Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

So, I was trying to finish Every Which Way, but this book was due back to the library in a couple days.   I'm going to return it tomorrow while I pick up another book that came in for me, so I decided to put Every Which Way aside to finish this.   

This is a modern update of the original series.   There's a mix of science-fiction and fantasy; science - the ooze, experiments to make animals smarter - mix with a reincarnation story to explain why the turtles are so humanized.   I'm enjoying this new take on the characters.   

Casey Jones is battered by his father, which plays into how he becomes part of the family.  It also gives him a more sympathetic origin story, and a little more depth as he struggles to face the reality of his home life.   He tells the turtles off for complaining about small things when they have a father who would die for any of them.   It gives Splinter a contrast; he's a far better father than Casey's father, and this is said so in a very blunt manner.   So when Casey's father asks what kind of monsters Splinter and Raph are, and Splinter retorts that the better question is what kind of man is it who beats his child, there's yet another dichotomy.   (Monstrous appearance versus monstrous personality.)

There's a lot to play with there, as Casey's father is a the polar opposite of Splinter and his family.   

Also, having April O'Neil be a student/intern at Stockgen makes me like her more - I respect reporters, but they added more education to the one main female heroine, and gives her a stronger tie to the turtles, and their past.   I like it!   

It's not quite as violent, or brutal as the original, but there's a lot going for this graphic novel.   It doesn't really need that brutality.   Between Krang, the Shredder and the Foot Clan, and other Stockgen mutants hunting down the turtles, they have enough problems to face.   There's a 'life is sacred' and samurai honor thread that brings up another important issue, and once again, ties into Casey's home life.   The conclusion is that violence is a last resort - far different from the original, which again, was far more violent and brutal - but that makes sense.   In the original, they weren't reincarnated from a samurai warrior, who lived as peacefully as possible, and his four sons.   Here, they are. Splinter's insistence on non-violence makes sense given their new backstories.   

It also comes to a head when one of them is given a choice to kill, and chooses life.   And later, when one of them wants to choose life, and is forced into choosing the death of an opponent to keep his family safe.   This splinters the group as they argue amongst themselves, or disparage one another.   Splinter speaks up for Michelangelo - my favorite character since I was introduced to them via the live action movies - and it's a touching scene.   They all have vastly different personalities, and while Mike seems to be cool and collected, and even somewhat aloof, he's described as optimistic, as sympathetic, and as seeking the good in others that's in his own heart.   He wants to love and be loved in return, Splinter says, even while it's shown that Mike is being rejected due to the dangerous lifestyle he's forced to live.   A very effective scene.   

Even having read other volumes, I was surprised at the emotional depth of this volume.   I'm still loving the art in this series, too.