Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Dan Schoening

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Editors: Thea Cheuk & Nicolas Niño

Design & Production: Johanna Nattalie

Cover Artists: Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado; Michael Kazaleh

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 28, 2024

 

After helping defeat the Troubladours, Old Hob, Manmoth, and Aka request the Turtles' assistance. The next thing Michelangelo knows, he is swinging on a dance floor with his brothers and their villainous foes. Worse, his Jive Talkin’ brothers haven’t heard of pizza! Can Michelangelo help Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael escape this Disco Inferno? Let's tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16 and find out!

 

Story

Old Hob reluctantly frees Michelangelo from the brainwashing machine. Old Hob explains he wants to brainwash the Turtles. But Michelangelo's resistance threatens to break Golgotha's machine, so he must break Mikey’s will another way.

 

Aka and Golgotha bring the brainpower to Old Hob's Pantheon. Drako and Manmoth supply the brawn. Yet even the brightest people can be overconfident. Old Hob believed the Turtles would pose no more difficulties, so Scratch took the minions offline to update their software. Nor did the Rat Queen heed Old Hob's warnings about the Turtle's indomitability as she sent her legion of rats away. But Aka makes the worst mistake in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16. She allows Michelangelo to trick her into releasing his brothers.

 

We don’t learn what simulations Old Hob trapped Leonardo and Raphael inside, but Donatello believed he was aiding them with his understanding of technology. Now they’re free of Golgotha’s brainwashing machines, but they're running around the castle, and no one has posted handy notices explaining how to escape this pocket dimension. As Old Hob wants them away from Earth so he can use it as a smuggling base, they can’t talk him into letting them return. So Leonardo tricks the interstellar gangsters into showing them how Old Hob, Aka, and Scratch traveled to Earth to subdue the Troubladours. It's a risky move, as Leonardo must split the team to make his strategy work. But if the Turtles want another Mega Gut-Buster Special from Perry’s Pizza, it’s a risk they’ve got to take.

 

Erik Burnham's story showcases how the Turtles fight defensively. They use their skills to deflect attacks rather than injure others unnecessarily. They also find fun ways to control and confuse the villains. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo never seek a fight in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16. Yet they win their battles all the same.

 

 

 

Art

As Old Hob, Drako, Aka, Scratch, Manmoth, and the Rat Queen close in, Michelangelo raises a hand and offers a pleading gaze. Drako lashes him with his tail. Manmoth charges him tusks-first. The Rat Queen launches a flying kick. Aka hovers above Michelangelo. The owl opens her beak, and energy rings descend. Michelangelo covers his ears and moves in front of the glass surrounding his friends. Aka’s soundwaves launch a blizzard of shards into the air.

 

While Old Hob, Golgotha, and Scratch stand before a large computer terminal and study a giant screen, the Turtles regroup outside. The golden castle sits on a slab of floating rock and gleams like Ming’s palace against red space. The orange, brown, green, and blue instruments that sustain this artificial dimension hover nearby. The Millennium Falcon couldn't land outside, but Princess Aura's shuttle might if the Turtles left the circular landing platform.  

 

Luis Antonio Delgado lavishes a loaded palette on Dan Schoening’s fanciful characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16. Manmoth’s orange skin suggests a link with Michelangelo, who gets the better of the Elephantine Champion Of The Multiverse in his brown boots and singlet. The Rat Queen's hair forms a link with Raphael as they compare their fighting skills and outlooks. Aka's lavender skirt suggests a link with Donatello as she recognizes the threat his technological prowess poses. Old Hob's blue-green shirt suggests an interesting comparison with Leo's fighting and leadership skills. The purple and orange smoke also touches on characters and themes in Erik Burnham's story.

 

Ed Dukeshire's uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons will please anyone who saw Princess Aura's shuttle and the Millenium Falcon cruise through cinemas during their respective films' original broadcasts to Earth. Words rarely shrink, embolden for inflection, and swell and change color for raised voices. Colored block letters introduce characters and time/space changes. Energizing sound effects help us hear soundwaves, smashing glass, laser blasts, and Manmoth punch through a wall in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16. Thanks to my compadres at IDW for providing a copy of this cowabunga issue for review.

