TMNT #101 Preview and Discussion

[AlZarkovski]

Preview. (https://graphicpolicy.com/2020/01/07/preview-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-101/)

[Raptor86]

Mutant town? Raph wearing black? Pepperoni with a cute tiny sweater???

I AM IN

[TigerClaw]

Mona Lisa makes her comic book debut on this issue.

[Igglet]

God, this looks super good. I love the direction the story seems to be taking. This is exactly what the run needs right now.

[MikeandRaph87]

Originally it advertised the Turtles had gone their separate ways but looks like it will skip over it with the time jump and Old Hob's antics in Mutant Town will bring them back together.

[Wentos]

God, this looks super good. I love the direction the story seems to be taking. This is exactly what the run needs right now.
Agreed. Focusing on the enormity of what happened during City at War, both for New York and for the turtles personally, is exactly where the book needs to be right now.

Sophie is great at selling emotional moments. Her work during the Northampton arc and the Leonardo macroseries is some of the best in the entire IDW run.

[ChosenOne]

Yes! Finally, a mutant sloth! :D

[CyberCubed]

So Baxter Stockman has become Donald Trump. Ok...

Surprised at the 6 month time skip, pretty sure this is the first time skip we had in the series since it started? That means mutant town has been around half a year, Raph has separated from the Turtles for half a year.

But a huge time skip poses problems with what everyone was doing. Did Old Hob make amends or face any backlash in those 6 months? Did the EPF get a new leader? Did uh....Shredder or Kitsune ever see the Turtles in all that time? And I suppose the Utroms/Triceratons are basically frozen in time on the shelf until the story revisits them. I guess Ch’rell is just chilling there all that time.

[Igglet]

But a huge time skip poses problems with what everyone was doing. Did Old Hob make amends or face any backlash in those 6 months? Did the EPF get a new leader? Did uh....Shredder or Kitsune ever see the Turtles in all that time? And I suppose the Utroms/Triceratons are basically frozen in time on the shelf until the story revisits them. I guess Ch’rell is just chilling there all that time.

None of those are actually problems, though. They're only problems if the story doesn't address them, and there is literally no reason for it not to.

[daggio]

So Baxter Stockman has become Donald Trump. Ok...

Surprised at the 6 month time skip, pretty sure this is the first time skip we had in the series since it started?

Well, one of the first out right stated time jumps that I can think of. There have been implied time jumps before, like between issues 20 and 21 or between 50 and 51, but none as concrete as this. Obviously the continuous flashbacks early in the series to "one year ago" or "eighteen months ago", but obviously that doesn't apply here to what you're asking.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

No taking cute pets on patrol. That's not a good idea. Too much cuteness, no me gusta.

And loving the direction Stockman is taking.

[CyberCubed]

None of those are actually problems, though. They're only problems if the story doesn't address them, and there is literally no reason for it not to.

Depends how they do it, 6 months is a long time, half a year. The problem comes around with, “Well what were the villains doing?” Is Krang still wandering about with possessed Leathead, did Karai take control of the Foot Clan again, did anything progress with the Utroms,” etc.

If all the characters are still mostly where we left them, it would seem odd like everyone is frozen in place till the story gets back to them.

[ChosenOne]

Depends how they do it, 6 months is a long time, half a year. The problem comes around with, “Well what were the villains doing?” Is Krang still wandering about with possessed Leathead, did Karai take control of the Foot Clan again, did anything progress with the Utroms,” etc.

If all the characters are still mostly where we left them, it would seem odd like everyone is frozen in place till the story gets back to them.

Yeah, most of those could've been easily addressed with an extra page or two of silent panels at the start of this issue. But it is what it is. I assume we'll get our answers later on but the Leatherhead situation is particularly egregious in that Honeycutt made it sound like a huge (infectious?) emergency, and now it's been six months without a peep from Krang or whatever's going on there.

[daggio]

Let's all wait until tomorrow, cuz maybe Donnie will start flashing back to what has happened the last six months. Maybe nothing of note or maybe a lot. After all, Hob mentioned how he has to train all the new mutants in his care and I'm sure that takes awhile. Krang probably wouldn't know how to get back to Burnow Island. So he might be living amongst the mutants for now (albeit him coming out of LH's gut :o). Maybe Shredder and Kitsune are gonna be put off to the sidelines for now, like every character who needs to go away for a bit.

[ChosenOne]

Let's all wait until tomorrow, cuz maybe Donnie will start flashing back to what has happened the last six months.

Donnie doing a Shameless-style recap of "last week"'s events? I didn't know how bad I needed this until right now. :D


Krang probably wouldn't know how to get back to Burnow Island.

That's the thing, it didn't sound like Krang needs to get back to Burnow to become a major threat again. In fact, it pretty much seemed like his very presence made the entire planet a hotbed of parasitic activity and that's why the kids couldn't be sent back to Earth. Is it just me being pessimistic, or does this whole parasite!Krang plot have a lot of potential to fall spectacularly flat...?

