The raddest TMNT event of the decade kicks off here! When one of the Turtles’ closest allies is taken hostage by a mysterious adversary, the brothers are drawn into a new dimension of adventure in the Battle Nexus. This blistering five-part weekly series finds the Ninja Turtles fighting for their lives in a martial arts challenge unlike anything they’ve faced, with four deadly champions selected from across 40 years of TMNT media to destroy the Ninja Turtles! EVERY Ninja Turtle. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle Nexus #1 kicks off a battle where the Heroes in a Half-Shell will meet characters from across the TMNT universes.
With a story by Tom Waltz, Paul Allor, Sophie Campbell, Caleb Goellner, and Erik Burnham, and script by Waltz, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle Nexus #1 is a weekly release that is another entry into the recent competition fight genre. In recent months, there’s been a slew of these types of releases, all with their own little spin. The comic isn’t bad but so far hasn’t quite delivered a must-read hook beyond the concept of the Turtle multiverse.
The issue opens with the Turtles taking on Bebop and Rocksteady before they’re snatched to a land where they’ll fight… for something. It’s Secret Wars, DC KO, so much we’ve seen before by this but folds in characters from various Turtles series. That creates some potential for the series but the initial fight that opened the issue felt more awkward than exciting and the first opponent at the end seems interesting with where it’s going but is presented in a way that falls a little flat.
And flat describes a lot of the comic. The villain and those revealed seem to have some history with the Turtles but this casual reader has no idea who they are so their history isn’t a factor. We also get a rather odd monologue that feels a little stilted sort of explaining what’s going on. The story and dialogue just feel a little off.
The art by Esau Escorza and Isaac Escorza with color by Luis Antonio Delgado and lettering by Tom Napolitano is also just ok. The Turtles have been blessed with some amazing art in recent years and that includes the Escorza’s work on The Last Ronin. This art though doesn’t quite feel like theirs with a style that feels like a blend of that recent work and art from the Mirage days. Like the dialogue, something feels slightly off about it all. There’s some solid panels and pages but overall, it doesn’t quite click for me.
The issue isn’t bad and there’s some entertaining aspects to it but it also doesn’t quite deliver enough. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle Nexus #1 leans into Turtle nostalgia it feels like and if you don’t know the characters, it doesn’t click. The battle itself is at the beginning and drags on, before the main story begins. It takes too long to get to the meat. As a weekly release, this might go a bit better since there won’t be long lags between issues but as a debut, the series feels like it’s one for the Turtle fans.
Story: Tom Waltz, Paul Allor, Sophie Campbell, Caleb Goellner, Erik Burnham Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Esau Escorza, Isaac Escorza
Color: Luis Antonio Delgado Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25 Recommendation: Read
IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
