TMNT Last Ronin Lost Years #2. Preview and Discussion

[hypered1]

Spoiler:

[AquaParade]

I really enjoyed issue #1 but I’m hoping this series doesn’t feel as stretched out as the initial TLR series. I don’t think it needed the length of five double-sized issues.

But hey maybe this will cover way more ground, which already seems to be the case. I have a copy being mailed to me so I’ll probably read it by sometime next week.

[TheLabRat]

TLR main series has too many flashback. I also don't like that Splinter and Donnie died in stupid ways. I mean Splinter became careless, obsessed with making peace with their enemy, stupid enough to let himself fall into the enemy's trap. He was responsible for Donnie's death.

[AquaParade]

Splinter was careless and fueled by rage but I found that interesting personally.

[Cowabung-Gal]

Originally Posted by TheLabRat

TLR main series has too many flashback. I also don't like that Splinter and Donnie died in stupid ways. I mean Splinter became careless, obsessed with making peace with their enemy, stupid enough to let himself fall into the enemy's trap. He was responsible for Donnie's death.

I was a little puzzled by the way they died too. I always figured Leonardo would be the one to die by his father’s side since he’s the leader and Splinter’s best (and possibly favorite) student. In retrospect, though, it was actually a clever way to end Donatello and Splinter’s story.

In the original Mirage comics, Splinter and Donnie stayed behind in Northampton while the others returned to New York after the “City At War” arc. Donnie later had a vision of visiting the village of Chihaya (where Splinter was born) in Japan. Splinter eerily interpreted this as a precognition of Donnie having to bury his father in Chihaya. So Splinter and Donatello dying together while staying in Japan was clearly a nod to the original comics.

Also, the reason Donatello was given the purple bandana was because the color symbolizes peace and he is the most pacifistic of the group. Of course he would want the Hamato-Oroku war to end, and eventually, a tired aged Splinter, who had lost a child to the conflict, would want it to end as well. So they both agreed to negotiating peace with the enemy. Unfortunately, it ended much differently than they anticipated.

[TheLabRat]

I think when the first truce was broken first by Karai, there was no chance for peace. The Oroku family only wants to kill them all. Sometimes blood feud can only end in killing. Cruel, but it always happen in reality.

When they are trained as ninjas from birth, you can't expect them to have a happy end. Even if a peaceful death is the most extravagant ending for them. Remind me of Rikimaru from Tenchu 2(Jap ver) did say something intersting like "The darkness that awaits you is the fate of the shinobi."

[AquaParade]

I miss the Tenchu series.

[Cowabung-Gal]

So I just read issue #2. Another great story.

Spoiler:

I got Kill Bill vibes reading this, especially while Mikey was training under Master Yip, who was like a combination of Pai Mei and Mr. Miyagi.

I’m leaning toward the theory that the “ghosts” of Mikey’s dead brothers are, in fact, just hallucinations. They’re basically Mikey’s Wilsons to keep him from going completely insane as well as to keep him from being lonely.

[AquaParade]

Another great issue. While seemingly not as epic a tale as the first TLR series, this seems to have a much better pace and general flow than that series, two issues in. I’m really enjoying it, which is great because I was worried it’d be pointless filler.

You can really sense Kevin’s identity all over the book, from the slick layouts to the character choices and dialogue. The turtles feel so authentic here, it’s almost like having old friends back. It really helps with the moments of comedy, which work surprisingly well in this book.

Art is solid and on-point throughout. Everyone on the team did a great job. Looking forward to #3.

[DK2]

Isn't this almost practically a 6 parter?
There's suppose to be a one shot special coming out in between the middle of the run of this mini series. Double sized if I'm not mistaken. As long as the pacing isn't affected from what some have said compared to TLR. I can kinda agree about the initial series being a little long. Perhaps a few pages less might've been better for TLR? I hope to read lost years book 2 by tonight.

[AquaParade]

Originally Posted by DK2

Isn't this almost practically a 6 parter?
There's suppose to be a one shot special coming out in between the middle of the run of this mini series. Double sized if I'm not mistaken. As long as the pacing isn't affected from what some have said compared to TLR. I can kinda agree about the initial series being a little long. Perhaps a few pages less might've been better for TLR? I hope to read lost years book 2 by tonight.

I can understand why they wanted to give each turtle's death it's own issue, but it resulted in really awkward pacing for the future timeline, imo. We were stuck in the sewer with Mikey and April for what felt like forever. I'm tempted to blame the release schedule, but I think there is more to it than that.

I thought the fist issue of TLR was the best one, because the pacing felt so confident. Every other issue felt choppy in comparison.

[CyberCubed]

As an individual issue this was fine, but I still wonder why this series needed a prequel (besides for sales), since it's not really that essential.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I wonder if we’ll get a flashback of Shredder fighting the turtles in the upcoming issues. I want to know what he looked like and how he met his end, though I’m guessing he got decapitated by Splinter since the rat did say, “Oroku Saki’s head will be ours” in the first issue.