I never realized how similar the 90’s TMNT movie was to the actual comic. It makes me happy to see that one comic along the way got turned into a good film. Yes this is an insult to all those movies that suck ass and can’t follow a good story but instead steal the characters to make money. I do fear that with the new movie, two sets of comics, and the show, that people will be turned off by these ninjas. Too much of a good thing can hurt it. I think it is cool to put out these comics in a new color format in order to show fans the real reasons why these guys are so hip.

This issue is a little bit slower but I think it shows the true emotion of what the Turtles are all about. It shows them as individuals and as a unit. This is the issue right after the Foot Clan take down April’s home because the Turtles have been staying with her. Exactly what happened in the movie. The gang heads out to Casey’s place out in the middle of nowhere. They are all shattered and we hear about all their stories through April’s diary. Kind of the same situation in the movie where the boys are heartbroken over Splinter being captured and April leads us through each of their stories. Leo deals with his problems by going out to the surrounding area to hunt. Mikey trains a lot in the barn. Don fixes anything possible. And Raph, who April is most worried about, doesn’t sleep but instead keeps an eye on the house. It is nice to read about how different all the ninjas are. This is where their personalities come out and where you start to see how being a teenage ninja isn’t all it is cracked up to be.

April’s writing is therapeutic for her and I have to say I like when she narrates the comics. It is a fresh voice. Splinter finally brings the group back together. They start to train as a group again. The whole comic takes place within five months. So when the guys are training they are building their strengths up for a while now. Splinter tells the ninjas of what April has done for them and everyone now sees that have become a family and Shedder has only made their unit tighter.

Clearly, there is a big battle about to come in this series but I wasn’t bogged down with the lead-up story to it. I have always liked the quiet moments in TMNT too. These moments are just as important and again for me show what each Turtle brings to the mix when fighting or just interacting in the comic.

Score: 4/5

Story and Art: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Price: $3.99

Release Date: 6/5/13