It has been several months since we have been able to enjoy an IDW-published miniseries! Fortunately, the wait has paid off. Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #1 hits stores this week, featuring our top two lovable goons.
Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #1
Writer’s Note: Spoilers Ahead
I will not hide this fact about me: Bebop and Rocksteady are my favorite part of the TMNT universe. Whether it be comics books or cartoons, these two boneheads bring the perfect balance of fun and intimidation to every rendition of TMNT they appear in. The announcement of Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #1 back in March has left me anxiously counting the days until release, and the counting fortunately stopped this week.
We open with an awesomely beautiful two-page spread introduction of Bebop and Rocksteady, but quickly turn our attention to the Turtles, who are wandering around a museum. Donatello is bring his brothers to something interesting: a giant skeleton duo that appears to be Bebop and Rocksteady on display in the museum! As an aside, Donatello appears to be our narrator for this series, who breaks the “fourth wall” to inform the reader what is going on, something we have not seen from traditional TMNT comics in the past.
We turn our attention to the true heroes of this story: Bebop and Rock. The duo is currently facing off with an enemy they dubbed Reggaetron, who fights alongside Transformers-esq robots. After some great action panels, the two are victorious, yet frustrated, that their lives continue to stink. We have official confirmation that the current scene is appearing after the events of Issue #50, which means this is the first time we have seen the duo since the Foot Clan’s demise.
Back at the Museum, Mikey inspects a gem on a mummy’s chest, which activates the gem. After a beam of light, out comes the time traveler, Renet! Nobody, including Renet, is sure why she is there, and after some discussion, we realize that the gem-wearing mummy is actually Renet’s corpse. The Renet the Turtles are speaking with is an “older” Renet, meaning she has met the Turtles more times than the Turtles have met her (but notes multiple dimensions may be a factor). Renet realizes that if her corpse is there, it means she must have gone back to the Cretaceous period, and the only reason she would ever go there is because Savanti Romero stole her scepter!
Next, Bebop and Rock are reminiscing about how some loon recently tried to convince them to join their gang (referring to Savanti Romero). Not only did they blow their chances at the gang, but they lift “some crazy wand” they stole from him, referring to Renet’s scepter. In the middle of their conversation, the Turtles and Renet time warp into the layer of Bebop & Rock (since Renet can track her scepter). A battle ensues, and after some time, Rock accidentally activates Renet’s “crazy wand”, which sends the two of them into the past. However, it is the not-so-distant past, and they actually wind up in the home of their pre-mutant selves!
We always highlight the creative team behind the comic books, and this series is crazy extra fun. Your traditional one artist/one writer combination does not fully apply to this series. Instead, we have a team of multiple writers and artists working collaboratively on a single issue, which correlates with the craziness of Bebop and Rocksteady. Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #1 featured a story written by Ben Bates and Dustin Weaver, with art by Sophie Campbell, Dustin Weaver, Ben Bates, and Giannis Milogiannis. Colors were done by Bill Crabtree and Shawn Lee, and other contributors were Bobby Curnow (editor) and Ted Adams (publisher). Even though there is a varied creative team, the issue still felt whole and together. Avid readers of the monthly ongoing comic may sense that the writer is not Tom Waltz, and although the issue has a different feeling, part of the fun of this series is how different it is. The colors are bright and the artwork is so different artist-to-artist, that it is impossible to find something you do not like. When reading the title, I was worried that this series was going to be a corny mash-em-up, but Bates and Weaver have created an interesting narrative that will hopefully dive deeper into the Bebop and Rocksteady history.
Special Note: For backers of the Kickstarter campaign, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shadows of the Past, there will a free two-part adventure add-on featuring Bebop and Rocksteady! The comic pages for this add-on will be featured in Issue #4 and Issue #5, so even if you have never read the comic series, these issues may be worth picking up if you backed the game.
Bebop and Rocksteady Destroy Everything is a 5 issue miniseries premiering every Wednesday in June!
