Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2023: Out of Time

This year’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual is a shallow tale that serves only to set up future stories for the Turtles to tackle and bears a similar resemblance to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. While there are still some positives with fragments of the writing and particularly the artwork, this book is also brought down by factors concerning what it offers versus how it’s priced.

This issue sees a $3.00 price hike from the standard issue, based on the notion that this would be an oversized issue. However, and this is surprising as IDW is often an economically conscious publisher, this issue is only longer by about eight pages. Moreover, being a significant first appearance for the series of a character that’s explicitly hinted to have a role in the series’ future, it becomes something that ongoing TMNT readers can’t quite skip, and it burdens them with an extra seven dollars that doesn’t align with the physical value of how much comic is actually in this publication.

The issue starts with an impressive shot of an old, grizzled Turtle traveling back in time to save the future from its past. After arriving earlier than expected, he tries to convince his past brothers to let Donatello accompany him in preventing the end of time. However, after some major revelations, it turns into a fight for Donnie’s life as the brothers confront our new time-displaced Turtle. Who is this turtle?

Well, it’s Raphael, and the portrayal of this fresh take on everyone’s favorite angry Turtle is quite strong. It feels like a natural destination for Raph to end up if he continued to hold onto the more unsavory aspects of his personality. His interactions with the core cast of young turtles, which includes everyone in the gang, are delightful and create a growing tension until chaos erupts towards the story’s conclusion.

Overall, the issue reads well for those who may want just a glimpse of the Turtles and aren’t currently up to date with the main book. It’s enjoyable but relatively straightforward. There are some moments of glorification and nostalgic pandering as well that are skillfully written, but they don’t necessarily conceal the fact that this story isn’t much of a narrative but rather a brief, superficial tribute to the turtles. The artwork in this issue is quite good, though, elevating an otherwise “meh” story. It’s dynamic and brimming with energy, utilizing looser pencils and various uses of dynamic framing that exude fun.