“City Fall” has finally begun and frankly quite a few of us have been waiting for it. Instead of a fight to the death to review this issue, we’ve opened it up to a group review so that you get the most opinion for your buck! As with all of our group reviews, the writers/reviews of Comic Bastards will give their opinion on the issue and then a score of: Buy, Borrow or Pass. Before we get started, here’s a blurb about this issue from IDW. “CITY FALL” part 1: A normal night on the town for Raphael and Casey turns deadly when the Foot Clan appears in full force. The resulting chaos is only the first step in Shredder’s master plan! The stakes have never been higher, and lives are on the line. Don’t miss the start of the biggest story arc to hit the TMNT yet!

Samantha: Buy

I am probably totally bias when it comes to anything turtles but guess what, they are freakin’ awesome so I don’t care. This first issue of City Falls is no exception. It has everything I love about the turtles; Shedder, fatherly advice, deceit, sneak attacks, and lots of ninja fighting.

I can’t help but be pissed off at Raphael though. Sometimes he needs to cool it and let Splinter do his thing. I think this was a great opening for this story arc because I feel such strong emotion for the characters and also felt like I was in the battle myself. I am excited to see how the brothers will treat the whole Leo situation. I just think some epic events about to occur and I wouldn’t want to miss any issue of this loved comic.

Eric: Buy

If you have picked up turtles yet this is the perfect point to jump on. This is the book I’ve been waiting for the ultimate showdown between the Foot and the Turtles. The action is throughout. It’s hard hitting and flows well on the page. It seems everything that was set up through the micro-series and the ongoing is here and there.  A huge cast is involved the: Dragon Gang, The Foot, The Turtles, The Savate and Kitsune.  Like I said before the book I was waiting for. I love this series but it seems the lack of the battles against Shedder the Turtles ultimate foe. The art is great but I expect that from Santolouco after reading Secret of the Foot Clan micro series. I’m still not a fan of his actual portrayal of the Turtles, but damn Shedder scares me. The story has so much more depth, Casey and his relationship with his father, Raphael’s and Casey’s friendship and the emotional tension of being a ninja and being a friend and brother. Others would be Shedder’s and Splinter’s past lives. This is one story arc that starts out hard hitting and I hope it continues.

Buy this book great place to start anew and definitely what some fans were waiting for like me. Bring on the action. This is going to be the blockbuster for the Turtles not the movie Michael Bay is producing.

Steve: Buy

I must admit, I haven’t been keeping up with the modern Turtle books. In fact, ever since I put my Wingnut & Screwloose figures back into the ol’ chest for the last time years ago, I’ve only had a vague idea what the boys were up to out there. However, after reading this issue (and a couple of the recent TMNT villain-based books), that negligence has clearly been a mistake. As an old fan, I found it very easy to jump aboard this issue without experiencing any ... shell ... shock? Sorry. But seriously, while the world feels “differently populated,” this is still the same old turtles: Raph is brash and has an antagonistic relationship with Leo, ooze is still around, there are references to the Technodrome and Slash, Casey Mafackin’ Jones is in it, and so is the Foot Clan, so in a way, this all feels like home, but now set within a new and interesting premise of a city-wide gang war. The visuals are going to take some getting used to, I think, especially with the turtles looking like a green, anime version of Chucky, but for the most part, I enjoyed my tentative retread back into the Turtleverse.

Dustin: Buy

I definitely went into this issue over hyped and while it wasn’t as amazing as I wanted it to be, it was still a damn good issue. I also have to take in account that this is the twenty second issue of the series and it’s still feels like the world is just barely getting started and that’s incredible. It’s been a long ass time since a quality ongoing Turtles comic was attempted and so I always give props to this series for that.

On the story side, it was great to see so many characters, but I need more mutants. Where the cartoon is constantly introducing new/reimagined mutants, the comic is moving very slowly with the process. For now it’s fine, but damn there were a lot of humans clogging up this issue. I loved the bait and switch with Casey and it though I don’t see him heading to the penalty box in the sky; it was the perfect situation to force the Turtles to choose. Personally, I think they messed up, but that’s why it’s interesting. This was a great start to the story arc and what was even better was the art. Santolouco’s Turtles have actually grown on me and I would kill for a poster of the opening “City Fall” page. It was so reminiscent of James Stokoe’s style, but with a Turtle twist. Very entertaining and worth the read even if you haven’t been keeping up with the series.

Jordan: Buy

I haven’t had this much fun with the Ninja Turtles in a long time. I’ve watched the show on Nickelodeon like many of you and like many of you came away pleasantly surprised, but TMNT is a different ball game. Still handled to an extent by Nick TMNT has a little more wiggle room as far as maturity of content is concerned. The result is a Turtle’s story that feels more congruent to what the Turtles should be, never cursing just to curse, never with any great amount of blood or guts, it just feels comfortable in its skin. It’s a good story and a nice way to kick off an event. Plus, Master Splinter punches a man in the throat. If that doesn’t sell you and you were alive during the 90s at all, check your pulse because you may be an android.

Score:  It’s a Buy!

Writers: Tom Waltz and Kevin Eastman Artist: Mateus Santolouco Colorist: Ronda Pattison Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 5/29/13