Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin - The Lost Years #1
From IDW Publishing
Returning to the world of the last of the TMNT and what comes after. This issue gives us an update following the end of the story, but also an insight into what happened in those years between…
This is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin - The Lost Years #1 from IDW Publishing.
RETURN TO THE RONIN-VERSE! In the smash-hit miniseries TMNT: The Last Ronin, readers were taken on a pulse-pounding trek through time—past, present, future—to witness 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 (TMNT: The Last Ronin) to finally 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!
by Kevin B. Eastman (Author), Tom Waltz (Author), Ben Bishop (Artist), S.L. Gallant (Artist)
After the epic story of The Last Ronin, we now get a chance to look around the world's edges and see what came before and a glimpse into the next generation and what came after.
Casey dealing with the next generations of ninjas is very interesting and well done. Their personalities aren’t carbon copies of the original four, and I like that fact. Although I think that what Casey is going through is similar to what Splinter went through. The advice received goes over well.
Referring to the book is a good point here, and it leads us to the flashback of Michaelangelo’s time in the wilderness.
This part plays out well, with the range of emotions shown as regret, anger, peace and acceptance as the life he tries to lead is rudely interrupted. I did enjoy the comment about him being out of shape here, as that would make perfect sense - that muscle memory needs to come back. Talking of memory, there are more, which fits in with the mindset and the story being told over the years.
I enjoyed the art style - crisp and well-coloured. The fight scenes are played well, with some big differences between the countryside and the city's underbelly.
This was a good start, showing the old generation and ways and building for the next.
