This was a fun romp. I can’t say that it enriched the main series in the way that Raphael’s issue did, but it could also be that I haven’tread the fifth issue yet and it actually does. Just like with Raph’s one-shot,this issue only follows Mikey around as he sits all day in a movie theater being romanced by the silver screen; enough that he’s reluctant about heading home to his brothers, but instead wants to have a solo adventure on New Year’s Eve.

He ends up at a museum event that is playing host to a costume party. Mikey takes advantage of this situation after a man dressed as a dinosaur decides not to attend. Once inside, Mikey is mistaken for the man who left the party and gave Mikey his change to enter. He finds himself in the middle of jewel heist but decides to play along. He uses his brother’s training to get himself out of the situation, but finds that in the end it’s more complex than even he thought.

Again, this book is fun. I’m sure the end sequence will come into play in the main story, but for now I was content with the issue being just fun and exploring Mikey’s personality more. In the old Turtles dynamic he was always under-developed and really just there for a one off gag. Now he has much more personality thanks in large part to Brian Lynch.

The art style is really good and once again fits the Turtles really well. Andy Kuhn has a very fitting style that I would enjoy seeing on future issues. Frankly the art for this micro-series has been much better than that of the Godzilla series. Kuhn is a strong artist with a great style that fits the series and the writing very well, which makes the Godzilla series all the more disappointing.

There is no love lost between the between the Turtles and the Bastards, so it should come as no surprise that this book was very good. It was simple, but at the same time very deep with character development. If you’ve enjoyed IDW’s Turtles so far, then this is another worthy addition to the team.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Brian Lynch

Penciller: Andy Kuhn

Colors: Bill Crabtree

Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99

Release Date: 12/28/2011