The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continue to fight the Robotanimals…. who are the Mutanimals, only they’ve been turned into robots by Baxter Stockman. If you like a ridiculous premise aimed at kids, this book is for you!
COMIC REVIEW: TMNT Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals #2 (of 3)
(W) Caleb Goellner, (A) Chad Thomas, (C) Heather Breckel
I don’t know if I’m being unfair to the series or the creative team, but I just can’t get into this Robotanimals miniseries. Even though the idea of mutant/robot hybrids is an intriguing idea, the 3-issue format and using the version of the Turtles found in TMNT: Amazing Adventures immediately tips readers off that anything interesting in this story will be short lived and narrowly explored. And to the surprise of no one, that’s exactly what we get in Issue #2.
Before getting any more negative, there were a few things in this issue that I genuinely did enjoy. Writer Caleb Goellner does an admirable job in nailing the personalities and character dynamics of the Turtles and their supporting cast. Likewise, Chad Thomas and Heather Breckel bring the bright, energetic feel of the animated series to the page. Breckel’s eye-popping colors are truly the reason this book scored as high as it did.
With that said, there’s nothing to really pull reader into this saga unless you are a hardcore collector that must obtain any and all things Turtles. One such example is the wisdom that Splinter bestows upon his sons. There have always been moments in which the Turtles turn to their sensei for guidance. But this time, it is not organically woven into the story, but shoved in with the subtlety of an air horn at a funeral. Not only that, but there is nothing that helps the Turtles grow as characters, as Goellner instead recycles the same tired plot point of being in control of one’s emotions.
This Lifetime Channel moment is sandwiched between two sequences of pulse-pounding action… if you could understand what’s on the page. Thomas may have drawn on the brightness and energy of the cartoon, but his choreography is straight out of the live-action Transformers movies (not to be confused with the Transformers comics, which are awesome #notsoshamelessplug). It’s a confusing mess that is only partially salvaged by Breckel’s varied and gorgeous color palette.
At least the issue broke with formula and used this April’s genetic mutation as a means to give her an important role in the story. What’s that? She ended up captured and needs saving for the big finale?
*sigh*
I cannot in good faith recommend TMNT Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals #2. If you’re at your LCS this weekend, pick it up off the rack and give it a skim, put it back, and celebrate the fact you’ve saved yourself four dollars.
