I have to start this review of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game Deluxe Edition with some real vulnerable honesty: I have never read a TMNT comic before. I know, I know. I grew up watching TMNT on Saturday mornings in the ’90s, and loved Seth Rogen’s Mutant Mayhem film from last year, but this absolutely gorgeous deluxe collection is the first time I have been able to really explore the mythos of the Turtles and their vast world. In many ways, my immense enjoyment of this collection is the greatest testament to the comic, because I went in knowing absolutely nothing, and still enjoyed nearly every page of this neatly arranged deluxe hardcover.
Like sorry… but… Dimension X? Two female turtles? Shredder is a hero? SPACE TRAVEL? I really have always viewed the TMNT franchise as being very “I am a group of Batman turtles who are also ninjas,” doing street-level brawls and fighting mutated enemies in NYC. So, what a pleasant and exciting thing to realize, that TMNT is truly expansive, cross-genre, and much deeper than I ever thought possible. Plus, the art throughout all the different parts of Armageddon Game is gorgeous, varied, and aligns beautifully with the intense action and heart spread throughout this major event. I will say, before reading this comic I truly thought most TMNT content was for younger readers (I was literally planning on gifting this Deluxe Edition to my six year old cousin…) and I have now quickly learned that NOPE, that is simply not the case at all.
IDW
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game Deluxe Edition features an epic array of comic writers and artists, including Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, Vincenzo Federici, Erik Burnham, Will Robson, Fero Pe, Roi Mercado, Juni Ba, Paul Allor, Pablo Verdugo, Casey Maloney, and Pablo Tunica. The massive hardcover collection, which clocks in at a whopping 736 pages, collects the 2021 Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles Annual #1, TMNT Opening Moves #1–2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #131–139, TMNT: The Alliance #1–6, and TMNT: The Armageddon Game #1–8, meaning this hardcover includes 26 full size issues! It is a true collection, putting each part of the vast Armageddon Game in a very easy to approach and understand manner, so much so that again, even though I have never read a TMNT comic, I still felt an emotional connection to the plot and stakes.
In addition to the epic main story, which features the beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Trutles and their various allies fighting against the Rat King and his pantheon of villains, this Deluxe Edition also includes an expansive gallery of cover art, fascinating story notes and planning from writers Tom Waltz and Sophie Campbell, as well as art developed throughout the event. This collection is hefty, and the hard cover is beautifully crafted, plus it includes a handy fabric bookmark that made it so much easier to find where I left off (I am simply terrible with paper bookmarks and usually just try to remember the “vibe” of where I left off last…).
IDW
I also just need to thank the writer of TMNT: Opening Moves, Tom Waltz, for introducing me to Cudley the Cowlick. This transdimensional cowhead, who first debuted in 1989’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #7, is SUCH A STRANGE DELIGHT! I have now gone on a Cudley deep dive and let me just say… clearly he is the best way in all of fiction that characters are able to traverse the Multiverse. So fun. There were many other character highlights, like Jennika and her relationship with her friend Sheena, the Dimension Z witch Cherubae, and Oroku Saki, the infamous Shredder. One thing I will say is that I found Null to be a weak villain, one who I wasn’t very invested in or engaged by… and clearly neither were the writer because by the end of Armageddon Game she wound up cryogenically frozen!
Armageddon Game ends with some epic battles, all fantastically illustrated and formatted, and the finale really ties together a lot of different storylines while also setting up ongoing TMNT adventures. After going through some reviews by readers of individual issues in this collection, many people said they liked the story a lot but since it took place over more than a year, it felt at times disconnected, and that maybe it would read better as a collection. While I can’t speak to the experience of reading the individual issues as they debuted, I can confidently say that the Deluxe Edition compiles the stories in such a way that a near-complete stranger to the TMNT mythos and history could thoroughly enjoy, and understand, almost all aspects of this major crossover event.
I really think that anyone who is interested in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, complex and epic storytelling, or comics featuring massive dimensional-teleporting cow heads would really love Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game Deluxe Edition. Plus, it just looks really stunning on your ever-growing comic shelf!
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