses not to pursue him.  Mikey waits for Klag by the hovercraft but when he doesn’t show, he decides to fly it back to the Moon-Island.

Landing the craft, Mikey hears a thumping from the trunk.  Opening it, he finds the real Jingo bound and gagged.  Klag then approaches him and explains that he was the "Jingo" who gave the speech, having worn a skin suit in Jingo’s likeness.  Klag apologizes for the deception, but says he felt that it was the only way to quell the violence and inspire the people to reconsider their opinions.  Mike asks what will become of Jingo and Klag says he will have his memory of the incident wiped before being returned home unharmed.  Mike suggests that Jingo will simply go back to being a bigoted hatemonger, but Klag assures Mikey that humanity possesses the ability to change more than any of them realize.

The End.

Back-up story:

“Life on Earth”

Story, art, inks and letters: Jim Lawson

Traveling in a hover-van from the Moon-Island, a pair of Utroms drop off a small, tentacled alien (the same one who was almost lynched) and wish him well on his daytrip to New York City.  As the alien silently traverses the city, he bears witness to a number of reactions.  Protestors yell at him, cabbies tell him to get out of the way, oblivious businessmen mistake him for an ashtray, dogs pee on him, girls flash him, tourists crowd him for photos and street musicians tell him to get off their turf.


At last, the alien crosses paths with a homeless man.  The bum looks into the creature’s face and his eyes glow with enlightenment as he witnesses the broader scope of the whole universe.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Michelangelo: The Third Kind #3.

*Klag will appear again in Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #62.


Review:

And so “The Third Kind” just sort of… ends.  All of the characters, story arcs and concepts were set up in advance in this miniseries and nothing feels out of the blue or anything.  It just sort of starts and stops and starts and stops and then ends.  The pacing of the narrative is bumpy with odd time gaps between chapters, and characters just sort of appear and disappear with varying degrees of importance.  I mean, just look at Barry.  He got the lion’s share of attention in the first issue then disappeared altogether for the middle of the series and then appears suddenly here at the end and has his storyline resolved.  Detective Clover was looking like she might have a big impact on the storyline but her conflict with Mikey is resolved with a silent nod.

It’s a clumsy read, as characters drift in and out of the story with lopsided amounts of attention and even Michelangelo is just sort of there.  He takes orders from Klag and helps save the day, but his dialogue is dry and lifeless, pretty much just going through the motions.  Jim Lawson wanted to tell a story about prejudice on a global scale and Michelangelo is merely along for the ride.  That’s fine, since First Contact is much bigger than the Ninja Turtles and they very much ARE “just along for the ride” in this scenario… but man does it make for a dull read.

And yet, there are moments that I really love.  This issue starts with Michelangelo just cold walking down the street in broad daylight and totally not giving a fuck.  It’s something he’s never been able to do before in his life and he is taking absolutely NO joy in the experience.  H.A.A.R.M. thugs try to attack him, pedestrians either scream or chatter behind his back… He finally gets to socialize and be amongst the people as himself and it blows.  Lawson doesn’t spell it out with an internalized monologue or anything and the scene doesn’t go on for too long; you just observe it and you can tell exactly how Michelangelo feels.  This is everything he thought he wanted his whole life and it’s nothing like he imagined it would be.

The twist ending with Klag masquerading as Jingo came not so much as a surprise but felt like more or less the only means to resolve the conflict.  It was deceptive, but presented as a case of the ends justifying the means.  Taking a messiah-like entity and having him sing a different tune in order to sway the masses was pretty fitting strategy from the Utroms; a non-violent solution though one that poses an ethical dilemma.  

At the same time, however, “The Third Kind” is very much a Big Picture kind of story.  New York City is just one city in the whole world; there are 6 billion people reacting to First Contact and the Utroms are likely going to have to deal with the same issues all over the globe.  And with a one year deadline, they can’t really take the time to gradually coax the masses into coming around at their own pace.  Subverting the populace by masquerading as influential figures has a "They Live" feel to it, yeah, but it gets the job done without killing anybody.

“The Third Kind” is also a lot of preaching.  Lawson goes on and on about how awful humanity is with the attitude of someone whining, "God, aren't people just the WORST?"  But unless I’ve been mistaken all these years, I figure Lawson is a human being, too.  It’s this holier than thou shtick that you get from a lot of folks who generalize humanity as being inherently evil or selfish or cruel or bigoted… all of humanity except the people preaching against humanity because they know better, right?  “Everybody is awful but me”, that sort of attitude.  At the end of the day, Lawson is trying to lead his readers to a very simple conclusion (“Racism Bad.  Change Good”) but takes a ponderously long-winded route to get there with a lengthy diversion through Narcissism Country.