[daggio]

That's the thing, it didn't sound like Krang needs to get back to Burnow to become a major threat again. In fact, it pretty much seemed like his very presence made the entire planet a hotbed of parasitic activity and that's why the kids couldn't be sent back to Earth. Is it just me being pessimistic, or does this whole parasite!Krang plot have a lot of potential to fall spectacularly flat...?

And that's another question. Just how parasitic are the Utroms. So far, the only reason it seems that it mattered in LH's case is cuz he ate Krang. No one else, so far, has. Maybe we'll learn that they are extremely parasitic. On the other hand, nothing, so far, has seemed to happen to anyone who has been in contact with the Utroms. Speaking of, I wonder if we are ever gonna get a backstory on the Utrom that died in Roswell, like why was (s)he there, and why would Krang allow an Utrom to leave Burnow? Hell, how long ago did the Utroms go into stasis?

[ChosenOne]

So Baxter Stockman has become Donald Trump. Ok...

Y'know, I was gonna make a joke about how Stockman, much like the President, is also hounded by she-devils in business suits and human-shaped hollow husks with baby-sized adults inside, among assorted other oddities, but halfway through I stopped when realized that one of the things I had anticipated most for the #100 "finale" didn't come to pass: I always expected that Bishop would be exposed to the world as a freak, and that Stockman would somehow be instrumental in ousting him from the EPF and into a prison cell. A lost opportunity for some karmic retribution right there, though Bishop still got a taste of it in the end. Come to think of it, I don't think we've seen Stockman f*** anyone over for real and get away with it in this comic. He tried with Krang but was interrupted, had to flee the Foot HQ before Shredder realized he had outlived his usefulness, Bishop died before anything could come of their uneasy alliance, Hob screwed him over in the end, and who knows what'll happen with Null. I hope she's the one he plays a major part in taking down.

Also sour that we didn't get to see the Mousers chomping down on that dead dragon. :lol:

[Igglet]

Depends how they do it, 6 months is a long time, half a year. The problem comes around with, “Well what were the villains doing?” Is Krang still wandering about with possessed Leathead, did Karai take control of the Foot Clan again, did anything progress with the Utroms,” etc.

If all the characters are still mostly where we left them, it would seem odd like everyone is frozen in place till the story gets back to them.

I don't see why we would go in with the assumption that none of this will be addressed. There is no reason to assume that this'd be the case. I would go so far as to argue that it'd actually be hard for the story to ignore these things, the writers would literally have to get out of their way to make that ****up.

[benea]

we must know what happened in the 6 months. its unfair on idw to do that to us.

[CyberCubed]

It's just kinda a weird spot to do a timeskip due to how much was going on right in the last issue. We don't know the fate of the Foot Clan now that Splinter is gone, would Leonardo just be ok with Karai leading it again? And besides that, does Karai still hate the Turtles? Is all forgiven after she nearly kill Jennika?

And with stuff like Krang's return and Shredder's return, it's kind of weird to think in 6 months time not much happened with them. Since it seems from the preview images the Turtles are just dealing with the mutants in mutant town, and nothing major.

[Rooish]

It's just kinda a weird spot to do a timeskip due to how much was going on right in the last issue. We don't know the fate of the Foot Clan now that Splinter is gone, would Leonardo just be ok with Karai leading it again? And besides that, does Karai still hate the Turtles? Is all forgiven after she nearly kill Jennika?

And with stuff like Krang's return and Shredder's return, it's kind of weird to think in 6 months time not much happened with them. Since it seems from the preview images the Turtles are just dealing with the mutants in mutant town, and nothing major.

I would honestly like to see a bit more of the Turtles' reactions immediately after the events of 100... and the funeral, for that matter, and Jenny's incorporation into the team, but that's cool.

The art looks amazing and I know Campbell will tell an awesome character driven story.

So excited!

[lonewarrior20]

you know I can see mutant town being the place they would have made the orangiana and mio commercials
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[PApagreg]

You know judging by the previews I wonder if any of the staff are fans of Bojack Horseman and/or Beastars.

[Utrommaniac]

Well, those commercials are enough fuel for nightmares! Onto the excitement of a new start and agreeing with the confusion of that long a time skip.

Is Krang just lingering around hanging out of Leatherhead's gut instead of finagling himself a way back to Burnow right away? He'd have time before Baxter's BIG WALL went up.

(Oh boy, I bet Baxter still ended up winning by a landslide even with the mutant outbreak happening with his supporters)

[Wentos]

It's just kinda a weird spot to do a timeskip due to how much was going on right in the last issue. We don't know the fate of the Foot Clan now that Splinter is gone, would Leonardo just be ok with Karai leading it again? And besides that, does Karai still hate the Turtles? Is all forgiven after she nearly kill Jennika?

And with stuff like Krang's return and Shredder's return, it's kind of weird to think in 6 months time not much happened with them. Since it seems from the preview images the Turtles are just dealing with the mutants in mutant town, and nothing major.

After a big finale it's not unusual for an ongoing story, particularly comic books, to do a soft reset to give things room to breathe, as well as give new readers a jumping-on point. I'd much rather have some details glossed over a bit for the sake of a fresh start than have an issue detailing how the municipal government disposed of a giant dragon corpse.

