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mysteriousmre 's review for:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 11
by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz
There are some great stories in here, but the same problems I had in previous stories continue to pop up here as well. The book collects everything related to the Triceratons' return to Earth after the death of General Krang, and while the plot of this is exciting, I was drawn to the side stories more (which, when given a decent page count, were fantastic).
Chris Mowry starts the collection with a story showing how the Triceraton's began their rebellion against their Utrom masters. The Triceratons start out as just a proud warrior race of dinosaur clones, but once they discover their race could have been more than that and how the Utroms have crippled them, they turn from mere soldiers into righteous crusaders. The plot of this story is excellent, but the quiet moments when the Tricertaton soldiers let their guards down around their partners and allow themselves to be vulnerable and emotional were equally moving.
The Triceratons' return written by Eastman and Waltz is exciting, but its climatic showdown between the Turtles and Splinter doesn't live up to its potential and I think that's due to how Eastman and Waltz have handled Splinter's character since he took control of the Foot Clan. Splinter used to be one of the most complex characters in this series, struggling between revenge and wanting to keep his children safe, but since taking over the Foot Clan the writers neglected to explain why he's leading the Foot the way he is. I'm not opposed to Splinter having a more sinister streak, but without that context Splinter actions don't feel like a progression or evolution of his character. He just feels out of character and the conflict he has with his sons feels hollow.
Paul Allor writes one hell of a political thriller as Donatello tries to help the Tricertons and the Utroms create a truce on Burnow Island. There's some surprising twists and a somber ending that will no doubt have huge ramifications down the road.
After everything with the Triceratons wraps up (for now), Eastman and Waltz take us back to the main book with another story about The Pantheon and Rat King...and it is just as pointless and unnecessary as the Casey & April book so many volumes ago. The Turtles' journey has absolutely *NOTHING* to do with how they resolve the conflict with Rat King. It's just an excuse the writers made up so they could introduce more paper thing characters. It does a decent job establishing Rat King as the Loki analog to this group of immortals, but they have done such a horrible job with this Pantheon subplot that I could not care less. I hope it resolves sooner rather than later.
I'm 11 omnibuses into IDW's TMNT series and its hard at this point not to see the flaws. That's not to say there aren't any good stories in this collection (there most certainly are), the main book is just in desperate need of fresh blood. It's my understanding Sophie Campbell takes over the book at issue 100. I've still got another omnibus or 2 before I reach that milestone, but I'm willing to stick around for it. Here's hoping this series can turn things around.
Chris Mowry starts the collection with a story showing how the Triceraton's began their rebellion against their Utrom masters. The Triceratons start out as just a proud warrior race of dinosaur clones, but once they discover their race could have been more than that and how the Utroms have crippled them, they turn from mere soldiers into righteous crusaders. The plot of this story is excellent, but the quiet moments when the Tricertaton soldiers let their guards down around their partners and allow themselves to be vulnerable and emotional were equally moving.
The Triceratons' return written by Eastman and Waltz is exciting, but its climatic showdown between the Turtles and Splinter doesn't live up to its potential and I think that's due to how Eastman and Waltz have handled Splinter's character since he took control of the Foot Clan. Splinter used to be one of the most complex characters in this series, struggling between revenge and wanting to keep his children safe, but since taking over the Foot Clan the writers neglected to explain why he's leading the Foot the way he is. I'm not opposed to Splinter having a more sinister streak, but without that context Splinter actions don't feel like a progression or evolution of his character. He just feels out of character and the conflict he has with his sons feels hollow.
Paul Allor writes one hell of a political thriller as Donatello tries to help the Tricertons and the Utroms create a truce on Burnow Island. There's some surprising twists and a somber ending that will no doubt have huge ramifications down the road.
After everything with the Triceratons wraps up (for now), Eastman and Waltz take us back to the main book with another story about The Pantheon and Rat King...and it is just as pointless and unnecessary as the Casey & April book so many volumes ago. The Turtles' journey has absolutely *NOTHING* to do with how they resolve the conflict with Rat King. It's just an excuse the writers made up so they could introduce more paper thing characters. It does a decent job establishing Rat King as the Loki analog to this group of immortals, but they have done such a horrible job with this Pantheon subplot that I could not care less. I hope it resolves sooner rather than later.
I'm 11 omnibuses into IDW's TMNT series and its hard at this point not to see the flaws. That's not to say there aren't any good stories in this collection (there most certainly are), the main book is just in desperate need of fresh blood. It's my understanding Sophie Campbell takes over the book at issue 100. I've still got another omnibus or 2 before I reach that milestone, but I'm willing to stick around for it. Here's hoping this series can turn things around.