Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were unlucky with comic books in Poland. Hen far in the past (aka in the nineties) mutants were produced by the cult TM-Semic and Egmont. Then nothing for a long, long time, until the infamous Fantasmagorie publishing house reached for them. In this case, however, the readers only got one volume (and a huge amount of drama and disgust). Batman’s support was needed for the teenage reptiles to reappear. Egmont pampers the Polish reader at the same time, because it serves the collective edition of three series: from 2015, 2017 and 2019, and it is worth mentioning that the same hardcover compilation is announced in the USA only for December 2021. Thus, Poland gets the omnibus faster! Great initiative, I appreciate it.
Up to three times turtles
Batman guards Gotham, Ninja Turtles guard the streets of New York – but they’re not so many kilometers away, but universes. Until they meet thanks to a device that connects two parallel realities. Shredder gets into the Dark Knight’s city through the portal, followed by the Turtles. The Master of the Foot Clan quickly shows that he does not stand out from the Gotham thugs, and sometimes even surpasses them. Teenage Mutant Turtles join forces with Batman, and time is at stake – the mutagen in the reptile blood is gradually disappearing in the DC world, threatening them with turning into ordinary pets. The second story reverses the roles – this time Gacek makes his way to an alternative New York to stop the rampant Bane and his new variant of the drug Venom, thanks to which the Ninja Foot Clan turns into masked strongmen. It is only in the third series, however, that Tynion directs the plot to a suitably crazy course. Thanks to Krang, two universes become one. In this hybrid world, after the death of his parents, young Bruce Wayne fell into the sewer with his four turtles and a mutagen (which somehow didn’t work on him). After many years, they form a harmonious team that fights with Grinning and his Grin Clan. Things get hotter when a mysterious wanderer arrives in this world. who fights with Grinning and his Grin Clan. Things get hotter when a mysterious wanderer arrives in this world. who fights with Grinning and his Grin Clan. Things get hotter when a mysterious wanderer arrives in this world.
Fuuuuuuuusion!
Each story is written in a fairly basic way, like a textbook from a small crossover maker. First world A goes to world B, then B to A, and finally A and B merge into C. It is hard to look for complicated plot solutions or other smaller or bigger twists. The scheme is the same in all parts – the heroes meet, conduct several ineffective skirmishes with the enemy, and finally win the final battle. Tynion IV, however, wrote each of these episodes with a certain amount of ease and zest, making it all good to read.
The screenwriter put a lot of flavors in it. My heart was captured by the Gotham villains from the first series – for example, after administering the Mr. mutagen. Freeze takes on the appearance of a polar bear, the Joker of a humanoid cobra (strange choice, but OK), and Penguin … a penguin (no one expected it). In the second part of this creativity there is much less – the characters from the world of TMNT are simply “bloated”. The likes of Bebop and Rocksteady have never complained about lack of strength, and their adoption of Venom means that they have Mount Everesty muscles instead of the usual mountain of muscles. Unfortunately, it does not have much of an impact on the plot. It would be more interesting to use a different villain than Bane, who does not stand out with anything special (although the Statue of Liberty in a Lukadoran mask is a captivating image). Fortunately, the third installment makes up for the shortcomings of its predecessor. Turtles with costumes referring to individual Robins are funny. A great flavor is the introduction to the plot of the original Ninja Turtle, drawn here by Kevin Eastman himself, the co-creator of the original. It should be ignored that Turtles, as the name suggests, should be teenagers, and Bruce has at least these three tenets on his neck, which does not fit into a coherent whole. However, this is not about logic, but about playing with conventions. And on such a meeting of worlds, the figure of Batman gains, whose seriousness is here confronted with a relaxed approach to the life of mutants. And although Tynion tries to make the exchange of experiences mutual, the sight of the Dark Knight appreciating pizza is priceless. drawn here by Kevin Eastman himself, co-author of the original. It should be ignored that Turtles, as the name suggests, should be teenagers, and Bruce has at least these three tenets on his neck, which does not fit into a coherent whole. However, this is not about logic, but about playing with conventions. And on such a meeting of worlds, the figure of Batman gains, whose seriousness is here confronted with a relaxed approach to the life of mutants. And although Tynion tries to make the exchange of experiences mutual, the sight of the Dark Knight appreciating pizza is priceless. drawn here by Kevin Eastman himself, co-author of the original. It should be ignored that Turtles, as the name suggests, should be teenagers, and Bruce has at least these three tenets on his neck, which does not fit into a coherent whole. However, this is not about logic, but about playing with conventions. And on such a meeting of worlds, the figure of Batman gains, whose seriousness is here confronted with a relaxed approach to the life of mutants. And although Tynion tries to make the exchange of experiences mutual, the sight of the Dark Knight appreciating pizza is priceless. And on such a meeting of worlds, the figure of Batman gains, whose seriousness is here confronted with a relaxed approach to the life of mutants. And although Tynion tries to make the exchange of experiences mutual, the sight of the Dark Knight appreciating pizza is priceless. And on such a meeting of worlds, the figure of Batman gains, whose seriousness is here confronted with a relaxed approach to the life of mutants. And although Tynion tries to make the exchange of experiences mutual, the sight of the Dark Knight appreciating pizza is priceless.
Puciu, puciu
I first met the artist Freddie Williams II through Red Letter Media (YouTube channel), where the cartoonist had a guest appearance. I must admit that I much better listen to him than watch his drawings. Turtles still look decent – they stand out in general (different silhouettes, skin colors) and detail (the bands have not only different colors, but also shapes), thanks to which the reader is able to easily recognize them. Unfortunately, all people are unconvincing. Williams has a manner of drawing oval-shaped characters which makes everyone look quite noodle. Sometimes anatomy also fails. Applause for this is due to the guest appearance of Eastman – the juxtaposition of two different styles within the same frames is great.
Turtles from Gotham
The trilogy created by Tynion is repetitive, as each comic book is a variation of the same plot. In addition, the links between the individual parts are relatively small – probably so that the reader of the original editions (created over several years) would not feel lost in the meanders of the story. This schematicity can be forgiven, however, because reading is simply pleasant. I’m sure this won’t be the last time these heroes have met, so I hope there will be more madness in all of this next time. And there is a chance, finally, in the recently announced comic, Batman will come into contact with the world of the game … Fortnite . Cowabunga!