[Utrommaniac]

<Also Sprach Zarathustra>
KLUNK HAS ARRIVED.


I'm going to guess at Donatello writing the journal entries.

April's fallen into the "hoarding", but it seems more like "being completely unable to keep up with life (especially after moving into an apartment???)"

Raphael in a couple issues, probably
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Still no name on the turtle kid or porcupine man, but Mona Lisa seems to know him

[Cloudrunner]

So this is going to be a Jennika-centric first few issues, with some Raph sprinkled in. I guess that's "fine", though when people said the turtles needed a break I didn't think they meant we'd take a break from the turtles.

Leo seems to be headed to some sort of "inner peace" angle which may lead to the mysticism we saw in the 20/20. Mikey had another emotional breakdown and seems to have lost the confidence he got back after his mini, so that kinda sucks. Donny is... kind of a cop-out. I would have thought he'd stick around maybe with Harold so he'd at least be close to the city. And Raph is doing the only thing Raph knows how to do.

I actually like this role for Alopex. It gives her some purpose in the story that adheres to her character goals, and she's finally not a sidekick. And here she can serve as an emotional anchor for Raph as well as confidant for Jennika and any of the other turtles that show up. What's unfortunate is that this means she might be permanently shelved. It's quite possible this is the role she'll stick with, maybe even til the end of the series (at the very least until the end of the Mutant Town arc) unless something drastic happens. Not that she won't show up in the comics, her role actually gives her more reason to show up in this arc than the **** she's been doing in previous issues. I just don't see her getting involved in any stuff that doesn't directly effect the shelter at this point.

Also lol Utrommaniac... I guess that's certainly possible. Mona appears to be. Jennika is a solid maybe with Casey seemingly out of the picture. Alopex... god I hope not, but that would satisfy the very small vocal minority on tumblr that seemed adamantly convinced she was a lesbian from the start. But I'd much prefer the "emotional anchor" aspect she seems to have in her relationship with Raph. I guess time will tell.

As far as the Foot Clan, with Mutant Town walled off I think that's gonna be the excuse to completely exclude them from this arc. As well as the Ultroms. Leatherhead will probably show up as a hook near the end of the arc to lead into the next one. And the EPF is probably completely done at this point.

I would love to see Bebop and Rocksteady show up in this arc though... maybe they reconcile with Hob and become his enforcers. Considering he's clearly got no qualms about human-transformed mutants anymore.

[Igglet]

Oh, man. This is really weird. I don't know if it's weird in a GOOD way, I'm not even entirely sure if I like the direction the story's taking, but I am totally enjoying it so far, largely due to the fact that it's so radically different. But is that even a good thing? My biggest worry regarding this comic is that it might lose sight of what actually makes a TMNT story. I'm afraid a casual fan might pick this comic up and go, "Wait, what the hell is this?" And when the magic of everything feeling so brand new fades away, am I still going to be enjoying this? I sure hope so.

Right off the bat, I think Sophie's art is great in this. There's a few things about it that don't work too well with me personally, especially when she draws turtles as kind of cutesy, but overall, I really liked it. The brief fight scene was absolutely stellar.

When it comes to Sophie's writing, I still feel like it's a bit amateurish, as harsh as that sounds. It feels like she's got a genuine talent for writing, many things are really well thought out, but are a bit sloppy in execution. This seems most evident in the dialogue (or Donnie's monologue) - characters are sometimes far too blunt about their feelings and there's absolutely no subtlety, they often repeat themselves or tell the audience what we already know, the flow of the conversation was occasionally kind of weird and the lines sometimes felt hamfisted in a way that reminds me of her cutesy art.

Jennika being the main character here is very clever. She's a very fresh character, and seeing as we're sort of being re-introduced to this world, it's a great way for us to find out more about her as we're learning about the town. In my opinion, her personality is a lot more enjoyable than ever before, though I'm yet to be sold on her characterization. A ninja turtle is supposed to be able to pass the RedLetterMedia Character Test.

Leo, Mikey and Donnie just leading boring, depressing lives is something I'm actually enjoying. There's a lot of room for development that can come from that, if done right. Donnie's the one who I'm most uncertain about - his whole thing about writing a sci-fi novel felt kind of hammy to me, though I'm not sure if I'm just nitpicking at this point.

Raph could turn out great, I very much like what they're doing with him right now, it feels very in-character. It does make me hate the conclusion to his arc in City at War even more, though. Alopex is interesting, I'm glad they're finally doing SOMETHING with her character.

I really am interested in seeing where the story's going to go next, this is exactly what we needed after 50 issues of rising tensions, and 100 issues of story overall. Admittedly, the conversation about ****ing mutant rock bands literally felt like it came straight out of Scott Pilgrim.

The only thing that stuck out to me as a clear, big fat negative was Jenny threatening to kill that one guy. It could've just been a bluff, but I remember Sophie talking about how the no-kill rule wasn't something she was fond of. I would HATE it if it was just discarded. It might've started out as a limitation, but it's been turned into a really compelling plot point. Hopefully it won't just be thrown into the trash.

