Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return to New York

Jason Aaron’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return to New York is a new take on the retro TMNT characters.

These four issues each focus on one brother, and you can see how different they are in these short stories. The first issue opens with Raphael in prison, which was a huge departure from the turtles scarfing pizzas and saying cowabunga.  Comicon.com says  “For everything that changes, some things remain constant, like how enjoyable stories featuring a group of young turtle mutant ninjas can be.” 

This edition, from Eclectable Comics, has variant wraparound covers by Mike Rooth, with an unlabeled wraparound style like a TMNT mini-poster.

In the second issue, we see Michelangelo, who has relocated to Tokyo and become a famous television star, playing a ninja, of course! Despite his fame, Michelangelo misses his brothers and his old life, but don’t worry, his past life is coming for this TV star.

Issue #3 is about Leonardo, and this was =easily my favorite story. Look, I’m a casual fan of a retro series here, and the dark and gritty new Turtle was a bit of a surprise to me. Grown-up Leonardo on his own path, though, felt like a grown-up take on familiar character.  Comics Online says “This is one of the best TMNT issues that I’ve ever read, and quite possibly, my favorite issue of the year”, and I agree.

In the 4th issue of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles storyline, Donatello finds himself suffering in a mutant zoo, as kind of a dark gladiator. Fortunately, we readers know this is temporary and the brothers will be back together soon.

These retro characters are back in action by the end of these 4 issues, and ready for new battles with old enemies.