Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #60 Review

Last month, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #59 featured a subpar story followed by a transparent (and extremely lame) cliffhanger. This week, issue #60 looks to whip up some narrative lemonade from its lackluster setup.

Is it good?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #60 (IDW Publishing)

Observations

• I’m going to go out on a limb and say that these first two pages are foreshadowing something.
• The character who got stabbed at the end of last issue is up and fighting again. Imagine that…
• Kitsune’s power levels fluctuate more than a Jedi without editorial oversight.
• Alright! Jennika vs. Alopex! Now we’re talking!
• Huh? What the heck is this crap?
• A wild April O’Neil appears.
• You have got to be kidding me.
• Foreshadowing: Called it.

Is It Good?

Yikes.

Normally, a ‘bad’ issue of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is still at worst an average. This one, however, is just plain tUrrible. Not ‘terrible.’ TURRIBLE.

For starters, we all knew the cliffhanger from last month wasn’t going to have any lasting repercussions, but I still thought it might affect the character enough that he wouldn’t be able to have such a big impact on the story.

Then you have Kitsune’s ridiculously inconsistent powers, which should have at least provided us with some cool fight scenes. Instead, we’re given 1-2 page skirmishes that look and feel about as deadly as two drunk guys shoving each other on the subway.

And then you have the ending. If you ever wanted a good definition of what deus ex machina is, then look no further. Not only was the resolution totally lame, but it also heavily referenced a story that many of us (myself included) did not read.

We do get a somewhat cool epilogue, but that’s more because of what it sets up for Alopex in the future (along with a funny/chilling final shot of Splinter). As far as the main story goes, I wanted to be right there with Alopex running away from it.

Dave Wachter’s art is the issue’s saving grace, preventing it from turning into a complete dumpster fire. Still, I’m not sure I’ve ever read a less enjoyable and poorly plotted installment of IDW’s otherwise stellar series than this one. Let’s hope that writer Tom Waltz returns to his regular/exceptional form in August.