EDIT: Oh, also, the pacing is actually fine. This is the first time I can say that about an issue of the TMNT main-ongoing since, like... Invasion of Triceratons?

[Raptor86]

As soon as I read "after the bomb" in this number, this came up to my mind
https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images4/1/0516/27/after-bomb-road-hogs-tmnt-rpg_1_dbf0dafbff913d9fb047d609492941fb.jpg

[myconius]

the good

-Sophie Campbell’s art is beautiful as always.
-Sophie is a much better storyteller than Tom Waltz
-better action that the typical IDW TMNT comic. (usually there's none)
-Better character development and characterizations.
-Sophie understands the Turtles and writes them better than Tom Waltz.
-this pleasantly felt more like a Mirage TMNT story (always a good thing)
-i liked how the 4 Turtle brothers were portrayed.
-Michelangelo FINALLY was given Klunk (it only too 100 issues!).
-i don’t eve mind that Klunk is now a white cat instead of an orange tabby.
-Raph the vigilante was cool.
-Leonardo’s horticulture was a nice touch.
-i did like the awareness message about people abandoning pets and loved ones.
-it’s always good to see Pepperoni.

the bad

-the 4 TMNT brothers (as usual) didn’t hold the focus of the comic or story
-still the four Turtle Brothers must take the backseat to “the supporting characters”.
-i always find it distracting when fan-service characters like Mona Lisa get shoved in.
-Mona Lisa is very annoying. her announcing “I’M A GOOD PERSON” was extremely cringe.
-Casey dumping Jenny felt off. especially given the events of the arc that just ended.
-having Casey and Jenny’s breakup told as throwaway exposition was pretty cheap.

hopefully one day IDW's TMNT will actually put it’s main focus on Leo, Mike, Donnie & Raph. just a thought.

[lonewarrior20]

I'm enjoying it so far. I'm getting a mixture of gangs of new york and batman's no man's land vibe so far. Can't wait for more to unfold.

[CyberCubed]

I liked the issue and don’t mind the focus on Jennika, Mona Lisa and probably Alopex for awhile. April being exhausted with work is pretty funny.

One thing that caught my eye is Jennika saying something about the Foot Clan being over? Maybe I read it wrong but did Karai disband the Foot Clan? Or did she just mean clan Hamato since Leonardo seems to have left that life for now.

One of the fears I had before was a lot of the supporting villains would be “frozen on the shelf” till the story gets back to them and it seems so. Krang/Leatherhead had 6 months or more of wandering, the Utroms/Ch’rell and Triceratons are still at peace for 6 months? As I said above did Karai disband the Foot clan?

Lastly I find it weird Splinter never talked to the Turtles as a Force Ghost when we know they can do that in the series. I thought he would be like Obi-wan Kenobi or Luke and visit his sons. Instead that didn’t seem to happen for 6 months. Also find it weird Shredder/Kitsune vanished without a trace.

[Igglet]

“frozen on the shell”

Fixed that for you.

[ChosenOne]

PSA: Porcupines are ****ing nasty IRL too!

This was a lot more Arkham City-esque than I'd imagined. I like it. Way too little focus on the Turtles themselves but it's only the first issue of the arc, let's see how it develops. Did we even see Donnie at all after the first pages? His comment about writing a sci-fi novel is hysterical, though: it's not meant to be taken seriously, the guy's clearly just trying to find an excuse not to get involved in the craziness again so soon. Hob is right back to where he started, running a gang of hoodlums and two-bit punks. I can't imagine Sally and Mondo - at the very least - are okay with the state of things. I love Alopex's new role. There's a ton of stories that can be told in this setting, let alone with everything else that's waiting in the wings... Exciting, to say the least. Though Campbell should definitely cut back on all the "like"-speak, it tends to grate after a couple of uses by different characters and especially when it sounds somewhat OOC. That's pretty much my only qualm with this issue. That, and the fact that now we have to wait for #102. It'll come out later this month as well, won't it?

[CyberCubed]

Also Baxter Stockman has become Donald Trump. “Make the city great again.” Building a wall around the mutants separating mutant town from the rest of Manhattan. The EPF working with him to round up stragglers who left the city and quarantining them like ICE does to illegal immigrants.

This gets a yikes from me, dawg.

[Cloudrunner]

I liked the issue and don’t mind the focus on Jennika, Mona Lisa and probably Alopex for awhile. April being exhausted with work is pretty funny.

One thing that caught my eye is Jennika saying something about the Foot Clan being over? Maybe I read it wrong but did Karai disband the Foot Clan? Or did she just mean clan Hamato since Leonardo seems to have left that life for now.

One of the fears I had before was a lot of the supporting villains would be “frozen on the shelf” till the story gets back to them and it seems so. Krang/Leatherhead had 6 months or more of wandering, the Utroms/Ch’rell and Triceratons are still at peace for 6 months? As I said above did Karai disband the Foot clan?

