Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2020
Mike Eakins
Recap
The Rat King lays in the shadows and plays the ultimate game of chess with the ultimate goal to further advance his evil plan. Karai is attempting to rebuild The Foot, what is Oroku Saki up to, and is that Krang and Leatherhead together? One this is for sure buckle up and know that anything is possible when reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2020 Annual.
Review
It has been a rough 100 issues for the turtles. Losing Master Splinter, Old Hob doing Old Hob things, Baxter Stockman is the mayor, City at War, the list goes on and on. That is just one of the things that makes this book so great is that does a remarkable job at connecting events since City of War and gives the reader a glimpse of what some of the major players have been up to. Tom Waltz to no one’s surprise does an extraordinary job of bringing these stories together and gets the reader involved in each of the stories within the book.
There are some really neat things that Waltz does within the book that really stick out as possible “big players” in the ongoing series. We see a newly formed Shredder with a new outlook on life. With this different perspective, one can only think of what is to come with this foundational character and what direction awaits him. We see Krang and Leatherhead fused together and I for one cannot wait to see when they make their way back to the main arc, they could be a complete game-changer.
Adding to Tom Waltz’s amazing story is the art of Adam Gorham who does a marvelous job at not only drawing a creepy Rat King but really captures what Waltz is trying to convey in the story. All throughout the book Gorham is amazing at making the characters come to life and perfectly capturing their personalities. The close-ups of Krang, Rat King is absolutely terrifying, and you feel like Karai is yelling at you! As much as I love the current creative team behind the main book I would really love to see Gorham bring Campbell’s turtles to life.
Overall TMNT Annual 2020 is like an old shoe that you have not worn in a while. It fits perfectly and feels right. Reading Tom Waltz on a turtle book just feels right. In my review of TMNT #107, I mention that this is a great time to get in the Turtle Van and take a ride. Even if you haven’t read the City at War arc (what are you waiting for) you will still be able to enjoy this great book.
Final Thoughts
Here we are with the TMNT Annual 2020 and it was so much fun to read, it felt like catching up with old friends. Now if my choice of friends is the Rat King and Krang I may need to reevaluate my qualifications for friendship. In all seriousness, I don’t know what else to say about The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and this great creative team that has and continues to bring so much joy to their fans. This creative team cares so much about what they put out and it shows. So, in my final thoughts, I just want to say thank you to Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, Ronda Pattison, Nathan Daniel, Shawn Lee, Mateus Santolouco, and everyone else that has worked on this series. Thank you for the memories.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2020: Where Do We Go From Here?
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 9/109/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10
