I felt a little underwhelmed with the first issue of Casey & April. It wasn’t that it bombed, but it didn’t seem like them. Being a huge TMNT fan, it is hard to get away from those stereotypes we all have about the characters. But I tried to do my best in the last issue, and I tried for this issue as well. And I have to say that I don’t think the out of character Casey and April annoyed me, but the whole plot itself is what did me in. When we last left the two, their little bickering made them annoyed with each other. So when it was time to do two things at once, April took the van to help this old man out, while Casey took the bike. Not a good idea. Of course April’s whole trip for this old man was conjured up by the Rat King. In the TMNT comic, this character annoyed me. His presence didn’t seem to make sense, so to put him in a new story made it more logical.
So we jump right into the lovers on their own path. Most the issue is spent with them just driving around not making it to their destination and wondering what is going wrong in their relationship. April has to help someone with a flat tire and tells her life story. Casey doesn’t find the armory, but a group of healers that are worried about his negative energy. It is just too much for me. I don’t mind the over done drama of it all, but the real problem is balance. There is no balance in the first two issues. We go from relationship trouble to relationship trouble. No action in between to break it up. I like when a story can move in a lot of different ways. It can done with action, done with villains, done with relationships, done with individuals, and so on. To stick to one thing doesn’t make it very dynamic. Then to stick to that one thing and try to have little pockets of action or villains makes it all confusing.
For instance, we have to wait for the last page to even see the Rat King again. Nothing happens on the road there. No huge life moments, no making up with Casey, no seeing something unusual. It just gives the comic a poor flow. Then throwing in the randomness of the couple meeting new people feels forced. It happens at all too of a convenient time. I really want to like this series. Irene Koh does a great job on the art. Casey and April look updated without forgetting about the TMNT comic, the emotions are there as well, and the focus on characters as oppose to background make it fit into the theme of the story. So I love the art, plus I just really love Casey and April.
I was interested in seeing what they could do on their own. Casey is always flying solo within the comic or in one-shots. I think April’s character in the past has been underused, so to blend these two together makes perfect sense. But for me, it isn’t working. I am hoping in #3 that once April gets captured and Casey comes to the rescue, we can see something progress and the comic grow into what it can be.
Score: 2/5
TMNT : Casey & April #2 Writer: Mariko Tamaki Artist: Irene Koh Colorist: Brittany Peer Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 7/22/15 Format: Mini-Series, Print/Digital