Lastly I find it weird Splinter never talked to the Turtles as a Force Ghost when we know they can do that in the series. I thought he would be like Obi-wan Kenobi or Luke and visit his sons. Instead that didn’t seem to happen for 6 months. Also find it weird Shredder/Kitsune vanished without a trace.

I'm pretty sure the whole "wall around mutant town" is the framing device for removing the foot, ultroms, and everyone else from the story until it's resolved. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense that it isn't even addressed, considering Jennika (and likely anyone else with ninja skills) is able to get by the wall with ease. But it's clearly not on any characters' priority list atm.

[ChosenOne]

Also Baxter Stockman has become Donald Trump. “Make the city great again.” Building a wall around the mutants separating mutant town from the rest of Manhattan. The EPF working with him to round up stragglers who left the city and quarantining them like ICE does to illegal immigrants.

This gets a yikes from me, dawg.

What this gets from me is one big "Huh?", 'cause if the mutating agent is airbone, what good is a wall against it...? Too on the nose. Someone get Ricky Gervais' agent on the phone.

I'm pretty sure the whole "wall around mutant town" is the framing device for removing the foot, ultroms, and everyone else from the story until it's resolved. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense that it isn't even addressed, considering Jennika (and likely anyone else with ninja skills) is able to get by the wall with ease. But it's clearly not on any characters' priority list atm.

Yet another similarity with Arkham City, where (mostly in the tie-in comics) pretty much everyone strolled in and out of the facility like they were going to the grocery store despite the wall and the heavily-armed Tyger guards.

[Mexiun]

I enjoyed the chapter a lot, and liked seeing the Turtles do their thing to cope with their loss and also not fighting and worrying about saving the world for once.

Are there any Akira manga readers here? Because this chapter really made me think of the Akira manga and i'm not sure if the writer did this on purpose or maybe its just a coincidence:
- Bomb explodes (mutant bomb)
- Big fightscene/war before the bomb goes off
- A part of the world is now in total chaos, people harassing others for supplies, people are depressed and friendships shattered

[myconius]

Lastly I find it weird Splinter never talked to the Turtles as a Force Ghost when we know they can do that in the series. I thought he would be like Obi-wan Kenobi or Luke and visit his sons. Instead that didn’t seem to happen for 6 months. Also find it weird Shredder/Kitsune vanished without a trace.

excellent point. that's a pretty big plot hole right there.

Yoshi and Shen wouldn't just leave their children to wallow in despair like that. especially for months on end.

[PApagreg]

While I don't mind the fact that the IDW comics are focusing more on other characters than the main four turtles I do understand why people would get annoyed by the lack of spotlight on the main characters. Other then that I thought this issue was pretty great I'm still kinda meh on Jenny but I do like what I see with the focus they are giving her and I like her talk with Alopex. Mona Lisa was alright but something about her felt kinda rushed, I don't know but it sort of felt like they were getting to the maximum page limit but sort of squeezed her in the last few pages. All in all pretty good issue.

[Mutant Ninja Anole]

Just here for a rapid reaction of quick thoughts. Okay, let’s run this down in order:


Page 1: The four turtles cradling their father while Jenny sits nearby, distraught but not quite in the group hug. I do think it’s worth noting Jennika has lacks the full connection of the main four but Splinter was clearly a father/mentor to her over the past year or so. This would definitely hurt her beyond the general sadness.

Page 2: The funeral. Everybody is sad, Raph goes to his typical coping mechanism, IE being a loner and beating the crap out of anyone he can find who deserves it.

Page 3: So, I could break down the obvious Trump parallels and how I question if the giant expensive wall is even practical, but I’m sort of wondering, given how Jenny was mutated, whether the fear of people ‘catching’ mutation isn’t at least somewhat reasonable? How much blood contact or other bodily fluids could be used to transfer mutagen into a person’s system and change them? The larger issue would be isolating Hob and his terrorist cell of course.

I do hope Stockman is shown to be at least intelligent in his handling of this situation. He’s far too complex and interesting a character to become a shallow political parody.

Page 4: That they would go their own ways doesn’t surprise me, the sabbatical nature of Don sort of catches me off guard. Was expecting him with the utroms or something. I guess he deserves a break.

Page 5: Aw, Raph being the vigilante with a heart of gold, and a cute dino. The “M” I suppose stands for Mutanimals, guess Hob has his thugs on the street. What species is the bunny’s friend BTW?

But yeah, let him do his thing.

Page 6: Mmm, okay, like with Don, let the guy get his bearings. Aw Mikey, Natural he’s not handling this well.

Page 7: So what exactly is April doing with Stockman anyway? Working to mitigate or work toward a better future for the mutants?

Page 8: Yeah, past lives aside, the whole losing your old human life vs once being an animal is a whole nother angle.

Page 9: Good for you Alopex, may you and Raph connect on your shared altruism.

Page 10: So is Stockman or someone working to provide supplies and food in the city or what? Has he really enacted what’s essentially a sieged city situation here?

Page 11: Hey, possum person in the background!

Page 12: Lost kids, a real horrible situation. Unfortunately not unrealistic to imagine.

Page 13: Mona Lisa! And a platypus thug.

