Shell-Shocking Milestone: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150 Review

By Daniel Schwartz

Reviewer

It is hard to believe that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have existed for 41 years. They have been in multiple versions of media, from comics to television to movies. They are responsible for such highs as The Last Ronin and such lows as Ninja Rap. Through all of that, it is no surprise that they have reached a new milestone in issue 150 of the IDW TMNT comic.

THE PREMISE: 

It all comes down to this—many of the storylines from the entire 150-issue run come to a head in this seminal issue. Donatello and Venus travel the timeline, reliving some important moments in Turtle’s history and looking for a way to defeat the villainous Armaggon. With time running out, Donnie has to pull out all of the stops to preserve the timeline and save the world. 

THE STORY: 

This is a big issue, and it feels like one from start to finish. It references many past events from previous issues, and multiple stories come to their conclusion in this issue. This issue serves as an end to one chapter of the TMNT Universe and the beginning of the next. 

Writer Sophie Campbell (who pulls double duty as an artist for pages 16-17 and 44-50) tells a fast-paced, exciting story that takes Donnie and the readers to the limit. Not only does she tell a great story, but she also consults with the original TMNT creator, Kevin Eastman, on this issue. This collaboration makes this monumental issue even bigger and more important to the Turtles and readers. 

THE ARTISTS:

In an issue this big, IDW went all out. 4 Artists shared duties throughout the length of the story. Vincenzo Federici illustrates pages 1-4 and 27-43. Fero Pe covers pages 5-7 and 10-26. Dan Duncan draws pages 8-9 and Sophie Campbell illustrates 16-17 and 44-50. You might think having four different artists for one issue would make the story feel disjointed and patchy. It does not at all. The various styles add to the massive size of the story, and they all look fantastic. Large, important events are happening, and the artwork reflects that throughout. 

THE RATING: 

This historic milestone issue lives up to the hype, delivers an emotional and heartfelt tribute to what came before, and serves as a bridge to what is coming next for the Heroes in a Half-Shell. 

This issue gets 4.75 Pastrami Nations out of 5.