Whenever a crossover comic is launched, there’s a few set of rules that they usually stick to. Something will draw the two franchises together, whether it’s an incursion from one world to another or two foes joining forces. Characters will sometimes fight each other before joining forces. One or more characters will receive a costume upgrade of some sort. Turtles of Grayskull #1 is notable for how it manages to sidestep a lot of these tropes.
A key example? When the issue picks up, the meeting of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Masters of the Universe franchises has already happened. In a blisteringly brief page, Michelangelo recaps how the Turtles stumbled upon a deal being struck between Shredder, Krang and Skeletor…and how they got pulled into Grayskull to help Man-at-Arms and the rest of He-Man’s allies, especially since He-Man himself was missing!
That wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s an approach that lets the creative team of Tim Seeley, Freddie E. Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse jump right into the action. This isn’t Williams II’s first crossover event; he previously worked on the trinity of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and Injustice vs. Masters of the Universe with Seeley. So when it comes to the big action sequences, he goes all out – whole pages are full of characters from the TMNT universe and the world of MOTU. The Turtles also get a Eternia-style makeover, with Raphael sporting a helmet similar to Ram-Man and Donatello sporting his own Man-at-Arms style armor. Michelangelo even has He-Man style hair!
Dark Horse Comics
The color work from Dalhouse is what really makes Williams II’s artwork shine; he’s able to play with a wide range of palettes that gives each character a distinct look without causing any overlap. The Turtles still have their signature colors of orange, red, blue and purple woven throughout their Eternian getups, and their bright green skin stands out. The same goes for Andworld Design’s lettering; when Skeletor speaks, you’ll know it’s Skeletor. When Shredder speaks, it “sounds” unmistakably like Shredder.
But it’s Seeley who ties the whole thing together with his script, which goes in a truly unique direction. To say any more would be spoiling the surprise, but it’s clear that Seeley wants to set this apart from the usual crossover, which provides a fresh breath of air. It’s also the type of storytelling I’ve come to expect from him given his work on Local Man, and it’s an energy that these types of books can use. Overall, Turtles of Grayskull #1 is willing to zig where you might expect it to zag, and that’s what makes it fun.
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