Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4

Despite all of the inconsistencies, this issue pleases.

In particular, the story gains some momentum and solves a few of the mysteries that were begun in the first issue. It's clever in reuniting some characters with one another. And, some of my initial issues with the story regarding their training and back history seem to be on their way to be answered (looks like next issue). I don't think they'll do too well in answering them because they seem rather outlandish (even within the actual concept). Overall, this was a step in the right direction.

However, the writing seems far from brilliant. It's predictable and been said before. Nothing flashy but nothing quite original. There are some clever ideas, but it does not really spark the fan inside of me. The ending was precious, though. I'll give it that. I suppose the comic made me care about the characters even though I did already. And, I'm rather enjoying Old Hob.

The art has remained fairly inconsistent throughout the series. Sometimes, it's beautiful with fluid action and momentum. Other times, it's stilted and contrived. There's actually a part during the fight scene that takes up the majority of the issue where Raph punches two different guys right after each other in almost exactly the same way/pose. Some of the pages also seem very rushed and more jagged than others. One page can differ dramatically from the next. More than likely, this may be a combination of Kevin Eastman's layouts and Dan Duncan's art.

The comic does deliver on its promise of showing ninja turtles fighting while forwarding its plot, but there's nothing spectacular about it.