Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Urban Legends #23

Published by IDW

Written by Gary Carlson

Artwork by Frank Fosco

Colors by Adam Guzowski

It is the turtle’s birthday and they plan to celebrate. Raph is now head of the foot clan and will not attended the festivities. Mike, Don and Leo seek to change that but discover a dire situation. The turtles spring into action but can they stand against the Lady Shredder?!

So, this is not the TMNT that we grew up watching in the 80s. As you see, I have already mentioned Raph being the leader of the footclan and a Lady Shredder. There are some other notable differences such as Donatello being a cyborg as well as Krang working with and living with the turtles. I do not follow this series, so it took a little getting used to and its why I mention it here.

Not matching my nostalgia aside, lets talk about what this series is and why I give it major props. This series is the continuation of the original TMNT comic book run. The lady Shredder character was introduced, and it was never revealed who she was. She even mentions in this comic that she is surprised that the turtles do not recognize her. Suffice to say it seems like a big deal and it has just been a hanging thread for over 20 years. As a collector I appreciate this. So, my appreciation will cancel out any bad feelings I have about the differences.

The story is interesting and creative. Raph is the leader of the foot clan and the turtles want to pay him a visit for a couple reasons. They discover that Raph is about to be killed by lady Shredder and the foot clan that she now leads. A battle ensures and this is where we see Donatello use his cyborg powers and well as Leo using a metal stub with sword in it. Apparently, he lost his hand somewhere down the line. It is a typical TMNT scenario and enjoyable enough. There are more details here, but I am hoping to just set the proper expectations here.

The artwork is a weak spot for me here. I know they are trying to mimic the original artwork, but I hated that too. A lot of jagged lines and shadowing that just seems overdone. The only thing not shadowed on Lady Shredder is her boob breast plate and it is a bit off putting. The artist also seems to struggle with human faces and not making them look creepy. Thankfully, it is colored which is a great change from the original artwork. The color looks decent but does not have a good pop. It just does not grab your attention.

Overall, this was a strange ride. Seeing the turtles look and act drastically different from their cartoon and move counterparts. With that bias aside, I thought the story was enjoyable and fun. I do like the build up to the Lady Shredder reveal that is going to happen in issues #24. The artwork has a lot of problems and is by far the weak spot for me. Overall, I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Urban Legends #23 5 capes out of 10. I am happy for the fans and collectors that get to experience the story and have it in their collection. I thank IDW for doing this series.