Mars Attacks The Holidays
One-Shot
Written by Fred Hembeck, Bill Morrison, Ian Boothby & Dean Haspiel
Art by Fred Hembeck, Bill Morrison, Tone Rodriguez, Alan Robinson & Dean Haspiel
Colors by Phil Elliot, Ronda Pattinson, Kote Carvajal & Allen Passalaqua
Letters by Fred Hembeck & Chris Mowry
Covers by Bill Morrison, Dean Haspiel, Fred Hembeck, Phil Elliot, Alan Robinson, Kote Carvajal & Chris Giarrusso
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 31, 2012
Cover Price: $7.99

Mars Attacks The Holidays runs the gambit. From goofy to heartbreaking and back again, it’s one heck of a great read. And I have to tip my hat to IDW Publishing for putting out an actual HOLIDAY special this year! They’re one ahead of any other company out there in that respect.

OK, there’s a LOT of ground to cover, so I’ll try and get right to it and not bog you down too much. First off, there’s four stories here, each representing a different holiday. Included are Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Fred Hembeck’s Halloween story is typical Fred Hembeck. It’s set in the 1950s and follows a Happy Days like family on a trick or treat excursion, and later a Halloween party where things go…awry, thanks to three Martians who tag along. It’s funny and goofy from the first panel to last, and is, in my opinion, the best in the book.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6
Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script by Tom Waltz
Art by Dan Duncan
Colors by Ronda Pattinson
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Dan Duncan, Kevin Eastman, and Rob Guillory
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 25, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Month after month, this book gets more entertaining and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 is no exception. You get everything you wanted in a Turtles comic, in spades.

I’m not sure how Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz split the writing chores, but they are doing a fantastic job on this book. There’s SO much going on, but the audience is never confused or overwhelmed. What impresses me most is that they’ve stuck to the characteristics of the Turtles, but yet, there’s a tangible tension at times between the four brothers.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5
Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script by Tom Waltz
Art by Dan Duncan (New York City), Mateus Santoouco (Feudal Japan)
Colors by Ronda Pattinson
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Mateus Santoouco, Dan Duncan, Kevin Eastman
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 21, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Man, it’s a great time to be a Turtle fan! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5 is probably my favorite issue of the series so far. It’s got everything!

Tom Waltz lays out a killer script based on a story by himself and Turtles co-creator, Kevin Eastman. Just when we think we know where the story is going, they both pull the rug out from under us, and the payoff is one that fans have been waiting for and wondering about since the first issue. To their credit, they leave a huge part of a mystery unsolved, ready to be revealed in another issue.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3
Written by Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script by Tom Waltz
Layouts by Kevin Eastman
Art by Dan Duncan
Colors by Ronda Pattinson
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Dan Duncan, Kevin Eastman, Fred Hembeck, Peter Laird
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 26, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

If you’re looking for pizza and shouts of “Cowabunga!,” you might want to look elsewhere. OK, there technically IS pizza in this issue, but that’s beside the point. If your looking for a great comic, you’ve found it here with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3. Some great character background stuff is revealed in this issue, so it’s one that you definitely won’t want to miss.