20250502 Friday

Comics log: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Last Ronin

A sort of conclusion to the TMNT saga, this story takes place in an 
alternate reality -- a dystopian future where all but one of the 
Turtles have died. The setting is grim and dark, with loss, 
loneliness, death and revenge being central themes. Apparently the 
story was conceived by Eastman & Laird already in the 1980s, and 
then Eastman picked it up again around 2018 and finished it.

Many familiar tropes from the franchise are still present, as well as
Frank Miller's eternal influence. But the story isn't very engaging, 
unfortunately. It all feels pretty thin and cliched, and the fight 
scenes take up too much space. The story jumps between a few different
points in time, but it seems a bit endless and meandering. Some 
flashbacks are drawn in a style similar to Eastman and Laird's 
original 1980s artwork, which is a nice touch. The artwork is decent 
for being a modern and slick take on the series, but I miss some of 
the quirk, charm and character that was readily on display in the 
original TMNT run.