Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #12 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Sarah Myer

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Sarah Myer, C. P. Smith & Kyle Willis

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 24, 2024

 

Ogg The Magnificent is bored again. His thoughts return to the Turtles and how Donatello tricked him. Ogg promised he wouldn’t put them on trial again, but he must do something to pass the time. Can Mister Ogg put Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo back in their bubble again? Let's order a pizza, tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #12, and find out!

 

Story

Mister Ogg is the ruler of Dimension Z. (He got it on a short sale). Ogg has everything an all-powerful imp could ask for. He's got TV news reports from April Ogg’Neil, Saturday Morning Cartoons, and monster movie mashups on Dimension Z’s Syfy channel. (Yes, it's as wonderfully wacky as Earth's Syfy channel). Yet Ogg’s not satisfied. So, his mind fixates on what he can’t have: power over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

 

Wait! I thought you said he was all-powerful, Erik Burnham?

 

Like Dan Brown, Mister Ogg has angels and demons. Well, tiny ones. While they disagree on many issues, his angelic and demonic advisors agree to punish the turtles. But how? Instead of Wingnut, Screwloose, and their robot roaches, the turtles face big bad Billy Boom in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #12. Billy may have horns, a gruff voice, and a sonic disrupter, but he’s no #GOAT. Still, Billy is only the opening act (Or should I say, second opening act) in this long-awaited cosmic rematch.

 

Burnham’s story plays on the turtles’ vanity and pride. (Sure, they’re selfless heroes. Still, to paraphrase Raphael, that doesn’t stop them from selling their action figures). In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #12, Ogg’s challenge will test the turtles’ teamwork. The stakes are higher this time. But can they trust Ogg to abide by his own rules? Or will he get bored by the contest and kill the turtles anyway?

 

Let’s hope Q doesn’t read this comic and take the turtles to task for contravening universal law. (Or worse, put me on trial for breaking the fourth wall in a comic review!)

 

 

 

Art

Sarah Myer reveals Ogg’s unbalanced nature through strangely shaped TV sets and framed art. Myer also hints at Ogg’s motivation with the imp's interior décor. Panels showcase the turtles’ back alley brawl, a magical portal, and a distraction worthy of Star-Lord. I liked the characters' expressiveness and appreciated how Myer enlivened the story with attractive backgrounds. Star Trek fans should also check out the wallpaper in Ogg’s living room.

 

Luis Antonio Delgado lavishes bright colors on Ogg’s home in Dimension Z. By contrast, the characters and the circular sound waves breathe life into a dark alley. When a book sparks a blue-white storm, the turtles get sucked into a green tornado and transported to a pink and blue land under a starry purple sky. (Raphael, I don't think we're in New York City anymore).

 

Ed Dukeshire’s uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons are a sight for sore mutant-lovers' eyes. Energetic and colorful sound effects help us hear Ogg blast his TV, Billy Boom blow the turtles off their feet, and Donatello's shuriken strikes an electric fire. Multicolored stylized lettering in balloons ensures the series' logo won't lapse, while a wall calendar and a fluttering banner in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #12 prevent readers from Googling complicated words. Or worse, prompt them to reach for a dictionary!

 

Thanks to my compadres at IDW for providing a copy of this cowabunga issue for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When an all-powerful imp loses his taste for porcelain, he challenges the heroes in a half-shell to face epic odds and be entertaining in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #12. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo must be light on their feet and not overthink their strategies as they take on the almighty Ogg.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.