Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #17 Review

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Have you ever seen a bunch of animorphic Triceratops get angry? Well if not, you about to…

First Read Reactions

• Nothing puts a damper on your coup/assassination plans like bae showing up to talk some sense into you.
• You know, for a couple who are both badass warriors, Zom and Zog do an impressive job of talking through their differences in a healthy/constructive manner.
• Triceraton Fun Fact #1: The species may be ruthless on the battlefield, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a dissenting voice when whoever’s in charge calls for a revolution.
• Triceraton Fun Fact #2: See statement above about them being badass warriors.
• Triceraton Fun Fact #3: Despite the aforementioned badass warrior part, they can still write one hell of a farewell letter.
• Wait…what?

The Verdict

I wanted to like this issue a lot more than I did. The art is good and the story beats with a heart that is equal parts brutal and tragic.

(Yes, I just said that about something involving dinosaur soldiers. It’s been a rough month, so cut me some slack).

Unfortunately, it also feels very fragmented. There’s a lot left in the space between the panels or completely unsaid. In some cases, like the gorgeously choreographed outpost attack/farewell letter, it works great. Other times, though, it feels like we’re missing some significant chunks of connective narrative tissue.

And speaking of connections, maybe I just missed one, but I don’t understand what caused the major character disappearance/death.

All that said, however, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #17 is still a very solid issue–and a welcome entry in the series’ continued upward trajectory.