Originally published in: TMNT New Animated Adventures #11
Publication date: May 14, 2014
Story: Jackson Lanzing and David Server
Art: Chad Thomas
Colors: Heather Breckel
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow
“Cooking With Kraang”
Summary:
Filming an instructional video entitled “Mutagen and the
Entity Known as You”, a Kraangdroid host illustrates how to create mutants by
pouring mutagen onto a carrot-chomping bunny.
The bunny mutates into a horrible carrot-bunny-monster and trashes the Kraangdroid cameraman.
Suddenly, the Turtles, having followed their mutant
tracker, barge onto the set. Raph takes
the host out with a blow to the face while Mikey and Donnie (mostly Donnie)
work the control panel for the Dimension X portal. Once the portal opens, Leo shoves the bunny
mutant (whom he calls “Bad Bunny”, but Mikey alternatively calls “Hopzilla”)
through the gateway. Donnie shuts off
the portal and the Turtles leave to get some pizza.
Once they’ve gone, the battle-damaged host shambles to
his feet and ends the transmission.
Turtle Tips:
*This story is continued from “Partners”. The story continues in TMNT New Animated Adventures #12.
Review:
This back-up is a little longer than the last few New
Animated Adventures has done, but used the extra page space wisely. “Cooking With Kraang” is a fun idea, the
whole “instructional video” thing, and actually relates back to a story from Panini’s Nickelodeon TMNT #8. In that issue, “Dropzone”,
the Turtles sneak into a Kraangdroid facility and traverse its weird rooms, one
floor at a time. In one such room, they
find a Kraangdroid teaching “proper English” to a classroom full of other
Kraangdroids.
I remember loving the gag and wishing that Panini’s TMNT
Magazine format allowed for more page space, as I’d liked to have seen that
joke fleshed out. “Cooking With Kraang”
is more or less what I asked for, as the Turtles interrupt a Kraangdroid as he
dryly instructs other Kraangdroids on the ludicrous method to create mutants.
From an artistic perspective, Chad Thomas provides some
light, goofy comedy visuals (like the cutesy-wootsy adorable widdle bunny wabbit with
hearts over its head as it noms its carrot).
I think the only place the story falters on is that it begins from the
camera perspective, but midway through discards the idea of being “footage” and
steps outside that constraint and into the third person. The last page attempts to go back to being “footage”,
but loses the humor for having discarded the gimmick in the middle of the
story. I think the end result would have
been stronger if the whole comic had been the recorded video. If varying angles
were an issue, they could have just added “Camera 1/2/3” designations to each
panel.
But hey, that’s all I really have to criticize it
for. Actually, I thought this back-up
was much more fun than the feature.
Grade: B- (as in, “But that poor bunny got kind of a raw
deal”.)
