Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20
Story Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script Tom Waltz
Art Ben Bates
Color by Ronda Pattison
Lettering by Shawn Lee
Covers by Ben Bates, Langdon Foss, and Kevin Eastman & Ronda Pattison
Editor: Bobby Curnow
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

From the opening panel, I didn’t think I would care for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #20. ONLY because I am NOT a fan of the Turtles in space. Never have been, don’t think I ever will be. I prefer the Turtles fighting crime, underground in New York City. Was my mind changed? Let’s find out…

Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz craft a VERY entertaining story in this issue, one that, I’ll admit, made me a fan of Turtles in space. When the series began, one of my fears was “How long before the sci-fi element comes into play?” It took awhile, which I’m thankful for, but what’s different about THIS time is that evolves logically throughout the course of the series. There’s no dinosaur guy appearing out of nowhere and dragging the Turtles off to a distant planet. But, back to this issue in particular: It’s the climax to the Turtles’ war with Krang and his forces and it’s VERY entertaining. There’s action, cliffhangers, and a few laugh out loud moments. All in all, a really fun comic.

Ben Bates does a great job bringing the Turtles to life on the page, and all the other characters too for that matter. His art REALLY fits the sci-fi world that the Turtles are in in this issue. If I had to pick on something that was his weakness, it would be that there’s a lack of backgrounds throughout the issue, which is a pet peeve of mine.

This comic is a shell of a good time! (Sorry. Had to.) It’s a really entertaining story with some good art that you’ll enjoy and, thanks to a recap paragraph inside the front cover, you don’t have to have read the previous nineteen issues to have a good time with this comic. You should definitely pick this up!