I was never much of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan growing up. For starters, I came of age when the Power Rangers and the rest of Haim Saban’s empire was dominating children’s media and secondly, I wasn’t really allowed to watch cable television when I was a kid.
With that being said, I can appreciate the radical pizza eating ninjutsu reptiles for their place in popular culture and the journey of their creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird is both a personal inspiration for my own artistic journey, and as a cautionary tale on the dangers of success.
Anyway, the original creators have shown that TMNT is still alive and kicking with the success of The Last Ronin comic, so of course there’s a spin off with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin: The Lost Years” #1, let’s see if it’s also good.
Written by Kevin Eastman and Tom WaltzCover by: Kevin Eastman and Ben Bishop
Illustrated by S.L Gallant, Ben Bishop, and Kevin Eastman
Colored by Luis Antonio Delgado
Lettered by Shawn Lee
In the smash-hit miniseries TMNT: The Last Ronin, readers witnessed the final gut-wrenching days of the Heroes in a Half Shell. For Michelangelo in particular, the march to his heartbreaking last battle was long and dangerous, taking him from New York City, to Japan, across Asia and Europe, and then back home again to administer final justice against those guilty of killing his family. But what happened during those fateful years when he had only the need for vengeance and Master Splinter’s journal to guide him? What battles did he fight? What hard lessons did he learn? The time has come to find out as original miniseries writers Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz join artist Ben Bishop to reveal what adventures the Last Ronin experienced during his vengeful journey. While in the present, a new master, Casey Marie Jones, prepares her young terrapin students to be the next generation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their master Splinter are dead, and while there is a new generation of turtles being trained by an elderly April O’Neil and her daughter, things aren’t looking good. The only one left alive is Michaelangelo, who has traveled to the Japanese island of Hokkaido in order to die. Despite nearly getting his wish, he manages to find a new life and a new purpose when a neighboring village is slaughtered by the same criminals who nearly killed him. Thus begins a new adventure where Michaelangelo must confront his own demons and grief in order to avenge his family and regain his honor.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin: The Lost Years” #1 is written by franchise creator Kevin Eastman and longtime TMNT writer Tom Waltz, so there are some pretty hefty expectations for the quality of the script. The good news is that Eastman and Waltz deliver a solid story here, giving the reader a very satisfying emotional arc for a character that is nearly broken beyond repair. For starters, while reading The Last Ronin comic would certainly help the reader understand everything that’s going on in this book, it is a great standalone story that can be enjoyed on its own. The emotional baggage is the core of the story and Michelangelo’s grief and feelings of inadequacy are on full display here and beautifully managed. While lots of children’s media talks about things like sadness and grief, the best kid’s shows aren’t afraid to confront it head on with courage and maturity, and it’s nice to see it happen in this book. On top of that, Eastman and Waltz prove their talents as comic book writers by ending the comic on a well managed cliffhanger that sets up an intriguing mystery for Michaelangelo to solve and new villains to fight,
While “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin: The Lost Years” #1 is an engaging and mature story, it does have some problems with pacing and focus. There’s a pretty unnecessary transition to the new generation of turtles being trained by April O’Neil and family that doesn’t seem to have any other purpose other than showing the reader that they’re present and it’s pretty distracting. However, the real issue is that the comic doesn’t manage the passage of time very well. There’s a brief caption to show that Michaelangelo spends three years on the mountaintop learning to live again, but the comic doesn’t do much to show the passage of time or any sort of emotional bond that he may have formed with the village below. It’s not the focus of the book and it’s a small issue, but it’s definitely noticeable.
Continued belowThe artwork for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin: The Lost Years” #1 is provided by S.L Gallant, Ben Bishop, and a single page by Kevin Eastman. Since the comic is a widely recognized and successful licensed property it’s safe to assume that there was a long list of restrictions and that IDW spent a lot of time making sure the artwork met certain standards, which has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that corporate oversight ensures high quality artwork that is easy to understand and has all the recognizable details so readers know who is who and what’s going on. The downside is that this oversight doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for innovation or interesting ideas, which is a shame because this is a book that could have been even better if the art styles had been given a chance to express themselves. The book makes liberal use of flashbacks and credits S.L Gallant with the flashbacks and Ben Bishop with the present day story, which is strange because the differences between the art styles is miniscule and you have to really concentrate to notice anything different. However, it’s not all lost. Eastman steps in to provide a single page of art and it’s presented in a way that evokes the original black and white comic from the mid 1980’s, which is both a nice bit of nostalgia and an emotional gut punch that fits the themes of memory and mourning.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin: The Lost Years” #1 is a solid first issue that seeks to fill in the gaps created by the previous series, and while it has some pacing and artwork issues, it’s a heartbreaking and inspiring look at a character in the depths of grief working to find a new purpose and a new life.
Final Verdict: 8.7- While some small pacing issues are a problem, great emotional depth and maturity make ths a worthy prequel to one of the best TMNT stories in recent memory.
