Turtles in Time #4 Review

I’ve been a big fan of Turtles in Time. Issue 1 was a vibrant adventure in prehistoric times where Raphael met the cutest little dinosaur. We were then taken to Feudal Japan to see the human child version of Leonardo give turtle Leonardo the stink eye. The third issue then saw Michaelangelo become captain of a pirate ship to take on a technologically advanced ship supplied by none other than Krang. Throughout their adventure time traveller Renet has been popping in and out as her faulty sceptre prevents her from rescuing them.

So we’ve had three issues which concentrate more on three of the turtles. You know where the final issue goes. To my least favourite turtle Donatello. A conversation with Ross Campbell made it clear to me that bar being clever, Donnie rarely has a defining characteristic. Is he a comedy duo with Mikey? A genius who can build things far beyond what you should be able to in a sewer with scraps?

Utterly random comment first…There is a giraffe wearing a hat on the front cover! I love giraffes. Anyway….

Issue 4 makes one thing clear at least. Donatello is a thinker; which I think is a pretty important aspect to nail. Maybe he isn’t as clearly defined as his brothers but throughout the series he’s been the one to question their origins so for him to also question why they do what they do makes complete sense. To everyone it’s clear as day; it’s the right thing to do. But a meeting with a character from Donatello’s future brings it all into sharp focus. What if the Shredder-lead future is all the TMNT and their allies are working towards? Are they doing the right thing or have they already made the decisions that lead to this outcome?

This issue isn’t action focused, sidestepping any need to go big. As the first artist to work on the IDW series I was looking forward to seeing Dan Duncan’s work again. This time his turtles have a leaner, longer appearance but it still looks good. I particularly enjoyed the expressions, especially a Mikey with a face full of food attempting to listen to something. It’s also very interesting to check out how many different species are represented in this future world and the amount of character they all have. Take some time to look around each panel and you’ find a lot of interest. Nicely done Dan.

One thing I need to mention before I wrap up is that I have loved all of the covers by David Petersen. Pretty sure I hadn’t mentioned it before!

Paul Allor has crafted a more thoughtful issue that I’ll admit on first pass left me a little let down. But second time around it all came together. It ties in perfectly with issue 37 of the main series and adds to the background we now have with Renet from the 2014 annual to leave us in a really strong place moving forwards.