TMNT Magazine (Panini) #61

Publication date: July 12, 2017


Summary:

This issue is a reprint of "Robot Rumble!" from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #34.


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #60.  This is the final issue in the series.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #60

Publication date: June, 2017


Summary:

This issue contains a reprint of "Slug" from TMNT Magazine #5.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #59.  The series concludes in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #61.

Master Splinter's Evening

Publication date: July 23 - August 19, 2015
Originally published in: TMNT Magazine (Panini) #30

Script: Jessie L. McCann
Art: Iain Buchanan
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: E. Learner, K. Carter, J. Stayte, SAW
Letters: Alex Foot

"Master Splinter's Evening"

Summary:

Down in the lair, the Turtles try to sneak out for their nightly patrol without disturbing Splinter, who is deep in meditation.  They bug him, of course, and Splinter finds that he cannot regain his focus after they leave.

Splinter heads down the sewer tunnels for a few miles to find a better meditation spot.  He does, but as soon as he begins to focus, a trio of mutant raccoon thugs (Esteban, Rash and Little Kit) assault him.  They try to mug him for his staff, but Splinter makes short work of them.  He then thanks them for the relaxing meditation workout and leaves.

Later, back at the lair, the Turtles return and find Splinter exactly where they left him.  They assume he has remained motionless the entire time they were gone and marvel at their sensei's resolve.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from "April in a Half Shell".  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #31.


Review:

Yeah, this one wasn't good by any metric.  An empty plot, a bad parting joke and Buchanan's art is as stiff as Molesworth's.  The two stories featured in this issue of TMNT Magazine are both pretty bad, but I think this one was worse.

The mutant raccoon thugs are a reminder that the Panini stories are still working their way through season 2, when mutants were popping up everywhere thanks to the stray Kraang mutagen canisters.  Actually, it's more a reminder of how far I've fallen behind in reviewing these comics, seeing as how the show is closing in on season 5 as we speak.  But with scripts and artwork this lifeless, can you blame me for losing interest?

Anyway, the raccoon mutants were alright, but it would've been cool if they'd been a revamp of the Uncanny Trio from the Archie book.  That might've given this lazybones script some extra superficial zing without having to make any substantial improvements.

April in a Half Shell

Publication date: July 23 - August 19, 2015
Originally published in: TMNT Magazine (Panini) #30

Script: Jennifer Keating
Art: Bob Molesworth
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: Emma Learner
Letters: Alex Foot

"April on a Half Shell"

Summary:

In the dojo, April and Raphael are having a sparring session, but Raph keeps tagging April in the back.  Donatello calls the session off, worried that Raph is being too hard on April.  April insists that she needs to learn her vulnerabilities so she can cover them in a real fight and leaves.  Leonardo tells Donnie that April's right; she can't protect her back as easily as they can because she doesn't have a shell.  This gives Donnie an idea...

Later, Donnie invites April to his lab to show her his latest invention: A shell!  For her!  April is awkwardly flattered and agrees to wear the cumbersome thing for their next training session with Master Splinter.

At the training session, April fails all of her tests, being unable to jump, run or conceal herself with the heavy thing strapped to her back.  Splinter asks her to take it off, and when she does, she immediately succeeds at all her lessons.  Splinter tells his sons that humans are naturally faster and more agile than turtles; the Turtles are skilled ninja IN SPITE OF their shells, not BECAUSE OF their shells.

As April leaves, Donnie apologizes and promises that he'll always have her back in battle.  April offers the same promise, adding "what are friends for?" at the end.  Donnie is so crushed by the word "friends" that he withdraws his head into his shell in humiliation.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #29.  The story continues in "Master Splinter's Evening".


Review:

The plot of this one hinges on Donatello's romantic interest in April getting the better of him and his over-protectiveness forms the, uh, "conflict".  If you can call it that.  Donnie's outbursts in the script are weird, even going so far as to accuse Leo of being racist against humans when he brings up April's vulnerable flank.  Donnie is just an overreacting loon in this story and the only way we GET a conflict is because he's acting so obnoxiously out-of-character.  Yeah, he has a crush on April, but he's never this annoying about it.

Molesworth, I've been giving a lot of slack in these reviews, but he just isn't getting any better.  His layouts have no panache and his characters always look static.  They don't emote very well, either.  Most of the time, the characters just look like they're standing still and directing traffic.

