Wednesday, May 2, 2012

TMNT Micro-Series: Leonardo

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series: Leonardo

Script by Brian Lynch
Art by Ross Campbell

The Solicitation
The final Turtle Micro-series is here! Leonardo, the eldest brother, has always valued honor and discipline. These noble qualities may not be enough against the most fearsome opponents he has encountered-the ruthless Foot Clan! That's right, the first battle between Turtle and Foot happens RIGHT HERE! This story also leads into the next ongoing story-arc. Don't miss this essential issue!

Preview

The Comic
This is basically an entire issue of Leonardo fighting the foot. I'm serious, that is about 99% of what this issue has. We get the first appearance of who I will assume is Shredder, and he kicks an already worn out Leonardo's butt. Along the way we do get some insights into what Leo remembers from the Turtle's past lives. He is the oldest, and is the only one who really remembers their mother and how she died.

Keep fighting is Leo's motto. And he demonstrates it perfectly in this issue. Literally there is an army of foot soldiers on each page and Leo just keeps fighting them as best as he can. We follow his thoughts through the dialogue boxes and there is just a nice flow to the issue that was nice to read.

The fact that he fell to Shredder so easily is understandable. I wonder what an even one on one fight would bring, or even a four on one fight with the rest of the gang. This issue just picked up a conflict form the main series and ran with it in a way that was very impressive.

The Art
At first I was a little thrown off by the art, but it grew with me on each page. I especially liked the image of Leo without the mask at the very end of the issue. There was something about it that made me think that Leo was still very young and not as old as one would think of him to be.

The fight scenes were crowded at times. It made me wonder how Leo got out of them, but the story gave it some credit. And in the end, Leo showed that this wasn't an easy fight with all the injuries he had. All in all, not too bad.

The Cover
I got the cover with an old school, red masked Leo hanging out in a back alley. I like the effect of rain on the cover. While it didn't really stand out on the shelf for me, on its own it is very nice and really well done with the details of the cover. I did have a chance to chose another cover, and I am glad that I stuck with this one.

Grades
Words: 9/10 - You get Leo at the end of this comic.
Pictures: 10/10 - very enjoyable once the look gets under your skin.
Recommend: Definitely. There is enough set up and dialogue throughout the issue that anyone who is unfamiliar with what is happening in the main series would be able to pick it up from here with no problems.
Buy Next Issue: Sure, it is the final Turtle Micro-Series, but did someone say the name Splinter? I'll be there.

Previous Issues
TMNT Micro Series: Donatello
TMNT Micro Series: Michelangelo

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