Writers: Declan Shalvey, Dave Baker, Jesse Lonergan, Gigi
Dutreix, Lorenzo Hall, Paulina Ganucheau
Artists: Declan Shalvey, Jesse Lonergan, Gigi Dutreix,
Paulina Ganucheau
Letterer: Nathan Widick
Cover Artists: Declan Shalvey, James Stokoe, Paulina
Ganucheau, Dan Berger
Publisher: IDW
Price: $5.99
Release Date: May 8, 2024
Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo form an
effective crime-fighting team. Yet what might the heroes in a half-shell get up
to on their own? Let’s grab a pizza, leap into the four stories in Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1, and find out!
Green Screen
Story
Donnie wants to track all the crime reports in New York
City. But the perfect algorithm eludes him. So, he blocks out the world while
he sits before his computer monitors, wrestling code to compute the most
effective way to fight crime. Declan Shalvey's story is aptly named. Once
exclusive to TV and film studios, now everyone can use green screens to
simulate reality. It takes Master Splinter to point out the obvious. His team
needs him, even if only to prevent the pizza from getting cold.
Art
Declan Shalvey opens his story in Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 with a shot of NYC skyscrapers. The TCRI
building rises in the center of the panel. He then moves to a dog, walking on a
leash with his owner. Shalvey follows with a shot of the subway before
finishing with Donatello hunching toward four monitors, surrounded by pizza
boxes, drawings, and his bō. The progression suggests his mutant heritage
forced him to live underground, so Donatello works hard to justify his
relevance to civilization. Once he realizes where he belongs, Donatello moves
swiftly to catch up with his brothers. He peers down into a warehouse where his
brothers battle an enormous enemy. Cowabunga!
Nathan Widick fills white dialogue balloons with large green
uppercase letters in Green Screen and shares Donatello's thoughts with light
green lowercase type in green narrative boxes. The letters are less distinct as
if printed on a dot matrix printer.
The Brutal Sword Of Leonardo
Story
Dave Baker and Jesse Lonergan contribute a sword and sorcery
tale to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green #1, as
Donatello's experiment with interdimensional travel goes wrong. Or perhaps it
goes right, as Leonardo arrives in a land that needs him. Leonardo bands the locals
together, battles the monsters that beset them, and protects the Crystal Shard
Of K’azz that powers their citadel. When a foe steals the crystal, Leonardo
leads a quest to reclaim it. Baker and Lonergan's story reminds us how
circumstances mold us and how power deludes us into believing we are
indispensable.
Art
The Brutal Sword Of Leonardo may only be seven pages, but Jesse
Lonergan packs each with a rampaging horde of panels to give his story an epic
feel. Leonardo wields a broadsword and leads his animal friends through many
dangers to the keep of Castle Death. The fantasy characters, settings, and
situations evoke stories from Robert E. Howard, Mike Mignola, H. P. Lovecraft,
and J. R. R. Tolkien. While I agree with his brothers that NYC needs Leo, I'd
love to see a sequel. As Jesse Lonergan lavishes green on his art, Nathan
Widick fills white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with large, black uppercase
letters.
The Flame That Fuels You
Story
Raphael tried to combat the Foot Clan alone. His brothers
came to his aid, but it didn't go well. As they return home, the turtles are
wounded and frustrated. Did Raphael forget he was part of a team? Raphael
dreams of fighting alone in Gigi Dutreix and Lorenzo Hall's story. Now, he
doesn't have to play by their rules. What might he accomplish if he didn't have
to coordinate with others and could fight crime without restraint?
Art
Gigi Dutreix’s ink wash art gives Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles: Black, White & Green #1 a ghostly appearance. With arrows
protruding from their arms and the wind buffeting their bodies, the turtles
shout at each other and exchange blows. Yellow-green flames surround Raphael as
he sleeps and burn at panel edges as he dreams. The flames swell to an inferno
as Raphael demonstrates his might. Yet a significant realization banishes the
yellow-green flames, replacing them with a vibrant green plant. Nathan Widick
fills yellow-green dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters. Anger swells
dialogue and prompts color change, while immense sound effects enhance the
action in Raphael's dream.
Identity Theft
Story
Michelangelo brings Donatello a substance in a jar. Mikey
accuses him of playing with snot, but Donatello can’t be bothered, so Mike
grabs another of Donatello’s inventions. Donatello doesn’t crave solitude in
Paulina Ganucheau’s story, so he plays videos of his brothers’ antics as he
works. Then he realizes they’re having too much fun with his invention, and he
leaves his lab to make sure he doesn’t miss out.
Art
Paulina Ganucheau imbues this story about a young inventor
with an all-ages appeal. This final story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Black, White & Green #1 focuses on the turtles' camaraderie and doesn't
take itself too seriously. Green fills Donatello's cellphone screen, his jar of
goo, and what happens when his experiment takes on a mind of its own. Nathan
Widick brings more green uppercase letters to white dialogue balloons, while
the recorded videos speak with black uppercase dialogue in white balloons with
green lines. Sound effects boost the fun quotient of Identity Theft as
Donatello's creations attack their creator with snotty fists of fury.
Thanks to IDW for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
The stories in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White
& Green #1 ponder the most effective means of crime-fighting, the influence
of power, and how creation often springs from mistakes. Donatello dominates this
quartet of turtle tales, reminding us how his genius helps the team battle
their superpowered foes.
Rating 9.5/10
To preview interior art for "Green Screen" see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
