Thinking should never be the enemy of entertainment. But at a certain point you have to let the madness of Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything wash over you and carry you away. The bulk of what makes this mini-series work is watching our titular dummies blithely joyride their way across the fragile surface of reality. I find the funniest bits of this issue are the continued "aw, screw it" attitude toward explaining causality and the increasing complexity of the central problem, Renet, the only one smart enough to at least pretend to know what's going on, frequently stops to attempt something in the way of explanation. And it always leaves more questions unanswered.
Also, very entertainingly, Bebop and Rocksteady decide to mentor their younger selves. Somehow, contemporary Bebop and Rocksteady are actually wiser, despite possessing little intelligence. Their younger selves are more impulsive and prone to rudeness. It is bizarre and fascinating to witness the small differences made by the passage of time. The four of these guys together are incredibly dangerous, however. Their combined force of ignorance of course leads to calamity. But they are not solely responsible for the book’s time troubles. You get the impression that with every time jump and indeed every action the mini-series’ characters -- including the turtles -- are in fact destroying everything. A diagram of the changes being made throughout time would be a downright inscrutable morass.
Sophie Campbell's art stands out among the slew of illustrator cooks in this kitchen. While Campbell brings the cute, Milonogiannis gives past New York a rougher, grimy aesthetic. Each scene transition is marked by a change of artist, and everything looks appropriate.
A decently funny and (at very few times) kind of sweet issue.
[su_box title="Score: 3/5" style="glass" box_color="#8955ab" radius="6"]
TMNT: Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #2 Writers Ben Bates, Dustin Weaver Artists: Ben Bates, Sophie Campbell, Giannis Milonogiannis Colorists: Bill Crabtree, Sophie Campbell Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 6/8/16 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital
[/su_box]