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IDW Comics reviews 7/22/26 – TMNT 300

Jeffrey Lyles , , , , ,

IDW celebrates a massive milestone with the release of TMNT 300, the 20th issue of the ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, but the 300th overall.

Regular series writer Gene Luen Yang doesn’t make TMNT 300 a “clip show” from the highlights of yesteryear. Yang writes the main story for TMNT 300, which features several classic fan favorites in an organic way to set up the series’ next big arc. Instead of a one-off celebration the TMNT 300 creative team realized it was more important to craft a story with a hook to keep readers who might pick up the big anniversary issue into picking up issue 21 next month.

The Turtles have gained possession of the Ujiami Door Knocker, which allows the user to access portals to the land of the dead. Leonardo and his brothers haven’t exactly misused the door knocker, but they have utilized it to reunite their family, including Splinter and their mother, Tang Shen.

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Those decisions haven’t exactly sat well with Lady Izanami and General Eight Thunders from the Land of the Dead. They task Shen with returning the dead they encounter and return them to the Land of the Dead with a magical Kusarigama. General Eight Thunders makes it clear when Shen has restored the balance of the Veil of life and death, she is to use the Kusarigama on herself and return to the Land of the Dead as well.

Naturally such a powerful device attracts all kinds of attention, from both the Turtles allies like Casey Jones and some of their most consistent rivals like Karai and Koya. The door knocker is proving to be a blessing and a curse for the Turtles and Yang does a fantastic job of creating a significant moral dilemma for them. Using the door knocker to aid their friend could lead to some major repercussions while it getting into the wrong hands could result in far more dangerous scenarios for the reunited Turtle family.

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Artist Freddie E. Williams II brings his usual dynamic inviting style to TMNT 300 giving the issue a tangible vibrancy that makes something as simple as the Turtles sitting down with their parents a lively engaging moment. Naturally when it’s time for more intense action sequences, Williams doesn’t disappoint with panels filled with unique perspectives to truly deliver a unique presentation to the Turtles fending off some of their fiercest foes.

Colorist Andrew Dalhouse provides a bright color palette that complements Williams’ style wonderfully. Letterer Shawn Lee sets up some fun sound effect fonts and clean dialogue as well. The Veil arc offers up some very tantalizing subplots and the creative team seems poised to further defy expectations with this storyline.

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TMNT 300 has a secondary story written by co-creator Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz. Timeline Cleanse provides the opportunity to look back at some of the various eras of the franchise told in a unique fashion by Renet while she’s helping Lord Simultaneous clean up the mess following the fun TMNT: Battle Nexus series. It’s a simple, but fun nod to some of the biggest phases of the Turtle phenomenon with a clever nod to the future told by artists Chris Allan, Ben Bates, Frank Fosco, Jim Lawson, Dan Duncan and Eric Talbot with colorists Luise Antonio Delgado and Ronda Pattison.

As far as major milestone celebrations go, TMNT 300 was a major success largely because of the smart forward-thinking approach to keep readers, old and new engaged in what’s ahead for their four favorite turtles and their supporting cast. This is a tremendous jumping on point and a good way to rekindle your love of the franchise all over again.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Photo Credit: IDW

After checking out TMNT 300, catch up on the series and pre-order Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ujigami in trade paperback at Amazon. 

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 

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