Illuminating Indie Books: Introduction
So far, so good. In the last post, I mentioned how I’ve been working to get the web page back on track. I also put together and posted some reels for Instagram and TikTok over the last couple of days. I’m still not at 100%, but better than recent weeks. Plus, comics week also is historically one of the busiest, so silly to start with this. In any case, TMNT 6 and 7 continues the Jason Aaron era.
When I first read about Aaron taking over our heroes in the half shell, I wondered how his style would work with the book. Over the previous 150 issues, plus ties in like the ones for the Armageddon story, the turtles and their allies focused on the outsider status of the mutants. That makes sense when you consider the writer. I like Aaron, for the most part, but thought it might be too much of a shift. So far, so good.
Synopsis
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 6: The turtles are back together and back in New York City. They’re not quite at the well oiled machine with some bickering and in fighting. But, they’re together enough to take care of a gang of foot soldiers. Before switching to April’s visit to Casey Jones after his ambush, they cut to an ambush on the turtles. The boys survive that one, too, fight among themselves again, and wind up in the spotlight of a helicopter spotlight in the middle of Times Square. Things look bleak.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7: The turtles are only one while they’re fighting right now. This issue gives them plenty of chance to do that. They fight their way out of the pickle they found themselves in at the end of the previous issue. They take to the sewers to regroup and find their mojo. What fixes everything in turtle world? Pizza. Not this time, though. The thugs also come after April. She handles herself. Splinter’s influence is felt. The turtles get the upperhand at the end of the issue. Things no longer look bleak.
The Great, The Good, and the Decent (TLDR)
Decent: At the risk of cannibalizing the next section, the art is a bit off for me in TMNT 6 and 7. The turtles look too thin. The colors are too washed out. Then, other times, the art just pops (see my picks for the art this time around). It takes me out of the fiction some.
Good: The consistency and strength of this title to endure such a drastic change in tone speaks well of Kevin Eastman. Sure, the turtles are his baby, but after running the property for over 40 years, things are bound to get stale. With Spawn, for instance, up until a year and a half ago, I felt like reading the various titles felt more like a chore than enjoyment. Maybe I just missed the stale part of TMNT since I only recently started reading again.
Great: Like I said up above, Aaron took the turtles and made them his own. It sometimes takes me time to adjust to new teams, as with the art this time and on Incredible Hulk during PKJ’s tenure. Also, I haven’t quite gotten on board with Al Ewing’s Thor just yet. But, I embraced Aaron’s shift from issue 1. I’m on board. Read below for more.
Art and Writing
I said earlier that the inconsistency of the art takes me out of the fiction some. It’s not a huge deal. But, I found myself doing a double take on a couple of the scenes because they just looked weird. In spite of that, the art worked with the writing well to help to tell the story. When you look at the pages I picked as my favorites this time around, you see what I mean. The first two come from issue 6 and they look like still images from the cartoon or video games. Vintage turtles. Same with the left hand image from issue 7. The right image from issue 7 shows how the comic medium allows them to try new things. I’m not saying they couldn’t do something like that in the cartoon. Just that I don’t know if it has the same impact as the simplicity of this comic page.
Jason Aaron is, generally, one of my favorite comic writers. Unlike some other writers, I don’t like everything he’s done. I didn’t think he was a good fit for Thor. I also initially went back and forth with Chris about whether or not his tone would fit with the Ninja Turtles. But, he made a smart decision. Instead of dealing with the team as a cohesive unit from the beginning, he broke the beginning of the story into four and told it from the vantage point of each of the turtles. Even now, they don’t work as a fully formed team, so it gives him the chance to do what he does best and work out those issues on the page. No idea how long the Aaron era will last on TMNT, but I’m in it for the long haul now.
The Verdict
Aaron has me hooked on the turtles in a completely different way from Sophie Campbell’s story. Both tell completely different stories effectively. I know I sound like a broken record a tthis point, but I can’t help it. I applaud Kevin Eastman for taking such good care of the turtles all these years. TMNT 6 and 7 keep the good times rolling. I look forward to another couple of decades of great stories to come.
Visit Kevin Eastman for all things turtles.
