“Yesterday’s” Comic> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 (Dreamwave)

If Baxter had looked like that in the show, dismembering him would have been doing him a favor.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2

Dreamwave Productions (July, 2003)

“A Better Mousetrap”

WRITER: Peter David

PENCILER: Lesean

INKER: Erik Sander

COLORISTS: Rob Ruffolo & Shaun Curtis

FLATS: Kenny Li

LETTERER/DESIGN: Matt Molan

I’m glad this the last of these recontextualized episode adaptations because they’re not easy to give a simple review for. This one is the second episode, itself an update of the second issue of the original comic to better fit the 4Kids show’s style and lore. For example. Baxter Stockman, in his more traditional character design, working for the Shredder rather than using the Mousers to commit crimes for himself. If you’ve read the comic or seen the episode you know this is how April meets the Turtles.

The problem with this is the presentation. While it works better than last issue’s because the plot matters, it’s told in a dream sequence after April fainted escaping Baxter’s Mousers, but never goes back to finish the story of how they ultimately stopped Baxter’s plan. Peter David leans a bit heavy on the original cartoon’s alteration to make April a reporter. In her dream, young April wants to be a reporter, but when she gets older she follows in her father’s footsteps and becomes the scientist’s assistant April originally was in the comics. I will say that Lesean’s art style does work well for the dream world.

The reason I really can’t review the comic properly is that you have to have seen the episode, or at least the original comic story but the show would be better, to really follow what’s going on, and know April’s alteration in the 1980s show, Archie tie-in comic, and live-action movies to get the reporter reference, something the father in her dream seemed to be solidly against. None of April’s reporter instincts ever show up in the 2003 show, save one gag when April tries to find out what happened to the Turtles when they went to investigate TCRI and pretends to be a reporter. That nod works better there than it does here.

I’m pretty sure we’re done with the adaptations…crap, I’m wrong! From looking at the cover I just remembered it’s the second half of the episode from Baxter’s POV. Hopefully the next issue after that we can see what they can do with original stories allegedly set in the show’s continuity…though history has shown that never lasts long. For example the DCAU tie-in comics would add too much from the regular DC universe that would later be contradicted by the shows, or were unnecessary additions to what the show had done. (Taking away Man-Bat’s happy ending or a Justice League long before the Justice League cartoon comes to mind.) Even the Archie series eventually went it’s own way with the continuity, like it would later do with the Sonic The Hedgehog comics. It’s been a long time since I’ve read these comics but I really hope they avoided the same mistakes.