Big change in the series published by HiComics. The 4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles leave New York to go into several dimensions. You will be able to attend the trial of Krang but also much more…
A divine family meal
Until now, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had adventures mostly in New York City. But the framework changes in this volume taking on another magnitude. First, the threat posed by immortal gods is becoming clearer. To present them, the volume begins with a meal of this Pantheon in the house of Baron Toad located in a dimensional pocket. This snobbish batrachian character is very funny making a counterpoint with his brother, the disturbing king of rats. The other gods and goddesses are the witch Kitsuné present as Shredder's ally for several volumes, the angel Aka appeared to Splinter in dreams and the newcomers Jagwar, Gothano and Manmouth. A mystery persists because brother Chi-You is still invisible. All brothers and sisters, each has like any god or goddess of a polytheistic religion a field of action – Manmouth is the god of war – and a totem animal often – Gothano has octopus tentacles reminiscent of a horrific creature from the tales of H.P. Lovecraft. Discussions quickly turn around mutants who seem to be a major issue in their competition. Indeed, at regular intervals in history, these immortals fight to know which of them is the strongest. It does not matter how many collateral victims may be affected by this family war. In addition, the risk of seeing the Earth disappear is even greater because Kitsuné wants to bring back their father, a dragon. Through the clumsiness of the servants and the weariness of Toad, the summit meeting becomes a meal of a very funny dysfunctional family. Very astute on etiquette, he has a hard time keeping calm while rats run around or Manmouth has not had to wash for millennia. The arrival of surprise guests at the end of the first episode completes to ruin his efforts.
Scales in another dimension
In the second half of the book, the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arrive in Dimension X to witness Krang's trial that threatened to turn Earth into an unlivable planet for humans (and mutants). Even though Krang is imprisoned, he still has strong influence and the other witnesses are still afraid of him. The Turtles decide to go into his dimension to help justice. So we have the pleasure of having a handful of episodes where the tension comes mainly from the course of the trial. The regular reader will have the joy of finding the star cartoonist of the series Mateus Santolouco and regular speakers: Cory Smith and Dave Wachter. The beginning by Wachter is brilliant by the mixture between the cartoon style of the Pantheon expressions and the realism of the animals. Conversely, the writers remain the same since the beginning of the relaunch with the co-founder of the series Kevin Eastman who advises the real writer Tom Waltz.
What if you started at 14?
This subtitle may be surprising but this volume can be a good gateway into a fantastic series where it is sometimes difficult to know where to start. Indeed, each volume is very connected to the next – like these cloaks of invisibility but here the meal of the Pantheon launches new plots that are easily accessible to neophytes. You will then have plenty of time to go back in time glimpsed in the third chapter by taking the previous volumes. This new volume is in line with this fantastic action series. The reader is captivated by the many adventures and encounters colorful enemies as the family of ninja turtles is finally reunited. But this volume also marks a break by proposing new dangers. It is therefore a good gateway especially since several pages summarize everything that has happened since the beginning. However, there are gaps and the series having a growing (relative) success, fans would be delighted by the edition of the mini-series and the Universe side series. You can find the chronicles of the previous volume as well as the crossover with the Power Rangers on these links.