Yeah, the Panini TMNT comics have been in something of a slump, lately.  They need livelier scripts and MUCH livelier artists (which is a shame, because for a while they were rivaling the IDW cartoon comics).

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #42

Publication date: June 23 - July 20, 2016

Script: Alec Worley
Art: Ryan James Neal
Colours: Kat Nicholson and Jason Cardy
Colour assist: Randy Hogan
Letters: Alex Foot

"Cloud Pirates"

Summary:

Coming soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #41.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #43.


Review:

Coming soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #41

Publication date: May 26 - June 22, 2016

Script: Jennifer Keating
Art: Bob Molesworth
Colours: Kat Nicholson and Jason Cardy
Colour Assist: J. Stayte and R. Hogan
Letters: Alex Foot

"Flushed"

Summary:

Coming Soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #40.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #42.


Review:

Coming Soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #40

Publication date: April 28 - May 25, 2016

Script: Erik Burnham
Art: Iain Buchanan
Colours: Kat Nicholson and Jason Cardy
Colour Assist: R. Hogan
Letters: Alex Foot

"A Termite-y Headache"

Summary:

Coming Soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #39.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #41.


Review:

Coming Soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #39

Publication date: March 31 - April 27, 2016

Script: Alec Worley
Art: Ryan James Neal
Colours: Kat Nicholson and Jason Cardy
Colour Assist: J. Stayte and R. Hogan
Letters: Alex Foot

"Night of the Scare-Bros!"

Summary:

Coming Soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #38.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #40.


Review:

Coming Soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #38

Publication date: March 3 - 30, 2016

Script: Alec Worley
Based on an idea by: Krystal Cheung
Art: Ryan James Neal
Colours: Kat Nicholson and Jason Cardy
Colour assist: R. Hogan and J. Stayte
Letters: Alex Foot

"The Mighty Multi-Mutant"

Summary:

Coming Soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #37.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #39.


Review:

Coming Soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #37

Publication date: February 4 - March 2, 2016

Contents:

*"Clucky Love"
*"Chill Out!"

Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #36.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #38.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #36

Publication date: January 7 - February 3, 2016

Script: Alec Worley
Art: Bob Molesworth
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: R. Hogan & James Stayte
Letters: Alex Foot

"King Stinkbeak"

Summary:

Coming soon (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #35.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #37.


Review:

Coming soon (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #35

Publication date: December 10, 2015 - January 6, 2016

Contents:

*"Terror Tale!"
*"Ask Mr. Ninja"


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #34.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #36.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #34

Publication date: November 12 - December 9, 2015

Script: Alec Worley
Art: Ryan James Neal
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: R. Hogan & James Stayte
Letters: Alex Foot

"Robo Rumble!"

Summary:

Coming soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #33.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #35.

*This story is reprinted in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #61.


Review:

Coming soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #33

Publication date: October 15 - November 11, 2015

Script: Alec Worley
Art: Iain Buchanan
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: R. Hogan
Letters: Alex Foot

"Tag Trouble!"

Summary:

Coming soon! (maybe)


Turtle Tips:

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


Review:

Coming soon! (maybe)

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #32

Publication date: September 17 - October 14, 2015

Script: Erik Burnham
Art: Iain Buchanan
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: S.A.W., Emma Learner, James Stayte
Letters: Alex Foot

"Chomp!"

Summary:

In Central Park, the Turtles are battling it out with Snakeweed.  The mutant plant thinks he has the advantage, as the Turtles can't hit him with lightning on a clear night and there are no power sources anywhere close by.  Donatello proves him wrong, breaking out his new Sonic Zapper device which creates a powerful soundwave that causes him to explode.  Donnie assures his brothers that Snakeweed's still alive, but it'll take him a while to grow a new body.

As they leave, a trio of male mosquitoes (which feed on plants) take a drink from one of Snakeweed's severed limbs.  The mutagen-laced chlorophyll turns them into color-coordinated mosquito-plant-dog-things.  The mosquitoes want more food and follow the trail of Snakeweed's scent, left behind by Donnie when he took a fragment of the mutant back to the lair to study.

Down in the lair, Raphael and Leonardo are busy playing the new Battle Gnomes video game while Michelangelo feasts on pizza.  The mosquitoes steal the fragment of Snakeweed from Donnie's lab, but they're still hungry.  They find Mikey in the kitchen and he gives them a slice of pizza.  Liking it, the mosquitoes become ravenous, forcing Mikey to call for help.

