IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series can normally be counted on each month for an entertaining read. Lately, however, the title has been in a bit of a slump.
This week, TMNT #61 begins a new story arc, which will hopefully be a turning point for the book, as well. Is it good?
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #61 (IDW Publishing)
Observations
- Yes! Cool(ish) villains.
- Double yes! Donnie and Angel kicking names and taking ass.
- Now this is more like it! Great dialogue. Great action! TMNT is back, baby!
- A big team/family meeting. This could be interesting.
- (Obligatory reference to the April and Casey miniseries I never read.)
- This meeting is starting to run kind of long.
- …like, really long.
- Yaaaaaaaaawn
- Zzzzzzzz….Zzzzzzzz….Zzzzzz…
- GAH! *Wakes up after getting slapped in the face by the awesome last page*
Is It Good?
This is troubling.
TMNT #61 isn’t as bad as last issue was, but it’s a heck of a lot more boring. I’m all for great dialogue—especially when it’s being written by Tom Waltz. Unfortunately, the script for this one drags and circles around on itself so much that the book becomes a painful chore to read. Even the stuff that should resonate (like Mikey’s confrontation with his estranged family) feels tired and recycled.
And as lackluster as most of the issue is, the exceptional opening sequence makes it seem even worse. For a few glorious pages, it felt like we were right back in the title’s 2014-2015 glory days before the narrative ground to a screeching, uninteresting halt. At least Dave Wachter’s art is good, particularly in the aforementioned action scenes.
The issue’s great cliffhanger also provides some hope for the future, but this title is putting out a lot more mediocre/poor issues than good ones recently. Maybe these new invisibility cloak villains will provide the spark the series needs to get back on track—it’s just too bad they can’t make the last two issues disappear, as well.
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