Back again guys, did you miss me? (Probably not) I’m back again with my review of the second IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Complete Collections hardcover. It’s been awhile since my last review, but I try to have these out when I can, (College is kicking my ass, and I’m writing these when I should be doing my essays. No one can say I don’t make sacrifices for the things I enjoy doing.) anyway, onto the review!
(Spoilers, again. Duh.)
THE GOOD
I have to say that this one was already better than the last book, we get some backstories/spotlight for not just Casey, but for April and even some of our villains as well. I feel like the last volume, while still solid, a second read through has shown me that the pacing was a bit slow/meandering in places, the second volume did a much better job in getting to the point. Before I get too deep in the story, I would like to appreciate just how well put together these hardcover collections are! Paper quality is slick, with a nice glossy finish, and the sewn-binding makes it nice and sturdy, which is leagues above glue-binding. This does wonders for having as minimal of gutter loss as humanly possible, presenting these stories as close to how they were originally presented. (The book I have is a fairly recent printing, in the current state that IDW is in. I am shocked they didn’t skimp out on the print quality of these books. For what it’s worth, good on you IDW, your employees are still assholes though. :P)
Me being a massive fucking nerd for formatting aside, this arc in the book has been a real fucking ride. Casey’s dad is still a major scum-fuck and it was nice that he was able to get out of that house as soon as Raph and Slinter gave him the works. (Splinter lecturing Raph while he has his sai at Arnold’s throat was one of my favorite moments) Going into April’s micro-series we get the reveal of Slash, and the sequence is chaotic and Slash himself is nothing but dumb animal looking to fuck shit up, the story-line was rather nice and short and was rather heartbreaking at certain points. The turtles struggle with yet another moral quandary as Leo ponders whether or not if it’s right to put Slash down or not, Donnie and Raph agree with putting him down but Mikey, of course, takes them to task with that option, saying that there’s a better way. While it’s no secret that I don’t care much for the “No-Kill-Rule” (More on that later) I do admit, it was done in a way that wasn’t preachy and it made for some genuinely great character moments. Leo is left shaken from the ordeal and Mikey is forced to deal with the consequences that their lives as mutants bring them as he loses his close friendship with Woody (The guy giving them free pizza) due to the chaos that constantly follows the turtles.
We finally get the reveal of one of my favorite side-characters ever, the Fugitoid! We finally get more on the war with Krang’s forces against the Neutrinos, and it is probably some of the most fun I’ve had with this book so far, and Leo and Mikey’s fight with Krang was just, hmm, chef's kiss. Really great shit.
THE BAD
Again, I don’t really hate anything in this volume, it’s mostly just stuff that’s gonna be a problem as the series goes on. Particularly Mikey and the “No-Kill-Rule,” again in this volume it was handled about as well as you’d probably want it to be, but the story makes it clear on the turtle you’re “supposed,” to root for when it comes to this argument. While they’ve done a good job remaining nuanced about the issue, I don’t really see much of a moral dilemma that could come out of whether it’s ethical to put Slash down or not. At this point in the story, Slash is a ravenous beast that’s going around hurting people and most likely killing some while on his rampage through the city, because I’m pretty sure Slash killed some people while he escaped from Stockgen.
Regardless, the turtles have the chance to put Slash down and so that he doesn't become a problem down the line for them or more importantly anyone else, but it’s Mikey insistence of “finding a better way,” I feel like gets in the way of the turtles doing what’s necessary in order to ensure the safety of others and themselves. Sure, I know Slash becomes smarter, but they don’t know that he can become smarter, and right now he’s nothing more than a rampaging animal. Sure, when an animal is going rogue usually you have to try to detain it, but when that becomes unfeasible? Unfortunately, for the sake of safety that animal has to be put down.
I understand that IDW wanted to portray the turtles in a more “heroic,” light, but making the turtles superheroes isn't really the way to go about that, because at the end of the day, their ninjas and I really wish that future adaptations would respect that more.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This was a really solid book, definitely a step above the first volume, as this book did a better job getting to the point. The action was great, and the story was really nothing to scoff at, this is some really excellent turtles comics and I highly recommend it.
OVERALL SCORE: 9/10