As for the back-up, it summarizes the message Lawson spent four issues running into the ground with only four near-wordless pages.  "Everyone on Earth is terrible except one guy and that one guy is totally enlightened and understands the universe better than everyone else."  Or maybe it was something about an open mind or whatever and I'm just being cynical, I dunno.

Anyway, “The Third Kind” is a bore but it shows us the sweeping change in the Mirage universe that before now had merely been summarized in a narrative caption.  Because of the broad scope the actual Turtles feel like small fish in a big pond, which isn’t out of line, but it makes for a dull, plodding yarn.  So this was a boring comic that told an important story.  Do the ends justify the means?  Presumably Klag would think so.


Grade: C- (as in, “Can’t say that I’m not personally guilty of standing on a soapbox and preaching my opinions to people.  This is a blog, after all”.)

Monday, April 14, 2014

Michelangelo: The Third Kind #3


Publication date: November, 2008

Story and art: Jim Lawson
Inks and letters: Eric Talbot
Cover: Jim Lawson and Steve Lavigne

“The Third Kind, Part 3”

Summary:

With New York City under curfew and the National Guard moving in to try and quell the unrest, gang violence and looting begins to break out.  H.A.A.R.M. members seem to be at the epicenter of the worst of it, even going so far as to bomb power substations in addition to looting shops.

Mikey gets a call from Klag to meet him in Union Square and leaves the lair (against Leo’s orders).  Klag picks him up on his hovercraft and tells him that he’s been researching H.A.A.R.M. and has found out where their headquarters is (Oberon Bros. Garage) and who their leader is (a guy named Jingo).  Klag wants to try and talk things out with Jingo but asks Mike to come with him in case things get violent.  Things get violent as soon as they approach the garage and while Mikey and Klag fight off the thugs, Jingo flees.


At the same time, weird energy rings appear above the city.  Ambassador Cesse Mon Zir Te comes on TV to tell the public that the rings were an atmospheric after-effect of a scan for weapons of mass destruction.  He explains that the scan was performed with the cooperation and approval of the US Government and the energies that were used would cause no harm to anybody.  Nevertheless, this puts people on edge.  The news then picks up a story about a strange object appearing in Central Park.  The NYPD evacuates and cordons off the park until the situation can be examined.

After dark, Mikey sneaks into the park to get a look at the weird monolith.  He imagines that it might be a giant box containing a killer robot, but snaps out of his daydream when he notices a signature at the bottom of the monolith.  Mikey hears voices and flees to the trees.  Jingo and a mob of H.A.A.R.M. thugs come storming in with a small alien in tow.  Jingo gives a speech about taking back America from their cowardly government and suggests they start by lynching the alien on his own monolith.


Mikey drops down from the trees and protects the alien from the thugs.  Suddenly, Detective Clover appears from the bushes, flashes her badge and all the H.A.A.R.M. thugs (and the little alien) scamper off.  Clover tells Mikey that the monolith was a piece of modern art stolen from a recent exhibit.  Jingo and his H.A.A.R.M. lackeys put it in Central Park to stir up trouble and unrest.  Clover then tells Mikey that he’s still wanted for being an unregistered “alien” and pulls out a pair of handcuffs.  Mikey immediately vanishes into the night.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Michelangelo: The Third Kind #2.  The story continues in Michelangelo: The Third Kind #4.


Review:

Well, the most exciting part of this issue turned out to be a daydream sequence (the giant robot), so we’re still in dullsville with “The Third Kind”.  There are a lot of interesting ideas floating around in here, like the City being under lockdown with xenophobic gangs rioting and blowing up buildings and the citizenry panicking as aliens scan the skies… But damn if Lawson isn’t sapping all the life out of it.  I know he’s going for a really grounded look at the whole scenario, but it’s hard to believe such a tumultuous period in the TMNT timeline can yield such a tiresome yarn.

And most of the metaphor and subtext is pretty on-the-nose, particularly in regards to the character Jingo.  So we have a guy with a name that invokes the term “jingoism” giving long-winded anti-government speeches about taking back America from the bureaucratic fatcats in Washington.  And I think he’s a black guy maybe (hard to tell with his model fluctuating in every panel), so the scene where he tries to rally a mob to lynch an innocent alien is supposed to be, like, cruel irony or something.  Yeah, real deep, man.

I guess if one good thing came from this chapter, it’s that Mikey’s screw-up at Pier 41 is finally catching up with him.  I complained last issue that Mikey shouldn’t have been thanked for causing a huge publicity crisis for the aliens and here he’s actually being invited to suffer the legal consequences for his behavior.  He bails, of course.