Page 14: Based on the racoon’s weak appeal to authority, it does seem Hob has set up himself as a kind of defacto law in Mutant Town.

Page 15: What? No I’m a salamander not a lizard joke?

Page 16: Interesting she has an interest in Raph immediately. Trying to establish that old cartoon connection of simply observing how prominent Raph’s reputation is in the town.

Page 17: Exposition! Also the Mutanimals aren’t distributing things well, though it does seem that their are drops of supplies from the outside. Is Hob hoarding them as leverage? What a lousy thing to do if so.

Page 18: We’re coming at you with exposition! So, nice to get some info on how “glass half full” Mona is and how their are people trying to live lives here, but that’s a bit heavy on the text.

Page 19: Gonna poke an eye out man.

Not sure how I feel so far, probably need another issue.

[Cloudrunner]

Oh I didn't even notice that line about Jennika getting dumped by Casey. I guess I know who's gonna catch the gay virus first! Anyone wanna put money down on this?

[TigerClaw]

Just read through the issue. I liked Mona Lisa's introduction. Also that joke about her name.

[CyberCubed]

Were Casey and Jennika ever officially dating? I mean from what I remember they had scenes together and they went on a motorcycle ride together, but I don't ever remember them officially being a couple? There was never any kiss between them and it never seemed like Casey saw her as more than a friend even though Jennika had a crush on him.

[Utrommaniac]

A thought with THE BIG WALL is that Stockman eventually plans hand over all the mutants to Null. Sure he might not have expected to have them on his chess board like that, but boy if he ain't going to use that opportunity.

And what better way to do that than to ensure complete isolation so no one can escape and take advantage of any aggression that the remaining populace might be going through?


Stockman calculates everything, so he's playing his cards in a way most advantageous to him

[CyberCubed]

That is an interesting idea, if we ever see Null do anything in the main series by issue 150. :lol:

[hypered1]

Were Casey and Jennika ever officially dating? I mean from what I remember they had scenes together and they went on a motorcycle ride together, but I don't ever remember them officially being a couple? There was never any kiss between them and it never seemed like Casey saw her as more than a friend even though Jennika had a crush on him.

There was definitely at least one date at a hockey match that I can recall, but I think it was more of an off-panel relationship kinda thing.
As others have said the series sometimes tries to run with too many plot threads at once for any thing to really stick out from the big picture; it's why I'm hoping we'll starting getting back to more focused mini-series (like the upcoming Jennika run) as opposed to something like Universe which, whilst it was fun in it's own way, was a bit all over the place with it's ideas.

[TigerClaw]

Due to the time jump. Seems like the Mutants have adjusted to living a normal life.

Mona Lisa says that there's a Mutant Band also.

And I do like the direction this series is going. There is so much potential to bring some other classic characters into this series.

And maybe someday TigerClaw will make his IDW debut.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Lots of thoughts. TLDR; For an issue with hardly any of the four OG TMNT in it, I really enjoyed it.

I like the symmetry of Raph on his own in the wake of Splinter's death. It feels like a natural way to highlight many things: namely how this family has fallen apart without its father, how this is a new beginning for the Turtles, and how this is a new beginning for the series. (But I don't like Pepperoni being with him. I know, I know... I'm a heartless grouch.)

BUT I love Sophie to death for finally giving us Klunk, so I guess that's enough for me to tolerate Pepperoni's presence! :trazz:

Poor April. I know how she feels. :tsad:

I love that Don is writing. It should be Mike, but I still love it.

Jennika's direction seems promising and fitting; torn between two worlds, no grounding anymore with Clan Hamato. And her feeling like she doesn't fit in with the Turtles or is part of the family really works, because right now, the READERS feel the same way. I'm really looking forward to both Jennika and us feeling differently in a story arc or two.

And as much as I've always complained about Alopex, I really like this new direction for her.

Mona Lisa... eh. We'll see. Not thrilled with her yet, but I think it's cool she finally wound up in IDW.

The mutant platypus and porcupine both made me smile. And the plight of abandoned mutant children really works. Feels very X-Men. Can't wait to see how Hob's ranks have grown in the next issue or two, and how this plays out for the Mutanimals.

[CyberCubed]

I think Klunk was the last somewhat important Mirage character to debut in IDW. I can't really think of any other Mirage character who hasn't been seen in IDW yet unless you want obscure Vol. 4 characters or someone like Mr. Braunze or all the superheroes like Stainless Steel Steve to show up. :lol:

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

I think Klunk was the last somewhat important Mirage character to debut in IDW. I can't really think of any other Mirage character who hasn't been seen in IDW yet unless you want obscure Vol. 4 characters or someone like Mr. Braunze or all the superheroes like Stainless Steel Steve to show up. :lol:

Mr. Braunze is not as obscure as Stainless Steel Steve. Ugh. I hated the Justice Force crew.

How about Gosei Hattori?

[PApagreg]

I enjoyed the chapter a lot, and liked seeing the Turtles do their thing to cope with their loss and also not fighting and worrying about saving the world for once.

