TITLE: Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #2
AUTHOR: Matthew K. Manning
PENCILLER: Jon Sommariva
PUBLISHERS: DC Comics/IDW Publishing
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: December 14, 2016

***Miss issue #1? Catch up here!***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

There’s a school of thought that says the comics based on Batman: The Animated Series, created by the Paul Dini, Kelley Puckett, Rick Burchett, Ty Templeton, etc, were some of the best Batman stories to come out of the ’90s and early ’00s. Looking at something like Mad Love, it’s tough to dispute that. I’m certainly not comparing Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Mad Love, but the charming simplicity of it reminds me of those older books.

This sophomore issue sees the Batman and TMNT of two different generations meet, as they investigate strange dimensional portals. Little do they know that other cross-dimensional meetings have also occurred. The Joker and Harley Quinn have lured Shredder and the Foot Clan into a trap. But as our heroes will soon learn, yet another Arkham escapee is in New York, and they’re looking for a fight.

As one might expect, with two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures regulars on this title, it leans more in the TMNT direction in terms of look and tone. It’s still the Animated Series Batman. But the word “animated” has rarely been more emphasized. He, and the characters from his world, all essentially look like they’re appearing on the TMNT cartoon. As one might expect, the Joker and Harley feel this transition the least.

And yes, we are allowed to see the reverse effect, if only on a variant cover by Rick Burchett (shown left).

I was pleasantly surprised at how funny this issue was. Not laugh out loud funny. But I was tickled. There’s a bit where Joker is “struggling” to remember Shredder’s name, calling him things like Slicer, Grater, and the Juicer. Mikey later calls Robin a pirate, because of the “R” on his chest. It’s objectively stupid. But it’s fun. Perhaps I’m a little more receptive to the humor this time around, given how much more I’m enjoying it than the Tynion/Williams story (no offense, gents).

That scene with Joker, Harley, and the Foot was a bit of a head-scratcher, as Mr. J simply outwits them. The TMNT buff in me wanted a more even exchange between them. But it’s early, of course. And from a story perspective, I imagine you have to find some way to justify Shredder wanting to team with this crazy clown. He’s obviously smarter than he seems. And as we find out in our cliffhanger, the team-up thing seems to be going around.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures has been a pleasant surprise. A fun ride for fans young and old. I’m most certainly coming back for a third slice!

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