Ah well, we’re nearly at the finish line for this thing.


Grade: C- (as in, “Can’t say I find a giant killer robot LESS horrifying than a modern art sculpture.  I work at a college and that shit is littered around the campus like breadcrumbs”.)

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Michelangelo: The Third Kind #2


Publication date: October, 2008

Story and art: Jim Lawson
Inks and letters: Eric Talbot
Cover: Jim Lawson and Steve Lavigne

“The Third Kind, Part 2”

Summary:

Making his way through the alleys, Mikey figures he’s in no shape to fight anybody else (having been hit by a bus a few days ago and now having been maced).  He sees a group of thugs wearing alien grey masks curb-stomping a kid in a Star Trek t-shirt.  With no choice, Mikey intervenes and beats up the thugs. 


After they run off, Klag swoops down on a hovercraft, having followed Mikey to make sure he got home safely.  Klag gives Mikey a lift to a rooftop and tells him that they met once before.  Klag was a guard at the TCRI building when the Turtles returned from the Triceraton Homeworld.  When the Utroms began prepping Earth for First Contact several years in advance, Klag signed up to live amongst humanity in disguise.  He gives Mikey a communicator in case he ever needs to get in touch with the Utroms and the two part ways again.

At Barry’s mom’s apartment, Detective Clover meets up with Officer Murphy to investigate the body.  They go through the list of possible causes of death and settle on murder, with Barry being needed for questioning (although they have no motive).  Detective Clover sees the old lady’s cat with a dish named “Roswell” and starts to get edgy.  The city has been in an uproar since First Contact and all the paranoia has gotten her anxious.  She pulls out a picture of Mikey from the Pier 41 riot and says that the aliens claim to be cooperative, yet they allow one of their own to run around the city unregistered.


Mikey makes his way across the rooftops when he notices more of the masked thugs putting up flyers.  He jumps down the streets and reads one.  The flyer encourages citizens to report aliens for execution and is signed by H.A.A.R.M. (Humans Against Aliens Resistance Movement).  Infuriated, Mikey enters the middle of the street and yells for the thugs to come and get him (frightening several pedestrians).  A number of masked thugs descend upon Mikey and he realizes he’s in no shape for a confrontation, especially one that would make aliens look dangerous in front of a crowd.  Mikey flees into the sewers before the H.A.A.R.M. thugs can catch him.

Entering the lair, he’s greeted by his brothers as well as Ambassador Cesse Mon Zir Te from Pier 41 (flanked by several Utrom bodyguards).  The Ambassador tells Mikey he stopped by his home to thank him for defending him at the riot.  He has received numerous threats on his life from gangs like the Madhattan Maulitia and H.A.A.R.M. and is happy to see an Earthling trying to help him for a change.  Leonardo offers to protect the Ambassador fulltime, but the Ambassador declines.  He feels that if he is to gain the trust of the people, then he must be seen working with legitimate Earth authorities.


After he leaves, the Turtles have a discussion about just how the Ambassador and the Utroms found their “secret” lair.  Mikey swears he wasn’t followed, but Leo suspects the Fugitoid probably gave them directions.  Donatello and Raphael call attention to a news report on TV.  Apparently, in the wake of all the anti-alien violence, National Guard troops have entered the city and the Mayor has issued a curfew.  Leonardo tells his brothers that Mikey has caused enough bad publicity for aliens and that they need to stay in the lair until the situation settles.

In an alley up above, Detective Clover and her partner are investigating another murder.  This time, it’s a Guerrotopsian (an alien that “sees” through the eyes of other lifeforms around it).  They pull a .38 slug from the tentacled corpse and Detective Clover figures this is the first murder of an alien since First Contact occurred only two days ago.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from Michelangelo: The Third Kind #1.  The story continues in Michelangelo: The Third Kind #3.

*Mikey was hit by a bus in TMNT (Vol. 4) #1.

*Klag mentions having met Mikey back when the Turtles returned from the Triceraton Homeworld to the TCRI building via the transmat in TMNT (Vol. 1) #7.  The editor’s note mistakenly identifies that event as having happened in TMNT (Vol. 1) #4, but there’s no saying Klag wasn’t present in that issue, too.

*The Turtles showed the Fugitoid down to their lair in TMNT (Vol. 4) #5.


