Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin #1 Review

by Carlos R. on October 28, 2020

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Last Ronin #1 Cover Graphic
Story by: Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, & Tom Waltz
Script by: Tom Waltz & Kevin Eastman
Layouts by: Kevin Eastman
Pencils/Inks by: Esau & Isaac Escorza
Page 39 Art by: Ben Bishop
Color Assistance by: Samuel Plata
Colors by: Luis Antonio Delgado
Lettered by: Shawn Lee
Publisher: IDW Publishing

Like I’m sure for many of you, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles played a huge role in my childhood. I have four brothers and the bond between Leo, Raph, Mikey and Donnie always hit close to home. When I found out about this series, I was all in. The notion that someday my brothers won’t be around is a thought too painful to express and I was curious to see how these creators would tackle it.

I gotta tell ya, they hit it out of the park with this one.

Quite literally my only grievance with this issue is that I felt it ended too early, granted I’ve got a thing about cliffhangers.

Eastman, Laird, and Waltz have created a brilliant first chapter to a story about legacy, family, and loss. There’re familiar notes to this issue and it genuinely feels the way the world of the TMNT would evolve. I don’t think I’ve ever considered that these heroes would someday not be all there, and that makes for one heck of a story point.

*Spoilers ahead*

I love how the spirits of the other three turtles were handled, the fact that the Last Ronin still carries their voices means the world to me, that the unbreakable bond between these characters that have been together their whole lives, through their toughest and most heroic moments has survived. The issue does keep you guessing about which turtle this is and it does a great job of playing with who you think it might be by the blend of their voices.

There’s one heck of a team assembled here: Ben Bishop, Eastman, Esau & Isaac Escorza, Shawn Lee, Samuel Plata, and Luis Antonio Delgado. I adore how reminiscent of early TMNT issues this is. It has the gritty feel to it and the designs of the future feel like a mixture of the worlds the TMNT have explored mixed with that of Blade Runner. There’s a ton of action to this chapter and it flows really well, we also get a chance to see the Last Ronin utilizing each of the brothers’ weapons.

This book is awesome, if you’re a fan of the TMNT you probably already have this on your pull list, and you won’t regret it! If you’re still not aboard the cowabunga train, I still say pick it up, this story has such an emotional core and deserves to be read.
 

Our Score:

9/10

A Look Inside