The ghostly visage of Darius Dun is aware that the TMNT have escaped his extra-dimensional prison, and he is not happy about it. Meanwhile, the pairings of Turtles and Ghostbusters each deal with their own unique brand of trouble in miniseries’ middle chapter.
COMIC REVIEW: TMNT/GHOSTBUSTERS II #3
(W) Erik Burnham & Tom Waltz, (A) Dan Schoening, Mark Torres, Pablo Tunica, & Tadd Galusha, (C) Luis Antonio Delgado
When you’re crossing over two properties like the TMNT and the Ghostbusters, you want the story to be decent, the characters to be portrayed accurately, and the overall experience to be fun. That’s three important elements. So how does this this series match up three issues in? Check. Check. And check. TMNT/Ghostbusters II #3 continues to be a fun, if disjointed, ride.
Writers Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz improve on the previous issue’s disjointed nature by jumping around less frequently. Yes, we are still following the four different teams in different locations, but it is handled in a much cleaner fashion. Time is spent with Mikey and Venkman, and then the book moves on without jumping back to them. Unfortunately, because the main cast is still separated, each of their narratives suffer due to a lack of real estate. Both the Raph/Ray and Leo/Winston dynamics are rushed and feel truncated, though the latter gets a bit of a pass for providing the issue’s cliffhanger ending. Meanwhile, the Donnie/Egon dynamic seems to drag on. These two characters are each of their respective teams’ deus ex machina, and dedicating as much time to their technobabble while the other teams are running for their lives is a bit of a lost opportunity.
Despite these narrative and structural problems, there really is a lot to like about this issue. The aforementioned structure of the story benefits the multiple art styles. Because the book isn’t jumping around so much, the art is allowed to breathe and allow the reader to become accustomed to it. Beyond the art, the character work continues to be top notch. Burnham and Waltz are the stewards of these characters, and there is a noticeable care and dedication to their respective teams.
TMNT/Ghostbusters II #3 is not a perfect comic, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s existence is designed to attract an audience beyond the reach of the main titles by delivering a light, fun, and enjoyable experience. And that’s exactly what it provides. Despite its pacing issues, it is a chore to keep from smiling throughout.