Review by Frank Plowright

Technically The Armageddon Game began with the preludes included in the previous volume, but the bulk of it is here, presented in chronological order as it was in The Armageddon Game: The Deluxe Edition. It’s such a vast project, though, that this volume isn’t enough to contain it, so it spills over into The IDW Collection V18.

As with The Deluxe Edition, there’s the occasional wait to resolve a cliffhanger, but the story plain reads better when the running order is the same as the release order of the individually serialised comics than it did as three separate paperbacks. The true scope, ambition and achievement is revealed. That’s down to Tom Waltz, writer of the core story and with input into what went on in other chapters where he’s credited for “story consulting” (as is Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman). Waltz manages to include a massive supporting cast, to the extent that they actually overwhelm the Turtles, vary the tone, and solve some long-running plots, although some of those aren’t concluded until the next volume.

The IDW Collection V16 strongly featured the machinations of the Rat King, one of eight immortals, intending to ascend to supremacy among his peers and beyond. Here he’s more the background figure pulling the strings, with his three allies providing the threats. Each provides a different kind of story, so we have the gritty action drama that’s been the Turtles mainstay since day one, science-fiction space opera and a little magic also.

The bulk of the art is by either Vincenzo Federici or Fero Pe, and they’re a study in contrasts. Federici favours close-ups and facial expressions, as much as possible avoiding full figures, which always makes his pages look cramped, compounded by a lack of imagination in the layouts. Pe offers viewpoints from distance and packs multiple characters into his panels, yet there’s clarity and continuity. He’s also far more imaginative when it comes to page designs. Other named artists are restricted to a single chapter, and all are good.

Most work on what was previously collected as The Armageddon Game: The Alliance, which is single chapter spotlights on individual friends and foes of the Turtles telling their backstory, explaining their motivations and gradually pulling them into an alliance. Erik Burnham and Roi Mercado craft the opening chapter and then short sections showing Karai of the Foot Clan uniting them. In completely different styles, the art from Juni Ba and Will Robson is notable.

Sophie Campbell’s material is found in paperback as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reborn: Isolation, with the primary purpose being to chart the personal growth of alien princess Seri. Her destiny is connected with one of the villains, and is thrillingly told with Pe on art.

The one difference between this hardcover and The Armageddon Game: The Deluxe Edition is the opening inclusion ‘Teen Spirit’, one of the few chapters to concentrate almost exclusively on the Turtles. It’s a slim story from Ronda Pattison taking place during their training in mystical skills by Oroku Saki, once their mortal enemy Shredder. It’s attractively drawn by Pablo Tunica.

The Armageddon Game: The Deluxe Edition is the format of choice for collecting the entire story, but anyone who’s been buying these hardcovers as a series is surely going to want to keep their run going.