Turtle Origins

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

Story: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Layouts: Kevin Eastman
Artist: Dan Duncan
Colorist: Ronda Pattison
Letterer:Robbie Robbins
Published by IDW, 2011.

Surprisingly, at least for me, this is my first foray into the comic book world of TMNT. I’ve been a fan of the various TV shows throughout the years but this is the first time I am jumping in to the printed version so I am kinda excited.

This issue is pretty much a beginning for the Turtles. It retells the origin story and introduces Splinter, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, and of course Michelangelo. We also get to see April and Casey for the first time.

Old Hob is new to me though. Not that this is bad, he fits the standard bad guy mold that I’m familiar with from the TV shows. But I find it interesting that he’s got minions that are human rather than mutated animals.

In any case, the story starts with Old Hob confronting the Turtles and we get some nice battle scenes. All four of the Turtles kick some butt and then we see Splinter getting his paws dirty against Old Hob himself and it’s pretty cool.

The story ends on a sad note as we see one of the Turtles digging through the trash and discarding a Cowabunga t-shirt just before he overhears Casey’s dad abusing him. I was kinda shocked – I don’t recall this happening in the TV shows but then they might have been watered down – needless to say, the Turtle busts in to the rescue and we’ll see what transpires in the next issue.

Verdict

With this issue acting as an origin story of the Turtles and with the nice action and great pacing I rate this issue a Must Read and I look forward to getting further into the series.

This issue can be found on Comixology (it’s even on Comixology Unlimited right now), or at your local comic book shop.

Comic Corner | Reading Recommendation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1