Reviews - TMNT: Shredder #1 & Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites Of Spring #2
New from IDW Publishing
TMNT: Shredder #1
As a dark new power rises from the shadows of New York, so does a much darker power return to the city's streets... for revenge. One of the most terrifying villains in the history of comics is back — and more deadly than ever!
Returned forever changed by a maddening ordeal beyond imagining, the Shredder is a man out of time, betrayed by all around him, without the Foot Clan, and quite possibly insane. When one of his former Foot prodigies forms their own rival clan with infernal designs on New York, a recovering Shredder must quest deep into the criminal underworld, where enemies both old and new will discover what defiance will bring them at the end of the Shredder's blades.
Dan Watters, the celebrated writer of Batman: Dark Patterns, Nightwing, Lucifer, Six Fingers, and Home Sick Pilots, teams with Michele Bandini (Batman Incorporated, Spider-Man: City at War) to tell the rags-to-revenge story of the ultimate ronin.
Shredder has been gone for far to long!
That is being sorted now with an excellent first issue of this mini-series. The was one I was looking forward to - not only because of the character, but also from the excellent team involved.
From the off, we get a partial look at the mindset of the former leader of the Foot Clan. His interruption of the stakeout was well done - the reader easily guesses who the homeless looking man is, and that is swiftly shown with some excellent action to whet the appetite, along with a mission statement for the rest of the run.
I really enjoyed the art style here, and the are some well-plotted action sequences and, as Shredder prepares later on, you feel the emotion going with him. That of course is hinted at in this issue and gives something more mental to deal with along with the action.
This is a brilliant beginning, and I look forward to seeing what comes next.
Get it digitally from Amazon:
Or physical from Forbidden Planet:
Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites Of Spring #2
Welcome back to Woodbrook.
After the thrilling conclusion of issue #1, it's finally time to rejoin Samantha Strong inside the cozy confines of small-town life. The years have passed, and she's slowed down a bit... but she'll still get her paws dirty to protect the life she's built for herself, no matter what it takes.
As we're reintroduced to Samantha in the '90s, we'll also get a sinister peek into years long gone, filling in the gaps between her first kill and the first comic page.
Writer, Artist: Patrick Horvath
This second issue flips between times. We start to see something of the past, with a closer look at Sally and her ways (very Dexter) and the responses of the town after the murders of the first story arc.
I especially like the beginnings of the internet. I remember those heady days, with the screaming of the phone line and the way that you can’t use the phone for calls. There are those early days on forums and different people.
The story continues on well, with some looks at the other townsfolk, I enjoy the different reactions to the breaking of the confidence of the town, and the next generation getting older.
More soon please!
Get it digitally on Amazon:
Or get it physically from Forbidden Planet:
