Written by Kevin Eastman and Ton Waltz
Art by Dan Duncan
Published by IDW
I know they came out about a year ago, but I wanted to see where this series was going to go. I was and am a huge fan of the turtles from the 1980’s through Malibu’s series and then on to everything else I could find on the subject. Yes there are turtle toys in the house, comics, and just about everything you could imagine, yes that much of a foaming at the mouth fan. I wanted to let this series sit a bit before I took a look at it, see if it made it past issue number 3 which so many reboots seem to have problems getting past. Then taking a gander at seeing where they go with the whole process of rebooting a seminal classic cartoon and comic book series.
There were so many places to go wrong, and there were so many places to go right. As they hit issue number 23 now, it is obvious that they did something right. Most of the critics and reviewers will agree that having Kevin Eastman on board was a smart smart idea. Giving homage to the 1980’s then moving on was also a really good idea. Keeping the turtles fresh, real, and with some awesome new people to help out and kick butt with was brilliant. So many reboots don’t leave their roots behind in a meaningful way, this series has managed to do it developing some interesting new twists and turns that makes this a great family reading night comic book to resurrect. Good clean fun for everyone involved, and good for developing a love of comic books with characters that are real, and use all the cool stuff we would expect them to use along the way. Even the pizza has gotten cooler in the longer run than the standard flat pepperoni pizza that I think I remember them always ordering.
Rating this series 5 of 5 stars, the reboot is brilliant. Easy to read, good for kids and adults looking to recapture something of their childhood or teenage afternoons when the game console would not work. The reboot is nicely done, and with just enough past to fill a fun action filled future. Yes there is violence, yes there are some wicked karate moves the kids and adults might try, but in the longer run, this is just some good clean reading fun that is totally worth picking up not just the comics, but the TPB for more durability. The only drawback is the vast number of special covers that IDW printed, making collecting these puppies a really expensive and time consuming process.