Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Jack Lawrence

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Jack Lawrence & Luis Antonio Delgado; Chris “Mista Jonz” Jones; Jon Sommariva & Francisco Perez; Stan Sakai & Emi Fujii

Publisher: IDW

Price: $5.99

Release Date: June 12, 2024

 

Donatello brought Usagi to New York. Usagi guards an incubating dragon and helps out at Obento’s animal shelter. Michelangelo likes Usagi so much that he slapped the rabbit with a pizza. But does Usagi’s destiny lie in New York or his homeland? Let's order a thick crust pepperoni, tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1, and find out!

 

Story

Like the Turtles, Usagi patrols Obento’s neighborhood. When thieves break the lock on a shopfront, he gives them a good seeing-to. Applause erupts. Usagi turns to find his Turtle friends. Aside from their visit, the Turtles have another surprise for Usagi. Donatello has found a way to send him home.

 

Thanks to a suggestion from Master Splinter, the Turtles step through Donatello’s dimensional with Usagi. Leonardo loves the tranquil forest, Rafael misses the hubbub of the big city, and Michelangelo can’t wait to sample the culinary delectations of Usagi’s world. As they hasten toward Usagi’s village, a creature leaps from the shadows and attacks Usagi. While the two exchange sword blows, the Turtles strain to distinguish their dark attacker amid the shadows. Donatello brightens his Turtlecom’s viewscreen. When he shines it toward Usagi, the dark assassin dissolves in a puff of smoke.

 

 

 

Usagi’s friend Kai informs them that dark shadows have fallen on the land in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1. Vampires may not fill the skies, but Shadow Warriors have defeated the Shogun's elite warriors and captured all who opposed him. Their master, Lord Desmodus, now rules from a castle on a nearby hill. Could Usagi have prevented this tragedy? All he knows is that the holiday is over. It's time for the Turtles to return home so he can free his people.

 

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1, Usagi is called Usagi Yojimbo, not Miyamoto Usagi. The story doesn’t revolve around what it means to be a samurai or a ronin in Usagi’s world. Instead, Erik Burnham focuses on what the Turtles do best: helping others, supporting their friends, remaining resolutely upbeat, and defeating Bad Dudes (especially megalomaniacal alien bad guys). While all the Turtles shine, Donatello's quick thinking proves the sharpest blade. He helps them navigate the hurdles Desmodus sets in their way. Donatello also adjusts his thinking when he discovers more things in this dimension than are dreamt of in his philosophy.

 

 

 

Art

As green smoke rises above a city bathed in the yellow moon's light, three thieves wearing green shirts adorned with a brown shell break a gold padlock. While two wear square masks, all three wrap red bandanas with eyeholes around their heads. But Usagi isn’t fooled by the reptilian pretenders. Clad in his lavender Kimono and black Katama, Usagi punches and kicks the thieves into an early night. The Turtles clap and smile while Michelangelo lifts his arms in admiration. Leonardo and Usagi bow parallel to the ground, sharing each other's gaze. The Turtles take Usagi to Donatello's lab, where Mikey enjoys a slice of Cheesy Pepperoni. Donatello presses a control and gestures to the portal as it shows the forest near Usagi's village.

 

Luis Antonio Delgado lavishes a loaded palette of attractive colors on Jack Lawrence’s art in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1. Delgado and Lawrence portray Usagi as he looked in the 1980s TMNT TV series. The black Shadow Warriors aren't hawks, but they have wings and will remind readers of a character from TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures #8. Desmodus doesn’t fight crime, but he displays a familiar symbol on the chest of his purple armor. Delgado casts Kai's memory in beige, tan, and brown, reminiscent of his village's wood frame houses and thatch roofs. Blue and purple robots hover around a pulsing bright green column, reminiscent of the armor Desmodus prizes.

 

Ed Dukeshire's uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons will please pizza lovers of any age. Words rarely shrink and embolden for inflection, while Desmodus’ computer utters larger machine font in rectangular boxes. Energetic and colorful sound effects help us hear swords clang, Desmodus’ jubilant laughter, and Donatello’s searing invention. Yet a gentle cough clears the air and enlightens the reader in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1. Thanks to IDW for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Raphael grudgingly leaves New York City amid signs of his rising popularity. Yet Raphael endorses their mission wholeheartedly when he discovers the threat to Usagi's world. He requests poetry, admonishes Donatello for labeling people, and discovers a new favorite vehicle in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures #1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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