Leo and Raph come to his aid, but now the mosquitoes are ready to move on to meat.  Donnie manages to trap them in a trash can until he can figure out how to calm them down.  Mikey gets an idea and feeds the mosquitoes plant food, hoping to satiate their appetites.  The chemicals in the plant food react with the mutagen and the mosquitoes combine into a giant three-headed man-eating plant monster.  Raph breaks out the Sonic Zapper and blows the mosquito-plant to pieces, but the soundwaves also shatter every piece of glass in the lair... including the TV he was going to play video games on.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #31.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #33.

*Snakeweed mentions the time the Turtles zapped him with lightning in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #2.


Review:

Man, I have really fallen behind on reviewing these Panini comics.  I think they're almost up to 60 issues now and here I am, still stuck in the early 30s.  But they're just so boring...

This installment didn't have a lot going for it, but at least it seemed to realize how lame a villain Snakeweed is.  He's discarded by the first page and a new threat is introduced to carry the plot.  It's still a bunch of killer planet monsters, which is a lateral move from Snakeweed, but I guess it was a breath of fresh air.

I'll give Burnham credit in that his script's pacing fit a lot in for what's ultimately a short story (even at double-length, this comic is only 12 pages).  It's very economical and the plot MOVES.  It's just that it moves in a predictable pattern and there are no twists or turns.  I mean, jeez, they kill the mosquito mutants at the end by remembering "Hey, don't we have a weapon designed to kill plant mutants that we just used a few hours ago to kill another plant mutant?"

Perhaps now you can see why I'm struggling to review these things.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #31

Publication date: August 20 - September 16, 2015

Script: Sholly Fisch
Art: Bob Molesworth
Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy
Colour assist: James Stayte, S.A.W., Ed Pirrie
Letters: Alex Foot

"Sub-Zero Hero"

Summary:

It's July and New York City is experiencing a freak Summer blizzard.  Using a tracking device built by Donatello, the Turtles head to the rooftops to search for answers.  They eventually find the Kraang operating a weather control device out of an old warehouse and swoop in through the skylight to stop them.

Unfortunately, being cold blooded, the freezing temperatures have hit the Turtles extra hard, slowing them down to the point where they can't out-maneuver the Kraangdroids.  Luckily, Michelangelo packed a secret weapon: Ice Cream Kitty!  Raphael and Leonardo are incredulous as to Kitty's effectiveness, but she soon proves her worth by sliming all the Kraangdroids with her ice cream.

The Kraangdroids decide to speed up their operation and crank the weather controller into overdrive.  Snow comes pouring in through the open skylight and is absorbed by Ice Cream Kitty, causing her to grow to massive size.  She easily crushes the Kraangdroids and so they try to destroy her by reversing the weather controller to cause a heat wave.

Ice Cream Kitty shrinks as she melts, but the heat revitalizes the Turtles and they finish off the last of the Kraangdroids.  Donatello and Raphael then destroy the weather controller, but Michelangelo is concerned that Ice Cream Kitty has melted too much and wants to get her home ASAP.

Later, down in the lair, April arrives with the last of the frozen pizzas from the grocery store.  Mikey piles the pizzas onto Ice Cream Kitty; the cold restoring her to her proper temperature and the calcium from the cheese revitalizing her dairy elements.  Donnie compliments Mikey for coming up with a good idea, but Mikey insists that there's no problem pizza can't solve (as he tries to bite into a frozen pie).


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #30.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #32.

*Raphael mentions that Ice Cream Kitty has saved them before.  She did so most recently in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #21.


Review:

By most metrics, this wouldn't be a very good issue.  But you have to factor in the Ice Cream Kitty curve; the presence of Ice Cream Kitty in any capacity effectively improves upon a given story.  Or maybe I just like Ice Cream Kitty.

The Kraang employing stupid doomsday schemes which the Turtles have to thwart feels like a throwback to the earliest days of Panini's TMNT Magazine, where it was just issue after issue of precisely that.  While I'm still a little burned out on such stories, it was a bit of a reminder of how much simpler the roster and storylines for this universe used to be.  The Kraang operating a weather control machine may or may not be a reference to Krang's weather control device from the Fred Wolf cartoon, but then, "weather control device" is one of the most cliched weapons of any villain organization.  So it could as easily be a coincidence.

Although we're still in the season two era with these comics, and about four issues away from TMNT Magazine transitioning into the season three storyline, Mikey makes a reference to Crognar, which was the season three "show within a show".