Are there any Akira manga readers here? Because this chapter really made me think of the Akira manga and i'm not sure if the writer did this on purpose or maybe its just a coincidence:
- Bomb explodes (mutant bomb)
- Big fightscene/war before the bomb goes off
- A part of the world is now in total chaos, people harassing others for supplies, people are depressed and friendships shattered

It could be an Akira reference but that's just what happens in war torn areas

[Technogeek29]

@cybercubed

Has Lord Simultaneous appeared? Only one I can think of immediately off the top of my head?

[Raptor86]

@cybercubed

Has Lord Simultaneous appeared? Only one I can think of immediately off the top of my head?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2014 Annual

[Shark_Blade]

So they really killed Splinter off huh. I don’t know what to feel.

[myconius]

That is an interesting idea, if we ever see Null do anything in the main series by issue 150. :lol:

that's if the series actually even lasts that long.

[lonewarrior20]

So they really killed Splinter off huh. I don’t know what to feel.

I think his ghost'll pop up at least once in the future. Maybe mikey just needs to roast some hot dogs or marshmellows. Heck might even be another crossover with the ghostbusters. Somewhere down the line I want to hear some polititon say "mr. Stockman tear down your wall!" Maybe the rock bands this universes digg.

[CyberCubed]

So they really killed Splinter off huh. I don’t know what to feel.

I mean that happened last issue. After the 2012 show killed him it was likely he would die here too.

[Wentos]

After so many things happened in the leadup to issue #100, there were a million different ways Sophie could have moved the series forward. She decided to focus on the mutation bomb fallout, which would be the most pressing as far as outside world ramifications go. It is a bit of a shame that three of the four turtles have been pushed to the side for now, but it's not like the world can stop just because the turtles have had a recent traumatic experience. Establishing the new status quo comes first.

I really like the acknowledgement that Jennika is an outsider and has no real relationship with the other turtles. It's one of many things that Sophie will have to work on in the months ahead, and the work started here.

I agree that Sophie's dialogue came off a bit amateurish, but God was it nice to read an issue that focuses on one set of characters and one situation, instead of trying to do three or four things at once.

After reading issue #101 I'm optimistic about the future. I've been pretty vocal about my misgivings with this series but there's nothing that couldn't be fixed with patience and proper care. Slow things down, downplay the subplots, and focus on the characters.

[Cloudrunner]

I thought the conversations that happened between Alopex, Raph, and Jennika were written well enough. It's when Mona Lisa appeared and started dumping exposition that it felt forced. Just needs better pacing I think. It actually might have been fine if Mona was presented as a kind of chatterbox, visually overwhelming Jennika with dialogue. If that's how she wants to play that character out.

[neatoman]

So any ideas on how the Mutant Town thing will get resolved?

Is a cure found?
Do the mutants escape and spread around the world?
Does Ch'rell enslave them on some planet in Dimension X?
Do they get sent into the future?

The thing is that I'm not really seeing this aspect lasting forever.

[ChosenOne]

So any ideas on how the Mutant Town thing will get resolved?

Is a cure found?
Do the mutants escape and spread around the world?
Does Ch'rell enslave them on some planet in Dimension X?
Do they get sent into the future?

The thing is that I'm not really seeing this aspect lasting forever.

The most plausible outcome is for mutants to eventually take over Manhattan (and the world?) somehow. If a cure is ever introduced, it'll probably involve Null, though she also seems to want to build a mutant workforce for some reason... But if she does try to cure the mutated humans, Hob won't just sit back and watch while she tears down everything he's built. He will oppose Null. Hard. There's another war on the horizon, and it's guaranteed to make the one between both factions of the Foot look like a kindergarten scrape.

[CyberCubed]

I think most of the mutants will never become humans again. It'll stay that way permanently for a new status quo.

[daggio]

And then Shredder appears and takes over Manhattan just like Turtles in Time #4 predicted :lol::D

[neatoman]

By the way, the fact that Jennika and Mona needed to specify that they used to be human makes me wonder how many of the mutants weren't? Like you'd figure some of that stuff would leak into the wild life. Like we can assume the platypus mutant used to be human because it's New York and not Sydney, but what about the raccoon, rabbit, cat and porcupine?

[Mutant Ninja Anole]

And then Shredder appears and takes over Manhattan just like Turtles in Time #4 predicted :lol::D

It does seem like that future is still in play doesn’t it? Though, as a twist, perhaps Shredder really does at least start as a legitimate defender of mutants.

[daggio]

Maybe I missed this from an issue or two ago, but when did Leo get the scar over his eye? I saw it while hes tending to his flowers. I don't remember him getting slashed over the eye the last few issues, but maybe I missed it.

[lonewarrior20]

Maybe I missed this from an issue or two ago, but when did Leo get the scar over his eye? I saw it while hes tending to his flowers. I don't remember him getting slashed over the eye the last few issues, but maybe I missed it.

remember it has been six months, for all we know that scar along with splinters death is what made the turtles separate. all it takes is one argument about future plans.

[daggio]

remember it has been six months, for all we know that scar along with splinters death is what made the turtles separate. all it takes is one argument about future plans.