Review:

“The Third Kind” is… slow.  Really, really slow.  It is an interesting look at how the world of the Mirage universe changed in-between pages of TMNT Volume 4, but it is not a very thrilling narrative.  I can only recommend “The Third Kind” to the most hardcore Ninja Turtle fans who are already well-versed in the lore of the comics, because this story doesn’t stand a chance of exciting newcomers.  As a hardcore TMNT fan well-versed in the comics, I personally enjoy the miniseries for what it offers to the ongoing development of this world, but I’ll be the first to tell you it’s pretty damn boring.

Michelangelo actually gets some attention in his own miniseries starting with this chapter.  Here we see him suffering the fallout of his stupid mistake at Pier 41.  I was really disappointed that the alien Ambassador visiting the lair didn’t tear into him for all the trouble he caused, but instead chose to thank him for coming to his aid (when really it was Klag who got the Ambassador to safety). 

Michelangelo set off the powder keg at the event which was meant to be a show of good will and cooperation; proof that the alien visitors were obeying the orders and limitations given to them by the Earth government.  Michelangelo pretty well fucked that up for them, getting a lot of people hurt and “proving” to the people that aliens were breaking travel restrictions and hiding out amongst humans.  And at a media event, no less.  Michelangelo made a HUGE mistake and really shouldn’t be thanked for jack shit.

Barry’s subplot has now shifted over to Detective Clover, further showcasing how average people are dealing with this situation.  It’s slow, plodding stuff.  Lawson’s dialogue is the same as it ever was.  Way back when I reviewed TMNT Volume 2, I remarked that Lawson wrote dialogue by abusing humming noises for “realism”; characters are constantly going “Mmmm”, “Ummmm” and “Hmmmm”.  It is really obnoxious and 15 years later, he’s still doing it.

We’re halfway across “The Third Kind” and while I’m digging all the atmosphere it’s setting up, the characters remain dull as dishwater and the dialogue is even worse.  So it’s give and take.


Grade: C+ (as in, “Clover’s partner… does he have a glass eye or did Talbot just fuck up the inks on Lawson’s pencils?”)


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Michelangelo: The Third Kind #1


Publication date: September, 2008

Story and art: Jim Lawson
Inks and letters: Eric Talbot
Cover: Jim Lawson and Steve Lavigne

“The Third Kind, Part 1”

Summary:

It’s been two days since the Utroms arrived on Earth, initiated First Contact and set up their Moon-Island base in New York Harbor.  On TV, the President of the United States addresses his people from an undisclosed location.  He assures them that the alien ambassadors (of several races) who have arrived on Earth have done so purely out of diplomacy.  They are also under strict orders to remain on the Moon-Island until the situation has been settled.  The President tells the American people not to panic, that he has spoken with “the visitors” and found that they simply want to share a cultural exchange and broaden humanity’s scope of existence in the universe.

The President informs the people that the rumors of the Utroms having a cure for cancer is unfounded.  However, the Utroms have promised to work with Earth’s scientists, combining their technology and research to hopefully speed up the discovery of a cure.  He asks the people to keep an open mind and not to judge the visitors by their appearance or to immediately suspect they have ulterior motives.  He also reassures everyone that the Earth will ever remain the planet of Earthlings and that the visitors are just that: Visitors.


Watching the broadcast, a gang of "patriots" grows furious that the President is allowing the aliens to stay; they wanted him to nuke them.  One of the gang members, Barry, suggests they see what the aliens have to offer; maybe they CAN find a cure for cancer using their knowledge and technology.  Another gang member, Jingo, mocks Barry and says he only feels that way because his mother has stage four cancer.

Down in the sewer lair, Michelangelo is watching the media coverage.  The anchormen say that the President has authorized the alien diplomats to leave the Moon-Island for a press conference on Pier 41.  The NYPD requests that civilians not attend the conference due to the unknown nature of the aliens.  Michelangelo immediately drops his remote and rushes out the door.


At Pier 41, the NYPD are struggling to keep a huge mob under control.  There are several alien ambassadors on the stage, waiting to address the people.  Michelangelo, disguised as a bum, is among the mob.  However, he bumps into a thug who gets mad and rips off his coat and scarf.  The mob mistakes him for an alien trying to hide among them and freaks out.  The NYPD immediately take control of the situation and escort Michelangelo onto the stage (even though he’s not among the registered aliens in their handbook).  The alien ambassadors are confused, as they don’t know Michelangelo, but the Utrom there says that he’s heard of him and that he poses no threat.  Ambassador Cesse Mon Zir Te asks Mikey to play along in order to avoid a riot and to explain everything when they’re done.  Mikey uncomfortably agrees.

