Tmnt Bebop and Rocksteady Destroy Everything #1
IDW
Story by : Ben Bates & Dustin Weaver
Script by: Dustin Weaver
Art by: Sophie Campbell, Dustin Weaver, Ben Bates & Giannis Milogiannis
TMNT Bebop and Rocksteady Destroy Everything #1, if that title alone doesn’t excite you, nor do the many variant covers, then you might have no pulse (or maybe you just aren’t a fan of TMNT). Just in time to help usher in the new movie, TMNT Out of the Shadows, this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle title fits in with the current continuity of the turtles-verse comics where Shredder and the Foot Clan have been defeated. So what do a pair of out of work, mountains of muscle do to make ends meet? They jump from gang to gang as hired muscle. This series opens up with the destructive duo rampaging during the cretaceous period, a stunning introduction before we are brought back to the present for the narrative. This prehistoric tease promises us that we will see Bebop and Rocksteady having their own “Turtles in Time” adventure.
Another feature of this comic book that I loved was the art. Destroy Everything is illustrated by a collective of artists (Sophie Campbell, Dustin Weaver, Ben Bates & Giannis Milogiannis) none of whom are on the current run of TMNT books, allowing for a different perspective on the involved characters with each chunk of the story by a different artist. The turtles have some slight head nods to the movie version (with Donnie sporting his various spectrum headgear). But this story takes place in the current comic’s universe ultimately. The action scenes and fights that Bebop and Rocksteady partake in go from a normal conversation to full on explosive carnage in 0-60mph in both the script and art work. It’s a high octane story in every way possible.
With an arc title like “Destroy Everything”, I expect to see literally every scene and panel with this pair of thugs showing some form of destruction left in their wake. Be it their hideout when they are between jobs or the ground in which they walk on, and so far I have not been disappointed. Having these two normally side characters as the main subjects will be make an interesting read, just to see if Ben Bates and Dustin Weaver can hold the story together and not have it be another failed concept like so many sidekick books seem to be fall victim too. From their original slapstick comedy roots to their shell-breaking beat down of the turtles within an inch of their lives, it will be fun to explore these lumber villains a little deeper and see what they’ve really got behind those animal instincts.