...I dunno.  It's not even an interesting note, I'm just trying to fill this space up.

Anyhow, I'll try and plow through the last of these season two era TMNT Magazine comics.  Hopefully the season three era comics will be a bit more interesting.  Or at least have better artists.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #30

Publication date: July 23 - August 19, 2015

Contents:

*"April in a Half Shell"
*"Master Splinter's Evening"


Turtle Tips:

*This issue is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #29.  The series continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #31.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #29

Publication date: June 25 - July 22, 2015

Script: Erik Burnham
Art: Iain Buchanan
Colours: Kat Nicholson and Jason Cardy
Colour assist: Ed Pirrie & Emma Learner
Letters: Alex Foot

"Nothing up his Sleeve!"

Summary:

The Turtles are out patrolling the rooftops when they hear a couple pedestrians below talk about a street magician.  Michelangelo convinces his brothers to check the magician out and they quickly locate Xemnar the Magnificent doing his act.  Xemnar tricks a member of the audience into thinking he swiped his watch and returned it, while in reality, the crooked illusionist picked his pocket.  Seeing this, Leonardo tells his brothers to corner Xemnar as soon as he makes his leave and get the stolen goods back.

As Xemnar escapes into an alley, the Turtles confront him.  Raphael tussles with him and pulls off a mask, revealing that Xemnar is actually a mutant white rabbit.  Using his jumping abilities, Xemnar leaps to the rooftops and escapes.  However, he leaves behind his duffel bag and lucky charm (a rabbit key chain).  The Turtles then spend the rest of the night discreetly returning the wallets to their owners.

At Xemnar's apartment, the magician is ticked that the Turtles have delayed his trip to Las Vegas, as well as stolen his lucky charm.  He decides to get a new one and begins looking through the paper for an idea.

Down in the lair, Donatello and Leonardo are trying to predict Xemnar's next move, with all evidence pointing to the upper west side, though they aren't sure exactly where he'll be.  Mikey has another suggestion and, dressing like a wizard, claims they should fight magic with magic.  He does a simple disappearing ball trick (hidden up his sleeve), but the use of rudimentary misdirection gives Leo an idea.  Leo realizes that Xemnar is also using misdirection and Donnie figures he's probably targeting the lower east side.

Later, at a jewelry store in the lower east side, Xemnar pockets a diamond rabbit broach he saw advertised in the paper.  He starts to loot the rest of the jewels when the Turtles drop in from the skylight.  They figured his misdirection ruse and began looking up likely targets in the lower east side; the jewelry store with the diamond rabbit being the obvious choice.  Xemnar leaps toward the skylight to escape but is blocked by Mikey.

Xemnar is quickly tied up and left for the cops as Mikey suggests that he should have spent less time studying slight of hand and more time studying escape tricks.


Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #28.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #30.


Review:

With this story, Erik Burnham creates the most 80s-est of 80s TMNT toyline characters that never existed.  A mutant white rabbit with a stage magician gimmick is so damn obvious in retrospect, I can't believe we never got it back in the day.  We got a pilot duck, an African elephant witch doctor, an outback survivalist kangaroo and a Mountie moose, but no magician rabbit?  Someone at Playmates was sleeping on the job.

Admittedly, "Xemnar" isn't a very catchy or marketable name.  I think Burnham knew that and was playing around with it, as there are several BETTER names offered to him throughout the story.  "Sorcerabbit", "Robin Hare" and "Hare-y Houdini".  Okay, not exactly top tier stuff but its on par with "Monty Moose".

The story fits in nicely with the season two storyline about weird mutants popping up every which where thanks to the scattered mutagen canisters, so Xemnar's origin never needs explaining.  Mutants were also becoming a public scourge that season, so the idea of an anthropomorphic rabbit being left for the cops to arrest isn't so out of the question, either.  Maybe without any knowledge of the cartoon and read in a vacuum, "Nothing Up His Sleeve!" is a little bewildering, but this comic has been a supplement to the cartoon since Day One so cut it some slack.

The plot holds together well, all conveniences and cliches aside (there's the "character says something nonchalantly and his words inspire another character to find the solution to the problem that's been vexing him" thing, but at least we were spared the "Mikey, you're a GENIUS!" dialogue that usually accompanies the tired gag).  It's certainly not a challenging story, but it isn't filled with plot holes and nonsense, falling back on the "it's for kids so it's okay if its shit" excuse a lot of writers of these types of comics give.  So I appreciate that.

