The modern artists trade pages with the original in an experience that feels like it’s coming full circle. This is a noticeable visual change, but what remains so impressive is how the story doesn’t skip a beat. This element of timelessness is especially noticeable when the story transitions to flashback pages drawn by Kevin Eastman himself. The Last Ronin looks like it could be a super-impressive indie book, and that was likely the goal. The mix of contemporary polish and 80’s indie grunge captures the distinct aesthetic that Turtles comics have always had, but to a somehow even higher degree. Ben Bishop and the Escau’s both craft a style that utilizes modern approaches but still feels like an Eastman and Laird comic. Much like the script, the visual team’s work is both a modern treatment and a tribute to years past. The addition of the new cast members in and of itself is a reminder to readers of this mini-series that the TMNT – and what they mean as characters – will never go away, even if their stories ever eventually came to a proper end.Įven more impressive than the already top-tier writing is The Last Ronin‘s exploration of the Turtles’ history through art. Their identities are, once again, a spoiler, but I’ll just say that their reveal will be a welcome surprise for fans. Functioning as both reflections of his psyche and reminders of why he must carry on, the Ronin carries forward with his brutal mission with the help of allies new and old. While Splinter and his brothers are gone, the specters of the latter act as guiding voices for the remaining turtle – whose identity is actually a major twist, so I won’t divulge it here. Both plots are equally riveting, but watching the final moments of each of the brothers as they fought to the end is sure to leave many a Turtles reader’s heart feeling heavy.Īs emotionally devastating as it is ass-kicking, the creators have written a story that encapsulates what the TMNT have been about as a cast and concept for their entire existence. The comic splits at times into two narratives: the “present” story with the Ronin returning to New York, and the past, which shows readers exactly what happened to the brothers, Splinter, and their allies. Now, while reconciling with the tragedy of his past and learning to trust his new allies, the last turtle – the last Ronin – fights to retake the city he and his brothers once defended. After living in exile, he returns to New York to find the city under the authoritarian control of the Shredder’s grandson, and the newest rendition of the Foot Clan’s army. The story that Eastman, Laird, and Waltz have crafted here is a sort of hypothetical “what if?” After years of war between the Hamato clan and the Foot clan, a decisive series of battles leaves only one member of the Turtles alive. There will be, as far as anyone can know and hope, always be Turtles comic stories – as long as there are people waiting in the wings to tell them. It should be made clear that The Last Ronin is not the *actual* end of TMNT comics at IDW. With that kind of legacy, and so much story that’s been told – how does it end? How can it end? Since then, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, along with dozens of collaborators, have continued the tales of the TMNT in hundreds of comic books over the span of 38 years. It’s surreal then that all of this started with a pair of friends drawing a black and white comic in a tiny living room in New Hampshire in 1984. Even those who have never seen any of the movies or read one of the comics could still likely name all four turtles and some of the extra cast. From the now-classic 1990 film and its sequels, to numerous animated series, video games, and subsequent comics, the heroes in a half-shell are some of the most immediately recognizable fictional characters in all of media. In the year 2022, it is hard to capture the influence that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had on comics and pop culture at large. Along with a slew of talented artists including Esau and Isaac Escorza and Ben Bishop, colors by Luis Antonia Delgado, and lettering by Shawn Lee, this landmark mini-series was gifted with a murderers row of Turtles talent to craft a comic story that works as both a stirring tribute to stories past, and a fitting potential end to decades of TMNT comics. TMNT: The Last Ronin is a 5-issue mini-series that was originally plotted by Eastman and Laird over 30 years ago and brought to life with the help of co-writer Tom Waltz.
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