Review by Frank Plowright
Tom Waltz had an ambitious plan for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game. It features masses of characters from past continuity, and is admirable for uniting foes across a variety of disciplines. Magic mixes with SF and political slime under the direction of the Rat King wanting to wipe out his fellow immortals, control the planet and spread his influence beyond.
Anyone picking up the serialised comics in the order they were released across three separate series found a well-plotted epic with the sheer volume of characters adding to events rather than detracting from them. However, the eight chapter Armageddon Game collection didn’t reflect that. Core events were introduced, and then petered out. A major incident was the Turtles seemingly attacking the corrupt New York mayor, but the revelation and conclusion played out in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Armageddon Game – Alliances, while the defeat of General Krang and allies is found in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reborn: Isolation.
The Deluxe Edition rectifies these frustrations by presenting the chapters in chronological order as per original release, the format also followed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection Volume 17 and Volume 18. To prove there’s no ideal format for a story serialised over multiple titles, greater overall coherency means some chapter ending cliffhangers are delayed, whereas it was just a matter of turning the page in the paperback collections. However, that’s a minor irritation when weighed against how much better the story now flows, and how much of an achievement it was to pull together so many strands from the past and weave them into a coherent thriller.
Tom Waltz writes a fair portion and guides the general direction, but Sophie Campbell’s contribution is also notable. It’s under her watch that a couple of major plots are concluded, and because Seri isn’t greatly involved in the main story her impressive growth arc is presumably down to Campbell. Erik Burnham’s creation of a plot uniting many supporting characters from over the years also plays out well. The only sub par writing is from Will Robson, unable to contract the word count nor deliver backstory in a nuanced way.
The compensation for that is Robson the artist, excellent on the chapter he draws. Almost every other artist also impresses, which makes it unfortunate that Vincenzo Federici falls well below the established standard as he draws around a third of the book (sample art left). His pages lack the technique and inspiration of every other artist, who can cope with multiple characters without crowding their pages. The other sample art is from Fero Pe, also responsible for around a third of the collection, and object lesson on how to incorporate a large cast.
A brief disappointment about an ending occurring off panel remains from the contracted Armageddon Game, but overall this is a fine achievement.
