Batman/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #1 (of 6): Crisis in a Half Shell

Batman, under the guidance of his sensei Master Splinter and accompanied by his teen sidekick Ninja Turtles, battles with the evil Smile Clan. Everything’s strangely familiar, yet it feels a little off. Can a shadowy figure make some sense of it all or is the crazy about to level up?

It’s a simple premise. Merge the two universes of Batman and the Turtles into one amalgam (Ha! Remember that?) and see what happens.

You know what, it shouldn’t work.

But it does.

Batman and the turtles crossing over shouldn’t work in the first place.

But man does it hit and hit harder each time!

The framework may be paint-by-numbers, but the cacophony of quirky details are what make good alternate universe takes really work.

Helps too when Freddie Williams’ style so perfectly suits the manic energy and pure comic book feel of the adventure. That the stylized art conveys the most recognizable pieces of both universes with infectious energy and a prideful grin across the issue.

James Tynion’s writing is stripped back, telling, action-packed, and infused with the energy of both properties. These are two fans of both staples from childhood adding another volume to a trilogy they’ve given all their love to.

The character designs are great, never too on the nose or garish. The action is exciting to view, and the book is an easy read.

What more could you want when cape and cowl meet cowabunga? It’s a good time wrapped in a loose mystery with so much pay-off you can’t help but feel good about this.

It feels just as modern as it does appropriate if it was it written at the height of turtle power. Does that make it a throwback, or does it just speak to the enduring nature of characters like these? Who, when written with the right balance of action, story, and character can do nothing wrong?