Buchanan's art is what it's been in the past few issues.  Rather listless and not particularly emotive.  His layouts on the pages where Xemnar shows off his jumping powers look pretty good, but the finishes drain most of the kinetic energy from them.

Anyway, it's always good to get a new mutant villain in addition to the ones seen in the cartoon.  Xemnar's better than Slug, at any rate.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #28

Publication date: May 29 – June 24, 2015

Script: Jennifer Keating

Art: Bob Molesworth

Colours: Kat Nicholson & Jason Cardy

Colour assist: James Stayte

Letters: Alex Foot

“Nano Your Business”

Summary:

In his lab, Donatello is working on repairing the tPhones when Leonardo grabs him: There’s a Kraang plot to foil!  As Donnie and his bros head to yet another Kraang facility and smash up their plans, Donnie laments that every time he gets started on a project, duty calls.  Suddenly, he has an epiphany.

Later, back in his lair, Donnie introduces the nanobot M.I.T.E. (Miniature Intelligent Technology Engine) to his brothers.  MITE can take raw materials from throughout the sewer, form them into useable parts and then complete assigned projects.  As the Turtles leave on patrol, Donnie shows MITE some schematics and assigns it to repair the tPhones.

When they return, Don is pleased to see that MITE completed the job.  However, what he doesn’t notice is that MITE harvested the parts from some of the electronics around the lair…

As the week passes and the Turtles are occupied thwarting the Kraang, the Foot and the Purple Dragons, MITE completes increasingly more complex projects for Don.  At one point, Don returns to the lair to find that MITE has replicated itself in order to finish the workload.  Don is concerned about the initiative at first, but is soon blinded by the possibilities.  As the Turtles leave to take down some thieves in an escape van, the MITEs find a payload of Donnie’s blueprints and get to work.

The Turtles chase the van down in the Shellraiser, but every time they try to launch an attack, one of their weapons malfunctions.  They eventually stop the van via dumb luck, but when Don takes a look under the Shellraiser's hood, he’s horrified to find it cannibalized for parts.  He realizes now that the MITEs have been taking the lair apart to build his projects and the Turtles rush back home.

Returning to the lab, they find a swarm of MITEs building all of Donnie’s dream projects, including the useless and unfeasible ones.  They try to stop them with force, but the MITEs are too small for them to destroy.  Donnie tells his brothers to seal all the doors in the lab and just wait.

Eventually, the MITEs use up all the resources in the lab and, having nothing else to work with, begin taking each other and themselves apart.  After a while, no MITEs are left active.  Donnie is glad the problem literally took care of itself, but ponders where he’s going to get new raw materials to fix everything they destroyed.

In the end, the Turtles go dumpster diving.

Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #27.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #29.

*Leo mentions Don’s disastrous attempt at reverse-engineering Kraang tech via the tPod in “I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman”.

*The parsing “tPhone” and “T-Phone” are used interchangeably in this issue.  I’ve still yet to determine which is the “right” one, but since it’s an iPhone spoof, I’m guessing the former is correct.

Review:

You know, for all of Leonardo’s bitching about how the world rests on his shoulders and the tremendous burden the leader must carry, it really is Donatello who does the lion’s share of the work.  

Whenever they need a new weapon to stop an enemy, Donatello has to invent it and build it.  Whenever they need a new vehicle to cruise around in, Donatello has to retrofit some old van or blimp or something.  Whenever one of them is poisoned or mutated, Donatello has to come up with a cure or retro-mutagen.

I mean, just look at what’s on his plate in the Nickelodeon cartoon right now.  He’s got to cure Mutagen Man, he’s got to cure Karai, he has to cure his brothers whenever the Creep or the Parasitic Wasps turn them into goop or zombies, he has to constantly come up with new inventions to save the day, and ALL while carrying his share of the physical burden that comes with going out and fighting ninja and mutants and aliens.

Jesus Christ, Leonardo’s got nothing on all that.

At times, it makes me sort of hate Donatello, as he becomes this deus ex machina to conveniently resolve a conflict at the last minute (character poisoned by Fishface?  He can cure them!  Character turned into goop by the Creep?  He can cure them!  The Kraang hanging out in an underwater base?  He can build a submarine!).  Admittedly, Donatello’s almost always been this way, but the writers tend to think of “science” rather childishly, as if there were no such thing as different scientific disciplines even the greatest minds in the world have to spend a lifetime focusing on.