I hear ya. That's was something I was thinking but I figured I'd ask cuz maybe I didn't pay close enough attention to the fights of 99 and 100.

[Igglet]

It was during the Leo Macro.

[CyberCubed]

Maybe I missed this from an issue or two ago, but when did Leo get the scar over his eye? I saw it while hes tending to his flowers. I don't remember him getting slashed over the eye the last few issues, but maybe I missed it.

Koya gave it to him in the Leonardo macro. We see her digging into his skin with her talon. He’s had it for a while now.

[daggio]

I see that now, but before you guys wrote that I was searching all the previous issues and couldn't find anything. But after you guys wrote that, I couldn't help but notice that in #90 (during and after Slash's funeral) that Leo clearly has no slash over his eye even without the bandana. For me, that explains why I couldn't remember any recent incident. I guess Dialynas never got the memo to put a slash over Leo's eye. :lol:

[CyberCubed]

Does Leonardo abandoning his family and the clan to go live in a greenhouse remind anyone else of what Luke did in the Star Wars movies? It feels like Leonardo wants to let the past die, so he’s letting it all go and moving away from the Foot, Splinter, Clan Hamato, everything.

After Leo and Raph just made up again in issue 100 and Leo was always there for Mike it feels kind of weird. I guess this is not going to go the way I think.

[ChosenOne]

Does Leonardo abandoning his family and the clan to go live in a greenhouse remind anyone else of what Luke did in the Star Wars movies? It feels like Leonardo wants to let the past die, so he’s letting it all go and moving away from the Foot, Splinter, Clan Hamato, everything.

After Leo and Raph just made up again in issue 100 and Leo was always there for Mike it feels kind of weird. I guess this is not going to go the way I think.

Bear in mind, we still don't know what happened in the intervening time. Maybe they tried to make it work as a family but broke or drifted apart for whatever reason will be revealed in the Annual.

[myconius]

Does Leonardo abandoning his family and the clan to go live in a greenhouse remind anyone else of what Luke did in the Star Wars movies? It feels like Leonardo wants to let the past die, so he’s letting it all go and moving away from the Foot, Splinter, Clan Hamato, everything.

After Leo and Raph just made up again in issue 100 and Leo was always there for Mike it feels kind of weird. I guess this is not going to go the way I think.

we just have to get those four pesky original turtles out of the way so we can focus on Jenika.

yayyyyyyyyy JENNY!

[ChosenOne]

What species is the bunny’s friend BTW?

I just finished re-reading the issue and I remembered that you'd asked this, I think she's a fish.

[Maelxich]

I thought the issue was good, I got klunk but I really hope they include a Jem and he holograms inspired mutant band, still want a pant less jeninka though maybe not now that it’s snowing but when summer comes. I feel the annual will fill in the gaps I see in this issue though

[Ninjinister]

I'm dying to find out what the new characters' names are but I'm glad they didn't do the annoying thing where they addressed each other by name in a context which wouldn't make sense. Like, as they're fighting, the platypus says something to the raccoon and punctuates with his name, and the raccoon responds the same way. Like just made up names and conversation, but just an example:

Platypus: "Do you think this is one of those ninja turtles, Mike?"
Raccoon: "You're right, it obviously is one, Bob"

And then they go to get their boss "Wait until we get our boss, Jared, he will show you!"

Stuff like that feels so unnatural. It's even weirder when they address their relationship to each each other.

"Hi, Tony, it's me, your brother, Tom"
or
"Hi, Tony, it's me, your brother."
"Tom?"
(Tony only has one brother)


but I really hope they include a Jem and he holograms inspired mutant band,


Maybe we'll get an adaptation of DIGG or Merciless Slaughter.

still want a pant less jeninka though

Creepy.

[ChosenOne]

Great, now I want the platypus to be named Bob. :D

[TigerClaw]

I like that this issue did a bit of World Building. Hope to see more from Mutant Town.

That Mutant Band will have to make an appearance at some point.

[spookycookies]

I like that this issue did a bit of World Building. Hope to see more from Mutant Town.

That Mutant Band will have to make an appearance at some point.

I kinda hope it's the Riverbottom Nightmare Band, I can see Hob getting down to that.

[TobeyP]

After originally not liking Sophie Campbell's art (I thought it was a little childish). I'm glad to say I was wrong and how much I enjoyed that issue.
Though at first you couldn't tell who was writing in the journal as Donnie was in a blue hoodie. I like the idea of mutant town and seeing all the animals mutants (maybe we could see Tokka and Rahzar).

[oldmanwinters]

I kinda hope it's the Riverbottom Nightmare Band, I can see Hob getting down to that.

Haha, nice!

[Rooish]

Though at first you couldn't tell who was writing in the journal as Donnie was in a blue hoodie.

He was carrying a bo staff.

[TobeyP]

He was carrying a bo staff.

OOPS. I never caught that. Good thing I ain't no detective.

[TobeyP]

I've stopped buying single issues, but I had to pick this up when I saw it.

https://popculthq.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-101-Retailer-Incentive-Cover-scaled.jpg