 

Final Thoughts

The eyepatch he wears reminds Old Hob to be cautious. So, he surrounds himself with capable people. Old Hob assesses, plans, and strategizes to achieve his goals. Alone among the pantheon, he wears a gun and isn’t afraid to use it. To beat a guy like Old Hob, Leo must take a page from Face's playbook and employ distraction, diversion, and division. If Donatello can take a leaf out of the Doctor’s 1000-Year Diary, that might also help the Turtles escape Old Hob’s pocket domain in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #16.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #15 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Dan Schoening

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado; Felipe Cunha

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 17, 2024

 

The Turtles defeated Ogg The Magnificent and returned to Earth. (Or, more accurately, the comic's creative team overruled the puny porcelain partaker, but who's complaining?) No sooner do the Turtles resume their neighborhood night watch than a portal opens atop a New York City high-rise, and three musicians from a Martian Shakespearian band appear. (Remember, you’ve never heard Sonnet 18 until you’ve heard it in the original Martian!) Can the Turtles wrap up these Martian minstrels before Perry’s Pizza closes for the evening? Let's tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #15 and find out!

 

Story

In Erik Burnham's previous issue, Ogg pitted the Turtles against their most remarkable Saturday Morning foes from the past, present, and future. The magnificent munchkin didn't consider that future enemies might not know the Turtles now. Consider the Rat Queen, who repulsed the Rat King's advances before Ogg whisked her back to the Citadel and promised to flay the IDW marketing department for not expanding the comics’ brand to the Pantheon’s pocket dimension.

 

Ogg’s no Metron, but he allowed the intergalactic crime syndicate to watch the Rat Queen’s brief adventure in Dimension Z. Drako, Aka, Manmoth, the Rat Queen, and Golgotha discuss the Turtles’ merits in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #15, but their leader is the gangster with a plan. They're living the good life in the Citadel, and he doesn't want to move their cozy castle. He suggests they relocate their business activities to some backwater planet to avoid notice by the intergalactic authorities. Then, they can chill in the Citadel and not risk discovery by smuggling illegal goods in and out of their pocket dimension.

 

Of all Earth’s heroes, the Pantheon’s leader worries most about the Turtles. The half-shell heroes have a penchant for rooting out extraterrestrial visitors to their planet. What better way to occupy the Turtles' than with a diversion? Enter the Troubladours, who have a way with wind and string instruments and an appetite for destruction.

 

While the Pantheon assesses Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo’s strengths and weaknesses in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #15, they make the same mistake as previous enemies. Michaelangelo has a rocky history. Sometimes, his uncomplicated worldview allows him to see the solution without getting lost in overthinking. At others, his easygoing attitude lets enemies lull him into a false sense of security. As in the first two rounds of the odious Ogg’s three-part contest, Michaelangelo will play the crucial role. Yes, he may be a doof. But as the Pantheon perceives, that doesn’t mean he can’t inspire his brothers.

 

 

Art

Energy rises from the center of a round table to summon four virtual screens showcasing Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. A dragon clicks his talons and clutches his wine glass as he cranes his head with his long neck. An owl strokes her face and flutters her long eyelashes. An elephant with wrapped forearms squeezes grip strengtheners while the Rat Queen gives one of her charges a nut. An octopus in a hooded cloak smiles as it sharpens a knife and pours red wine into a glass. Old Hob slams his furry hand against the green baize, knocking over his wine glass. Like Emilio Largo in Thunderball, staining his white suit seems the least of his concerns.

 

Luis Antonio Delgado lavishes a loaded palette on Dan Schoening’s fanciful characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #15. The brightly colored good guys and gangsters stand out amid a lavender briefing room, a purple New York night, and a blue dance floor that reflects balloons and streamers. While Raphael is Stayin’ Alive in his white leather jacket, a red, purple, and black DJ spins the tunes for a vast cast of Jive Talkin' villains before a light blue haze descends, and the boogie baddies engulf Michelangelo.

 

Ed Dukeshire's uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons will please mirrorball lovers of any age. Words rarely shrink and embolden for inflection, while they swell and change color for raised voices. Colored block letters introduce characters and time/space changes. Energetic and colorful sound effects help us hear portals open to allow interdimensional travel, discharge energy weapons, and forcefields repel attackers. Thanks to my compadres at IDW for providing a copy of this cowabunga issue for review.

 

Final Thoughts

When an intergalactic crime syndicate needs a new base of operations, the villains pose as heroes to divert the Turtles’ annoying instincts for heroism in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #15.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #11 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Dan Schoening

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado; Jack Lawrence & Gigi Dutreix

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: March 6, 2024

 

When Leonardo shattered the replica of the Forever Blade, he and Shredder landed in feudal Japan. Shredder used Eddiku Yuri’s original sword to travel Back To The Future. Time-traveling Renet helped Donatello open a dimensional portal to get Leonardo home. Can Donatello use the replica’s fragments to track the energy signature of Shredder’s original? Let's order a pizza, tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #11, and find out!

