By Mark Rodriguez
Looks like we can't get enough of the 80's Turtles, so alongside the monthly series, we got an extra Summer Special. Let's take a look as the Turtles hit the beach.
The issue opens with the Turtles leaping into action as they attack Foot Soldiers that were stealing discounted sneakers so they could flip them for a higher price. As the Turtles take turns dropping one-liners and destroying the robot ninjas, Michealangelo seems bored. The others ask if he's okay and he says it's summer time and they're supposed to be having fun. He feels they're just fighting the same villains over and over again and it's gotten old.
As the crew head back to the sewers, Michealangelo says they're stuck in a never-ending loop while everyone else is having fun. Donatello says they could use some rest and relaxation and mentions they haven't had a break since their trip to Europe. As the Turtles talk, Michealangelo isn't even interested in eating pizza and would rather try a salad.
The Turtles say they have to do something immediately. Leonardo remembers when April let them tag along to a theme park a few summers ago. Donatello says it was called Frontier Ride-A-World and they even encourage costumes, so people won't know they're turtles. Michealangelo agrees and says it could be their Fun-tier day. Raphael complains about the bad pun but Leonardo says the following day will be Fun-tier Day for them.
The following day the Turtles check out the park while dressed as cowboys and are surprised at how much it has expanded since they last time they visited. They decide to check out the twister.
As they head for the ride, Michealangelo accidentally bumps into a kid and knocks the ice cream scoop off of her cone. Michealangelo is able to catch the scoop and put it back on the cone and the kid is impressed by his quick reflexes. The Turtles have fun on the rides. Leonardo asks if anything feels strange about this and the others shut him up and just want to enjoy the ride.
Afterwards Leonardo spots General Traag in a cowboy outfit. Michealangelo isn't in the mood to fight bad guys today but they still have to investigate. They follow the stone warrior to a hidden base under one of the rides. Krang is complaining about Traag tearing his costume, which is vital to the plan. Krang plans to open a portal from Dimension X to bring in more stone warriors.
The Turtles leap into action and Krang sends Traag after them. Leonardo asks if just wearing a cowboy hat counts as a disguise and Traag says the Turtles are pretty much doing the same. Traag throws Leonardo into a dunk tank and his costume is destroyed. A woman sees him and is surprised to see a massive turtle. Leonardo says she's just suffering heat stroke.
The Turtles continue to fight Traag as Krang opens the portal, allowing his army to march through. The Turtles realize he's using the energy from the rides to power the portal. As the Turtles head off to stop Krang, Michealangelo sees one of the roller coaster cars snap off in the middle of the ride. Michealangelo quickly climbs up a nearby water tower and leaps off to catch the kids in the falling car. The kids thank Michealangelo for saving their lives and he heads off to help the others.
Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael fight against the Rock Soldiers, but they are quickly overwhelmed by their numbers. Krang says they have lost and soon he will rule the world with his army. Just then a whirling nunchuck flies through the air and hits the button on the portal control panel, shutting it off.
Michaelangelo arrives to help fight off the Stone Warriors and Krang wants to turn the portal back on. The Turtles fight him off while Donatello reverses the polarity of the portal, sending all the rock soldiers back to Dimension X. Leonardo sees that Michealangelo is happy again, and the surfer turtle tells him that he just needed to have fun with the gang to get his Cowabunga back. He also sees that people need them.
Krang is defeated and the Turtles leave before the police show up. Michealaneglo wonders if there's any peppermint tikka masala pizza left and Raphael says Donatello ate it last night. Leonardo says they won't know til they get home, but maybe there'll be a Fun-Tier Day miracle.
My thoughts-
This was a fun little one-shot, though several things were weird, even for the 80's Turtles. At first I was confused why the Turtles were going to a cowboy-themed amusement park when the cover shows them at the beach. I then realized it was sort of a combined cover with three other IDW comics: Sonic the Hedgehog, Dungeons and Dragons and My Little Pony. So, I guess it's my fault for the confusion since I picked up the beach variant cover. It's nice to know that Dungeons and Dragons got an extra comic since I think they remained a 4-issue mini series.
The story was alright, but it was pretty weird seeing Krang working on his own. Other than the one crossover with the 2012 Turtles, I don't remember Krang ever conducting his own schemes without Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady.
Other than the idea that Foot Soldiers are peddling cheap sneakers, what really threw me off was the overly stylized goofy art. The Turtles were fine, but oh god, Krang looked bad and General Traag looked awful.
Goofy art aside, I liked the idea of Michealangelo getting tired of the same old routine and having that 'what are we even doing this for' feeling and later on getting to save people's lives. The Turtles can fight bad guys all day, but actually jumping out to save the lives of two kids really mails it home that the Turtles are heroes. It was cool to see Michealangelo get that moment to remind him how important they are, even in a sillier cartoonier world.
One thing that's confusing about the comic is how it will sometimes reference episodes from the actual show (the European Vacation episodes) and what are just off-screen adventures that the comic made up (their previous trip to Frontier Land). People might get confused and think they missed some random episode about April taking the Turtles to a cowboy-themed park.
Overall a fun simple read. It's not involved with what's happening in the main series, so it's a bonus tale. The only thing left to say is regarding the scene where Michealangelo caught the ice cream scoop and put it back on the kid's cone. Who would eat ice cream that someone grabbed with their hand? Especially a weird green dude's hand?
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