Donatello can accomplish whatever the plot needs him to accomplish, just so long as the conflict has a solution that can be described as “science”.  I swear, just because you’re a rocket scientist that doesn’t mean you can also be a brain surgeon.

Anyway, this comic doesn’t necessarily address Donatello’s “jack of all trades” science prowess, but tries to approach the matter that there aren’t enough hours in the day for him to do everything he does.  Granted, it doesn’t solve that problem, but it’s nice to see it acknowledged.

While the script isn’t a knee-slapping comedy, I did like the pacing of the story as Donatello’s thrill at MITE’s initiative soon gives way to concern.  The manner in which he tricks the MITEs into defeating themselves was pretty good, too, though one questions why they didn’t just tear down the walls and doors with their lasers.

All in all, a pretty good story.  It inspired me to go off on a tangent, and that’s always nice.

TMNT Magazine (Panini) #27

Publication date: April 30 – May 27, 2015

Script: Jesse Leon McCann

Art: Iain Buchanan

Colours: Jason Cardy & Kat Nicholson

Colour assist: James Stayte

Letters: Alex Foot

“April’s Fools”

Summary:

Having just finished dinner at Murakami’s, the Turtles, April and Casey race across the rooftops on their nightly patrol.  Donatello and Casey, both infatuated with April, try to protect her from minor hazards along the way, only succeeding at getting on her nerves.

Suddenly, April’s telepathy picks up the Kraang and she guides everyone to a van being loaded with mutagen by Kraangdroids.  Donnie thinks he could make enough retro-mutagen with the payload to restore a number of mutants and the Turtles attack.  April tries to attack, too, but Donnie and Casey continue to get in her way in their efforts to protect and impress her.

In the chaos, April is captured by the Kraang, who load her into the van and drive away.  April gets free and prepares to take down the drivers, when Donnie and Casey again interfere by trying to rescue her.  They end up fighting with each other and Leo winds up saving April.

The van continues onward with Donnie and Casey in the back, arriving at the Kraang base.  Donnie and Casey are surrounded by Kraangdroids, leaving the Turtles and April to rescue them.  April climbs to a rooftop to take down some Kraang snipers, but the two rivals see her and distract themselves by trying to call out to her.  They only succeed in warning the two Kraang snipers, who send April tumbling over the ledge.

She lands in a dumpster full of bubblewrap and survives, only to be accosted by the Purple Dragons.  The Dragons want to take her to the Shredder for a reward, but April has a better proposition.  She suggests they steal the van full of mutagen, as Shredder will surely reward them more for that.  Then, while the Dragons and the Kraang battle over the mutagen, April sneaks in and whisks Donnie and Casey out of the chaos.

Later, Donnie and Casey apologize to April for underestimating her ninja skills.

Turtle Tips:

*This story is continued from TMNT Magazine (Panini) #26.  The story continues in TMNT Magazine (Panini) #28.

Review:

The April/Casey/Donatello love triangle is one of the many ongoing plot lines in the Nickelodeon cartoon that shouldn’t be going on anymore.  They had a chance to resolve it near the start of season 3, but the writers instead opted to prolong it even further.  Now we’re stuck with that shit, a season after it began to overstay its welcome.

“April’s Fools” draws from this dry well for its primary plot and you can guess how well that works out for the story.  Donnie and Casey are misguided in their chauvinistic attempts to both protect April and impress her with their competing masculinity.  It’s really hackneyed and out of character, even for those two. 

And in regards to April, I think we’ve had enough “April proves her skills as a warrior” stories to get the message across that she doesn’t need protection.  This is just laboring the point.

There are other, smaller problems with the story beyond the annoying plot.  Alex Foot messes up some lettering, so Donatello calls Casey an “egghead” and Casey calls Donatello a “hockey puck”.  Because that makes sense.

Also, why would the Shredder want mutagen stolen from the Kraang?  At this point in the series, the Foot and the Kraang were allied and the Shredder was receiving all the mutagen he could ever want for Stockman’s experiments.  Perhaps the Purple Dragons were just stupid and this was intended to emphasize it?  I think, more likely, the writer didn’t do enough research.

Iain Buchanan’s art is stiffer than usual with this installment, too, and much of the action and character expressions feel static.  Altogether, not a particularly good installment in the series.