 

Story

The artist Kai Eddiku used alien ore to forge his replica sword. Donatello tracks the ore in Eddiku Yuri's original sword and determines Shredder’s general vicinity. But until Shredder opens another dimensional portal, Donatello can't pinpoint his location. Thankfully for Donatello, Shredder opens a doozy to bring a new Technodrome from Dimension X. How will the turtles reach him before Shredder uses the battle fortress to unleash destruction on Earth? Say, might Michelangelo have the answer?

 

The final story in The Two Swords Meet trilogy brings the turtles to Long Island. It’s a gobstopper of a read, flavored with furious action and witty banter as the turtles battle to prevent Armageddon. Better yet, Erik Burnham gives each character a significant task that propels the plot to its epic conclusion.

 

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #11, Raphael is our viewpoint character, translating Donatello's technobabble and encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. Hard work and determination bring the turtles to the fight. From there, they've got to work together to prevent Shredder from accomplishing his plans. Michelangelo's wacky brilliance demonstrates the pluses and perils of playing with power irresponsibly, and Leonardo reminds us why he's the leader of the “Heroes in a Half Shell.”

 

Renet’s role in the trilogy approximates that of the White Guardian in the Doctor Who series The Key to Time. Expect a few cameos, including one from another popular IDW franchise. But don’t be like Bebop and Rocksteady. Bring snacks as you ponder the paradoxes in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #11!

 

 

 

Art

Dan Schoening welcomes readers into Donatello’s underground laboratory with perplexed turtles and a sad emoji. Krang’s classic lowrider adds a touch of class to a barren plot in Long Island. As Shredder raises his sword and opens a transdimensional portal, his cape lifts to embrace the spherical Technodrome. Bebop and Rocksteady's mouths gape while Krang smiles as his long-desired Battle Fortress emerges from the angry void that slowly devours the sky.

 

Luis Antonio Delgado contrasts Shredder’s blue portal with Leonardo’s yellow one. Fern green bushes, brown dirt, and an aqua sky form the backdrop for Eric Burnham's "The Two Swords Meet" story. Shredder slashes the Forever Blade and fills Long Island with colorful Foot Soldiers and white robots. Delgado colors Shoening’s Deathstar-like Technodrome in shades of purple. Its centerpiece—a glowing red eye—evokes a villain from another popular film series.

 

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 Donatello's devices, Raphael skewer Foot Soldiers, and Leonardo delivers his master stroke. Immense silver letters herald the entry of Renet’s Little Weirdness. Let’s hope the surprise guests stick around longer than she estimates, at least until the next issue!

 

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

 

Final Thoughts

The Turtles must use all their strengths to prevent the Technodrome from striking back in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #11.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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

 

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #10 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Dan Schoening

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado; Jack Ho

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: February 7, 2024

 

Artist Kai Eddiku used his family’s secret sword-making techniques and Shredder’s stolen alien ore to reforge the Forever Blade. Leonardo used a technique Master Splinter taught him to shatter Shredder’s sword. Then Leonardo got sucked into the time/space vortex Shredder summoned. Can Professor McGuffin, the head scientist at TCRI, help Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo rescue Leonardo from feudal Japan? Let's order a pizza, tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #10, and find out!

 

Story

After analyzing shards of Shredder's sword, Professor McGuffin confirms Donatello’s suspicions. While he can offer no new leads, McGuffin provides a copy of his analysis on floppy discs. In feudal Japan, riders interrupt Shredder and Leonardo's argument over who is responsible for their incredible journey. Fate intervenes as a party accompanies the ancestor of Kai Eddiku to Lord Hayao. Shredder summoned the ghost of the original sword master before commissioning the artist to make his sword. The Eddiku Yuri's appearance helps Shredder realize how he can return home.

 

Beneath the streets of New York, Donatello assembles computer equipment to confirm Professor McGuffin's findings. The turtles must discover how to unleash the psychoreactive energy in the sword fragments. Renet arrives to deliver a warning of dire peril. Then she realizes that, yet again, she's arrived too soon! Thankfully, Michelangelo's got an idea. Who better to help them than the Mistress Of Time and Space? If only Renet weren't forbidden to interfere!

 

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #10, the psychoreactive energy in Kai Eddiku’s modern-day replica forges a connection with the original Forever Sword. Erik Burnham also delves into Japanese folklore, suggesting the difficulties samurai and lords faced interacting with troublesome Earth spirits. Raphael may not know how a pinball machine works. Still, he proves an able negotiator, wielding reason rather than sai to overcome a seemingly hopeless dilemma.

 

 

Art

Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Professor McGuffin don goggles to watch a laser lathe analyze a hovering sword shard. An arrow flies between Leonardo and Shredder, interrupting their sword and claw battle. The riders' horses wear metal helmets. Above Shredder's helmet, his miniature interacts with the tiny ghost of the famous sword master. Leonardo slashes an arrow in midair but can't defend against a bonk from behind.

