Quite the mixed bag this volume. The main Ninja Turtle book is great and has some wonderful twists and resolutions. What drags this collection down for me are the non-TMNT books collected here.

Mutanimals has some cool looking team members, but that style comes at the cost of substance. Slash is one of the more developed members of the team, but he really doesn’t make sense as a member of the team given his stance against killing.

The April & Casey portion of this volume had promise but ended up being wasted potential. It was waaaay longer than it had any right to be, and I think it does the Casey/April relationship a disservice. The book spends a good bit looking at their flaws and how they see themselves, but if the story is supposed to sell me on them being a good couple and team I think the story would have really benefited from the two of them talking about how they see each other and the positive things they’ve brought out in the other.

Don’t let the flawed execution of these side stories though keep you from enjoying the main TMNT story. The Turtles’ final confrontation with the Foot Clan is a solid conclusion and teases a fascinating new direction for the Hamato family.