TMNT: The Last Ronin #3 // Review
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the apocalypse sound like an odd couple, but go together like peanut butter and jelly. The Archie Comics run from the early 90s gave us a world ravaged by climate change with a bad future for almost everyone involved, and even the recent 2012 animated series ended with a post-apocalyptic adventure. For fans who’ve demanded more, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin comes from IDW to satisfy that hunger.
The third issue of The Last Ronin is brought to us from the writing trio of Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, and Tom Waltz. Pencils and inks again come from Esau and Isaac Escorza, with assistance from Ben Bishop and Kevin Eastman. Samuel Plata and Luis Antonio Delgado worked on the colors, while Shawn Lee letters the book.
With the threat of the last Ninja Turtle back in New York to finish what his family started, Hiroto Saki has clenched the iron fist that he holds the city under. Martial law has become enforced as he tries to hunt down the last of the Hamato clan, with robots threatening to kill civilians if they get in the way. As Saki’s sanity falls away, can the last Ninja Turtle free New York City from his tyrannical rule, or is he just out for revenge?
While the main meat of the summary is dedicated to the here and now, much of this comic fills in the gaps with how the Hamato clan (and the Turtles) were reduced. A war on multiple fronts between the Turtles, Foot, and a third party could have been teased in lesser comics. However, fans are given a real treat with a fantastic sequence showing how key characters fell and passed away. While not all the questions have been answered yet, the book looks to be revving up for a major showdown as the city erupts into unrest.
Kevin Eastman’s pencils once again get a great workout with flashbacks for both the Ronin and April, and remain a welcome side-act to the main artwork. That isn’t to look down upon the main book, either, as the Escorzas are doing an utterly fantastic job on the main book with Ben Bishop. The updated “future” designs for the flashbacks are delightfully solid and straddle that line between practical and toy design that TMNT has thrived with, and the Ronin remains a wonderful design. Speckled spots along the limbs and head mimic liver spots on a human, while the excess wrinkles actually add to the feel of a humanoid turtle.
If you’re picking up this issue on a whim, you won’t be horribly lost. However, we still strongly urge you to pick up the previous issues before reading this one. While the main story is still waiting for the major action to start, the flashbacks are more than enough to satisfy the fans who love their TMNT to be action-packed. And for those who want a little more thought and world-building in their Old Man stories, this one is sure to please.