A riot is inevitable, though, as the mob thinks that aliens are hiding among them and go berserk.  They begin to storm the stage and Mikey keeps the ambassadors safe by fighting off some thugs.  The NYPD indiscriminately fire cans of tear gas and Mikey goes blind.  The Utrom finishes helping the ambassadors to safety but turns back to help Mikey, who is about to get pummeled.  The Utrom uses the repulsor rays in his suit to disperse the crowd, then he and Mikey flee backstage.  The Utrom introduces himself as Klag and after shaking hands, the two part ways.


Elsewhere, Barry goes to pay his mom a visit.  As she makes him some lunch, she goes on and on about how much hope the potential for a cure has given her; she’s very excited about what the aliens have to offer.  Barry gets upset and tells her that the aliens can’t be trusted.  She thinks that Barry has been hanging out with his gang too much.  Barry gets angry and becomes delusional.  He sees his mother as Ambassador Cesse Mon Zir Te and thinks she’s been replaced.  Barry then pulls out a gun and shoots her.


Turtle Tips:

*The story continues in Michelangelo: The Third Kind #2.

*This story takes place early in the six month time gap from TMNT (Vol. 4) #5, when the Utroms made First Contact on Earth.

*The President says that the Utroms have no cure for cancer, but can work with humanity to research one.  The Utroms will be shown fulfilling that obligation in Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #62 and Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #68.


Review:

TMNT Volume 4 handled the First Contact storyline pretty much ideally, so far as the flow of its narrative was concerned.  By skipping ahead six months, it bypassed the doddering diplomacy necessary to integrate aliens into Earth society and fast forwarded the reader right to the good stuff.  Having to actually endure all this extraterrestrial acclimation stuff would have stopped Volume 4 dead.

BUT, it was a story that needed to be told at some point and a period of time with lots of room for exploration.  Until "The Third Kind", the only issues in Tales of the TMNT Volume 2 that actually explored these six months of mystery were some adventure stories, usually involving Donatello travelling with the Utrom Glurin to alien planets or wherever.  They were fun adventure stories, don’t get me wrong, but there was a whole societal upheaval going on that those one-shot tales paid no mind to.

With “The Third Kind”, we get to see that time period explored more in-depth; how the arrival and integration of aliens affected human culture and the slow grind necessary to achieve acceptance.  Jim Lawson, as an author, is one of the TMNT’s more cerebral writers and he enjoys penning existential tales about the Turtles finding their place in the universe.  He’s also a big fan of decompression, for both good and ill, so he was the obvious choice to tell this missing chapter in the TMNT’s timeline.

For a miniseries named after Michelangelo, his narrative rubs off as almost the least important in this first issue.  Barry gets considerably more focus than Mikey and the story seems more about him than anybody else.  It’s important stuff, though, since “The Third Kind” has to do a lot of world-building and we need to see how “normal people” are acclimating to First Contact.  Barry, so far as a gangbanger is concerned, starts the issue as a seemingly decent guy who hangs around with a bad crowd.  However, as the issue progresses, the stress and fear starts to get to him and he snaps.

Likewise, we have the mob at Pier 41.  When we first see them, they’re a healthy mix of jerks holding “get out” signs and pleasant people holding “beam me up” and “welcome” signs.  Not EVERYONE in that crowd was xenophobic.  However, once Mikey fucks everything up and fear starts to spread, even those good people descend into fight-or-flight madness and a riot breaks out.

With Barry and the mob, Lawson seems to be trying to illustrate how even “good” or “normal” people can become just as dangerous and unpredictable as the Madhattan Maulitia or other thugs, simply by virtue of the situation.  It sells the atmosphere of unrest and paranoia that establishes the setting of this miniseries, and even though Michelangelo has to take a backseat in the first issue of his own title, such groundwork was essential.

So far as Mikey’s part in all this goes, he really fucks up big time.  It does offer an interesting character study on him, though.  Mike’s in his thirties by this point in the timeline, so he really ought to know the dangers of trying to mingle with an anxious crowd, especially considering what they’re anxious about (weird-looking aliens).  However, he lets his enthusiasm to see the aliens up close get the better of him and he makes a huge mistake; an “intergalactic incident”, as it were.  So we can see that even though Michelangelo is very much an adult, he still let’s his naive enthusiasm get in the way of his better judgment.

“The Third Kind” was probably my favorite of the Turtle-themed miniseries that Mirage put out in the ‘00s even if I don't feel all that passionately about it.  It isn’t really all that exciting, but it tells a story that needed to be told and helps build the world.  I was glad Laird skipped these six months in Volume 4 for the sake of pacing, but it’s a good thing we’re being filled in after the fact.


Grade: C+ (as in, “Come on.  Tuna burgers?  Those sound… those sound… Actually, those sound delicious”.)