TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures #4 Review

TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures #4 Review

They’re the world’s most fearsome fighting team. They’re heroes in the half-shell, and they’re green. They’re… the most prolific child property in all of child entertainment history. These little karate-chopping green turtles have achieved eternity, at least in my eyes, and they’re back in the fun-filled pages of IDW‘s TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures #4, where shenanigans aren’t far from the punchline.

The cover offerings are absolutely riotous, with Freddie E. Williams the second turning up the dial on an amazing Mikey piece, my personal favorite. Travis Hymel and Jackie Lawrence get their swing with covers A and C, with Dan Schoening catching cover B. Erik Burnham has led the story since its debut in October 2022, for those who are new to the series.

This series is inspired by the old-school animated series that debuted in 1987 during the conceptual phase of the toy franchise launch with Playmates Toys, which is explained in this awesome documentary called TURTLE POWER: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Paramount Plus.

It is the stuff dreams are made of, and it is so inspiring. That being said, it’s really funny to see the concept drawing of past TMNT toy designs dawn the cover of a TMNT comic today. But enough deep cuts, folks. How about the fourth and final adventure of the Saturday morning adventures of the turtles?

Hopefully, Erik Burnham is on the horn with General Traag in Dimension X to pressure IDW into firing up another four-issue miniseries. Yes, it is the last issue for this series, and Krang is phoning in a friend up to his usual chaotic scandals.

The only toy out of my reach from the original toy series, the Technodrome, makes an appearance from Dimension X, the dimension we just don’t know much about to this day. The same goes for Turtlantis. As Krang and Shredder wait for General Traag to send tools, Professor McGuffin and Donatello explain to the rest of us that space rock is actually an especially hard extraterrestrial metal.

Remember back in the day when the group would bounce dialogue around to explain the problem, and then Donatello would pull out some gadget he’d been working on that, magically, might solve the problem? This is why Donny is the smartest because he knows the only way the Krang could weaponize this rock with Shredder is to get some stuff from Dimension X, so he’s worked out a way to track the signal.

The dialogue is just as witty and fun as I remember. Listen to this Raph wisecrack: “If we were lousy heroes, our merchandise would never sell.” It was as if I had discovered a secret radio frequency transmitting a message that only a turtle superfan would understand. You get it, Erik Burnham. I hear you.

Interdimensional transportation, even for a super brain, can be tricky, so it’s no wonder it ended up in the swamps of Leatherhead’s neck of the woods. Now, I’m not saying what you’re thinking, but any small thing that blows stuff up is a really cool thing to anyone, so what’s more dangerous than a super brain and a master ninja with extraterrestrial metal?

You guessed it: A giant mutant swamp gator with a Dimensional X laser blaster, spelling unexpected adversity for our cowabunga bros with two toes. While Leonardo and Mikey stay behind to protect the city, Donny and Raph head to Florida, and that’s when our story gets really good!

While the teenage mutant ninja turtles are named after Splinter’s favorite Renaissance artists, the Punk Frogs are named after the world’s most notorious conquerors, which is fun, right? If you thought Bebop and Rocksteady were something to fear, then behold the face-off with Leatherhead that should have you peeing your pants.

Donny, Raphael, Attila, Genghis, Napoleon, and Rasputin fought bravely against Leatherhead and might have lost were it not for the sound mind of Raphael dropping a beehive on him. While the reunion was fun and Leatherhead was disarmed of his new toy, Shredder appeared from the tree line and grappled the device away. At this point, you realize that the folks at IDW have caved to the awesome might of Erik and Dimension X because there will be more Saturday morning adventures yet to come. Fear not, my turtle thespians; our animated dreams are not yet over.

I’m really impressed by Dan Schoening and his ability to apply his style to the series while replicating the animated style of yesterday from the shades of Tim Patrick Lattie. He definitely rose to the occasion and brought this series to life. I had a lot of fun reading it.

It truly was in the vein of capturing that raw excitement I used to have as a kid when watching the cartoon. I hope you enjoyed the review. Don’t forget to support your local comic shops. Stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch the latest on Fueled By Weird.