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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin was a blockbuster series with a gloriously simple premise. Years into the future - and in a continuity separate from the original TMNT - three of the original Turtles have been killed in battle leaving only one survivor, Michelangelo, to avenge his fallen family. It was tougher and darker than most Turtles comics and fans lapped it up.
Two years later, the sequel is upon us. Clearly hoping that lightning will strike twice, IDW has re-assembled the original creative team, including writers Tom Waltz and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, along with artists Esau and Isaac Escorza, and Ben Bishop. We've read the first issue and while we can't get into spoilers just yet - the issue is published this Wednesday - it's safe to say that The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #1 will satisfy those hoping for an action-packed sequel even if, on the basis of this first issue, it has quite a different tone to the previous series.
The story picks up 15 years after the events of The Last Ronin. Hiroto and the Foot Clan are long gone, but New York City is falling ever further into chaos. Meanwhile, April O'Neil and her daughter Casey Marie are raising a new generation of ninja turtles in secret while also fighting to keep a lid on the growing violence on the streets. It's not quite working - as Casey puts it early in the issue, "it's become a war of attrition" - and even their allies are starting to feel that the Resistance's non-lethal methods aren't making enough of an impact.
Enter the new Turtles: Yi, Odyn, Moja, and Uno, trained in the skills and traditions of Clan Hamato and Masters Splinter and Michelangelo. Can they turn the tide and save the city?
It's fair to say that The Last Ronin II isn't simply more of the same. By its nature, four young, wise-cracking Turtles are going to be a very different proposition to the terse, solitary and vengeance-driven Michelangelo going it alone. In some ways it feels closer in tone to the regular TMNT - not a bad thing, but it does mean that this first issue feels less distinct and radical than the original Last Ronin. It's also a little slower, with lots of exposition, often in very wordy speech bubbles. Hopefully this cautious pacing will pay off as the run continues.
Where the book shines is in its art. Primarily drawn by Esau and Isaac Escorza (with a tasty interlude by Ben Bishop, the nature of which we won't spoil here), it's kinetic and hyper-detailed, especially in the later pages where we see the new team leap into their first mission. The fights are as crunchy and physical as you'd hope and there's plenty of action here both involving the turtles themselves and Casey Marie, who has grown into something of a badass.
Indeed, the characters are another of the book's strengths. None of the original turtles feature here and the new gang have a slightly different and younger dynamic, but there's something really appealing about being with these brothers and sisters as they make their first moves in the hero game.
Of course, with only one issue to go on so far it's too early to judge how The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution will stack up against its predecessor, but it certainly feels good to be back in this version of the TMNT world. The second issue is set for May 1 and it can't come soon enough.
You can keep track of everything happening with TMNT: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution right here.
