4 out of 5

And so it begins: the kids animated series adaptation that left a lingering spell upon those that stuck with it as one of the most that-came-outta-nowhere evolutions into something greater than the sum of its initial parts… the run of Dean Clarrain & Ryan Brown on TMNT Adventures.  I’m sure any given licensed-run fan – Sonic comics come to mind – will have its defenders, but I’d still maintain that Dean and Ryan’s stream of 70ish books sticks out.  It has its ups and downs and predilections, but it also had a stronger sense of storytelling, and willing leap into maturity, than the comparisons that come most readily to mind.  It’s exactly the kind of book that’s really hard to pitch to people that aren’t into TMNT, but, like, it was really good, y’all!

And I’m surprised that that sensibility was pretty much there from the start.  Yes, we already have a continuity jump from issues #1 – 4 – namely that Bebop and Rocksteady are now on Earth with Shredder – but we also already have the Clarrain & Brown continuity building, with To Be Continueds nearly straight off the bat giving us a loosely connected 3-part story that premiers Leatherhead, Stump and Sling, and Wignut and Screwloose, with Man-Ray in the opening story as well.  Yes, true enough, mine elder eyes can now see the toy pandering in here (shoved in mentions to names of vehicles with which the Turtles or Shred are suddenly endowed), but it’s not so overt so as to not feel like part of the stories.  (…Mostly.  You witness some guys taking down a blimp, so your first thought is: go get the Turtle Blimp?)  But way more importantly, the inventiveness – the intergalactic wrestling is insanely left-field, this early on – and the heightened tone of the writing, where some of the jokes and conversation points aren’t just highlighting or stating what’s already on the page, is all readily evident.  It’s clear to me, reading this now, how and why the book felt so special: because it was different from other kids comics, filled with the oddball situations of the cartoon, but allowing room for a bit more complexity and respecting the reader’s ability to string concepts from one issue into the next.

Art-wise, our first appearance of Jim Lawson, and Ken Mitchroney returns for the other issues, with much, much better layouts than before due to – I’d say – Clarrain & Brown not being so slapstick focused.  The trade reprints some coloring / printing gaffs, and I’m never sure how I feel about that, but is otherwise of the same quality (and page length, and price point) as the previous volume.