 

From the purple hues of Professor McGuffin’s laboratory to the greenery of feudal Japan, Luis Antonio Delgado’s vibrant colors infuse Dan Schoening's TV Animation-style art with life and energy in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #10. Renet’s radiant appearance darkens the brick-lined lab. Later, her staff projects an equally luminous hologram. Unlike Kai Eddiku’s replica, Eddiku Yuri's original Forever Sword glows light blue, matching Renet and her hologram. Yet pink dominates the way Leonard returns home.

 

Ed Dukeshire’s uppercase black and colored letters inhabit white dialogue balloons in Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #10. Shredder's thoughts appear in puffy Old School balloons rather than modern narrative boxes. Red-edged giant white letters steer us through time and space, while sound effects help us hear Leonardo’s battle with Lord Hayao, who commissioned the troublesome time-traveling katana. Thanks to my compadres at IDW for providing a copy of this cowabunga issue for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Leonard becomes a mythical Japanese being, Shredder tricks a feudal lord, Raphael overcomes his downbeat outlook, and Professor McGuffin needs to upgrade to CD-Roms in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #10.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

 

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #9 Review

 

Writer: Erik Burnham

Artist: Dan Schoening

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artists: Jack Lawrence & Gigi Dutreix; Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado; Tim Levins & Gigi Dutreix

Publisher: IDW

Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 10, 2024

 

Artist Kai Eddiku used his family’s secret sword-making techniques and Shredder’s stolen alien ore to reforge the Forever Blade. Can Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo prevent Shredder from wreaking mayhem through time and space? Let's order a pizza, tune into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #9, and find out!

 

Story

Kai rarely delivers his creations, but Shredder's lair provides unexpected inspiration. The artist wants to paint Krang, but Bebop and Rocksteady throw Kai out before the walking brain can commission a portrait. Still, Krang’s got enough to do. He wants to imbue the alien ore with psychoreactive properties. Then all Shredder must do is focus, and the Foot Clan leader can travel anywhere in time and space.

 

Travel drains the Forever Blade. Battle energizes it. Shredder isn’t interested in exploring the universe with a companion or convincing famous historical personalities to help him pass an exam. The evil Ninja Master wants cash. Why not sidestep into a neighborhood bank and make plans for world domination later?

 

The Turtles detect Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady’s heist. Leonardo wants to prevent Shredder from escaping before the police arrive, but an army of robot fighters proves a time-consuming distraction. Has Leonardo learned enough from Splinter to constrain a Ninja Master wielding a sword of power?

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #9 brings back the Footbots from the original animated series and serves as a sequel to the third season episode “The Ninja Sword of Nowhere.” Erik Burnham’s tale demonstrates Donatello’s scientific mindset, Raffael’s love of pop culture, and Leonardo’s reverence for their sensei Splinter. Plus, Michelangelo gets to fight and cry, “Cowabunga!” The issue ends on a cliffhanger that promises more than contemporary conflicts in the next issue of this three-part story. 

 

 

 

Art

Michelangelo needs a helmet and padding to protect against Splinter's swordplay. A glowing figure materializes in the turtles' training room. Hovering in her superhero suit and cape, the time traveler wears a helmet that sprouts fins and equipment. She clutches a staff adorned with alien fingers and claws. Krang extends tentacles from his mechanical walker to fire a gun. Bebop adopts a bodybuilder pose as he wields Shredder’s glowing sword. Ignoring shelves laden with gold bricks, Bebop shares Rocksteady’s glee as the wily warthog and the riotous Rhino fill bags with cash in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #9.

 

From the blue-white glow accompanying the time traveler's materialization to the yellow-orange blade that creates similarly colored fissures, Luis Antonio Delgado’s vibrant colors breathe energy into Dan Schoening’s art. Delgado contrasts an ample use of gray with vibrant colors like pink, purple, and orange in Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #9. Shadows fall upon characters, swords reflect light, and gray smoke evokes storm clouds. Buildings blaze with light as the turtles attack Shredder under a moonlit purple sky. Green figures leap above and wade through a sea of black and purple as they battle the evil Ninja Master’s robotic reinforcements.

 

Aside from the odd murmur, Ed Dukeshire’s black and colored dialogue in white balloons is easy to read. His sound effects help us hear Shredder rip rents in reality, Bebop and Rocksteady break down a barrier, and the turtles sever Footbot circuitry. Thanks to my compadres at IDW for providing a copy of this cowabunga issue for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

A time-traveling maiden, a bank job gone wrong, and a magical sword threaten to unleash paradoxes on the multiverse in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #9.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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