Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5

teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-5-coverWith the four brothers finally reunited the latest issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes a breath to give us a holiday issue which sees Raphael training with Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo, and Splinter narrating a flashback of the story of Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki.

I’ve really enjoyed this reboot of the Turtles franchise and the final issue of the year proves to be the best so far. Although bloody, the tragedy of Yoshi and his family is handled with skill as more clues to the Turtles’ past are revealed.

We also get a little foreshadowing on how April O’Neil will be brought into Casey Jones and the Turtles’ world as well as a sequence where each of the four turtles earns their own mask to showcase their individuality. Is the explanation of giving the characters different masks (as they wore in the cartoon) a bit of a stretch? Yes, but it works surprisingly well.

Although I’m still missing the original look of Kevin Eastman’s art this comic is proving to be one of best around. Best of the Week.

[IDW, $3.99]