TMNT #49

‘TMNT’ #49 cover art

• Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
• Art by Mateus Santolouco

A final battle looms as Karai decrees a “Gauntlet” battle between ancient foes Splinter and Shredder but first the Turtles must defeat the Foot mutants– Koya, Bludgeon, Bebop & Rocksteady! With Leo making an unimaginable battle gamble, a second Turtle’s life may be on the line!

Pickup your copy of ‘TMNT’ #49 from comixology.com here!

It’s been around 6 months since I last reviewed a copy of ‘TMNT’ and it’s safe to say that A LOT has happened in that time!

‘TMNT’ #43 (reviewed here) saw the build-up to one of the biggest twists in the history of the comics, the ‘death’ of Donatello. It was seen a such a big move for the franchise that it made the headlines across the world and whilst subsequent issues showed that it was only Donatello’s body which had suffered near fatal injuries his consciousness has lived on inside a purpose built robot.

‘TMNT’ #49 drops you in to the climax of another big arc for the series, it’s not the all-out end to this arc but with the final battle drawing to a close the series is doing what it does best and re-focussing on its core family values. What ‘TMNT’ does with each arc is pit the characters against an ever growing army of foes, we’ve had Shredder and The Foot, Krang and the Technodrome and even a growing number of other mutants outside of the Turtle family.

Each arc steps up a little more towards almost apocalyptic status and with that the fights last more and more issues each time.

For me as a fan of the cartoons and films who came in to this series from curiosity about the source material it’s beginning to tire a little. The cast of characters is huge so at this stage it is difficult for writers Eastman (original co-creator of the franchise) and Waltz to give each the page time they require, hence the number of spin-off series which allow more focus on those.

But that’s not to say that the series isn’t worth reading. The stories are still incredibly complex for comics and the way they do interweave the supporting roles in to the fight epic fight issues like this is commendable.

What, as always, remains the standout with modern ‘TMNT’ is the artwork. Over the course of the last 49 issues it’s evolved to become a very identifiable style which sets this book apart from others on the shelf. I have a great deal of respect for the team behind ‘TMNT’ #49 which his what keeps me coming back each month… that and Donatello is my favourite turtle so I need to know how this story turns out!

As this is the end of an arc this isn’t the place to start reading the series, hop back to #43 is you want to join the party!

3 stars