Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection.
Volume: 2.
Writer(s): Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Bobby Curnow, Brian Lynch & Erik Burnham.
Artist(s): Dan Duncan, Mateus Santoloucu, FRANCO URRU, Andy Kuhn, Valerio Schiti, Sophie Campbell & Charles Paul Wilson III.
Colourist(s): Ronda Pattison, Fabio Mantouani, Bill Crabtree, Claudia Scarletgothica & Jay Fotos.
Letterer(s): Robbie Robbins, Shawn Lee & Chris Mowry.
Publisher: IDW Publishing.
Format: Hardcover.
Release Date: March 29th 2016.
Pages: 418.
Genre(s): Comics, Science-Fiction.
ISBN13: 9781631405396.
My Overall Rating:
Previously in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection (Vol. 1).
Sometimes the toughest lessons are learned when the closest people to our hearts are in danger. It’s during those trying times that emotions take over and individuals are primed to learning something that might change them forever. For four teenage mutant ninja turtles, the heat of the moment always brings them closer but their sensei warns them that violence is not always the answer despite making use of it to protect those you love. And sometimes there are individuals that require violence and nothing but the deadliest form of violence to put an end to a vicious cycle. But is that really true? In the latest IDW collection, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo go to unimaginable places and put to use their unique abilities to save the world.
What is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection (Vol. 2) about? Picking up where the previous volume ended, the turtles return with their sensei and embrace their new mission after surviving a deadly encounter against Shredder. As they each learn a precious lesson following a tragic event touching one of their closest friends, the turtles continue to fall back on their intimate and powerful bond as a family to get back up and move forward. While their fated foe Shredder’s ambitions will inevitably bring them to the edge and for their hands into committing an unforgivable act, they must first thwart General Krang’s master plan before his all-out war transforms Earth.
This stunning oversized hardcover edition with a grey ribbon marker collects, in recommended reading order, issues #13-20, the Casey Jones, April O’Neil, Fugitoid, Krang, and Baxter Stockman micro-series one-shots, as well as The Secret History of the Foot Clan mini-series.
“Fighting evil is never easy. It’s painful and ugly. Sometimes you have to make compromises.”
— Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will undoubtedly appreciate this second volume that continues to capture the heart and soul of these teenagers and pursues its creative vision for an ever-expanding world of this franchise with earnest authenticity. Not only does it take its time to properly build the strong relationship that these anthropomorphic creatures have between each other and with the outside world, but it also explores the core values by which they all abide by, beautifully crystalizing their personalities, motives, and ambitions through experience but also adversity. While family remains a core theme, the story also looks to introduce new characters, heroes and villains, and pushes these turtles to uncharted territory (e.g., other dimensions) to give this universe a truly boundless scope. This volume also ends with a Foot Clan mini-series that offers fans an insightful and unique story that adds depth to the lore.
This time around, the main issue’s artwork was tougher to indulge. Both Andy Kuhn and Ben Bates do a decent job in portraying the characters and their emotions, as well as the action sequences in all of their glory, but the rough penciling with little details make for a forgettable journey in terms of artistic appreciation. In fact, it often just looks like sketches with thick colouring that compensates for its flaws. Fortunately, The Secret History of the Foot Clan mini-series has writer and artist Mateus Santolouco who does a formidable job in both departments. Much more detailed, expressive, and mesmerizing. Nonetheless, there’s an impressive balance between world-building, character development, and explosive action sequences, and that’s all they need to keep on doing for this series to stay on the right lane.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection (Vol. 2) is a fantastic volume further exploring the bond between the turtles and their rat sensei and the vast universe in which they coexist.
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!
Roars and Echoes 
With these reviews, I’m really tempted to see if I can track down the original Eastman & Laird tmnt comics.
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I’d be very curious to see what you’ll think of the original series today. I hope you do end up adding it to your reading rotation later down the line, after you freed up space in the “visual arts” department hahah
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It is all going to depend on how Spawn turns out out. Thinking about it though, I might need to rotate comics too so I don’t burn out.
Great, one more thing to think about and juggle 😀
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Looking through the pages I think it would take me a little time to get used to them being colored. I watched some of the cartoons and movies so I’m used to color there, but I guess when in print I’m still used to it being in black & white. I remember that artwork being a bit rough, too. But glad to hear you’re still really enjoying the story. This is increasing my urge to pull back out and reread the collection I have of the original Eastman & Laird stories Bookstooge mentioned. But I want to get through 100 Bullets first. Then I’ll have to decide whether to start on TMNT or the Battle Angel manga (or some other shiny story that catches my eye before then). 🙂
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That’s funny, hahah! I think it’s because of how I knew these guys from the animated series and movies that I find it so normal to see it all in colour! Yeh, it’s an “unpolished” style but it works fine. Some of the “guest artists” do better, in my opinion, but I think the idea of this “reboot” is to still keep the original series’ style at heart and that’s definitely well done here. I’m glad to play a role in that increasing urge then! I too am curious to hear about the original series and will probably try it out later down the line, especially after I’m caught up in this ongoing series hahah Alita will be a quick read, at least the main series (I read and reviewed those back in 2018 myself hahah). Whichever series you do pick up after 100 Bullets, I’m sure you’ll have a good time! 😀 Thanks for reading, my friend!
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My son was a huge TMNT fan. He watched the shows, read the books that he got at the library and had all the toys. He even dressed up as one of them one year for Halloween. I wonder if he would appreciate these comics? Nice review Lashaan.
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Now that’s a fan! If he’s ever interested in diving back into that franchise, I think he’d find it pretty cool to go through this comic book series or to even collect this beautiful edition. There are almost 15 volumes with similar cover designs and they’d be pretty awesome to showcase on any bookshelf. 😀 Thanks for reading, Carla!
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I will have to see if he is interested, I know I still haven’t gotten him a birthday gift for this year yet.
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