justjonsbooks's reviews
180 reviews

It was really cool to see the brothers and Casey in action in the flashbacks but a shock to see how they died. Casey Marie seems very cool while the villain seems very weird.

Yeah my review for this one is gonna be tasty, stay tuned!

A cool neo-noir style comic to kick off my Halloweenie season. It was very very short so the story was basic but fast paced. The artwork was excellent, I loved the different colour pallets throughout, and it was interesting to see the different interpretation of Dracula; being a terror monster rather than the usual handsome man. (A point that the author touches upon at the end of the comic)

Meanwhile the added info from the illustrator at the end about page designs was also very interesting. Understanding how we automatically scan both pages (the spread) before reading so it’s important to always hide big visual reveals on the left-hand side, to see first when we turn the page. As well as how they used colours to set a tone and help guide the readers though panels and scenes, giving each setting its own colour.

Anyhoo this review has taken longer than it actually did to read the comic so imma stop typing now.

And so we reach the end. A decent final volume including a pretty cool fight sequence, but I was a little disappointed with the outcome and ending; it all felt bittersweet. I would have also liked to have seen more of Casey Marie in action after learning she’s a mutant, I guess they’re saving that for a future series.

— • 3.5 • —

I decided to collate my reviews for each volume into this entry and add a summary :)


Vol.1

Been wanting to check this comic out ever since I saw the title and artwork. I’m loving the futuristic world that it’s set in and this volume makes for a cool introduction to our protagonist.

You can quickly tell that the others are in his head through their greyed out colours and speech bubbles coming from behind him, but I like how it doesn’t immediately reveal which Turtle our Ronin is until the end of the volume. I was pleasantly surprised because my initial guess was wrong.

So far there’s an interesting blend between the lighthearted convo that we expect from the Turtles and an obviously more serious tone with the story and circumstances. It doesn’t feel as dark as I was hoping (compared to Hush and Harleen for example) and maybe that’s down to the volume being a little on the short side, but the story is interesting enough that I’m sure when the series is complete we’ll have a decently sized journey.


Vol.2

An excellent second volume to this series. The pieces are being put together of what happened to his family and how he became the skilled Ronin that he is today.

It was again a little short for my liking but I found the pacing much better with the cool flashback sequences between the present day conversations. There wasn’t much in the way of story progression but I enjoyed the conversations with April and her daughter who we are just introduced to.

I really appreciated the amazing artwork in this volume too. The sequence with Raphael had some incredible shots and I liked the different art style used for Michey’s. It makes me excited for any more creative elements to come.


Vol.3

It was really cool to see the brothers and Casey in action in the flashbacks but a shock to see how they died. Casey Marie seems very cool while the villain seems very weird.


Vol.4

Enjoyed the training sequence and the flashback to Japan had some beautiful artwork. Master Splinter is a badass. Another touching death scene. Extra abilities!? Ooo


Vol.5

And so we reach the end. A decent final volume including a cool fight sequence to end it, but I was a little disappointed with the outcome, it all felt very bittersweet. I would have also liked to have seen more of Casey Marie in action after learning she’s a mutant, I guess they’re saving that for a future series.


Summary

Overall this was a pretty cool novel that gripped me at the start, however as you can probably tell by the lengths of my reviews I lost a bit of interest in writing any notes along the way. Not sure if this was because I read the volumes separately due to their releases, or if I’m right to give it some criticisms…

It was far from boring because the concept was very cool and there were many standout moments scattered throughout the volumes, most specifically the flashbacks, that were impactful and even quite sad. The focus throughout was evidently on Mikey being a Ronin, coming to terms with what happened to his brothers and how to move on from it, seeking vengeance in order to do so, while also deciding to do good by passing on what he knows to Casey Marie. It all sounds cool when summed up like that, but from what I can remember that’s about it.

The writing was a little basic at times and the story lacked a bit of meat.

My main criticisms are that there wasn’t much world building other than the first volume which is a shame because it had a really cool futuristic setting that I wanted to explore more. Meanwhile the villain (despite his cool armour at the end) was terrible; his only purpose was for Mikey to get vengeance and everything else he did was cringe. And finally for all the build-up and reveal of Casey Marie having powers because she’s a mutant; she didn’t actually end up doing anything by the end.

Nonetheless, as I already mentioned a few times, the concept, artwork and style were definitely the best parts of it all and I’m glad I checked it out!

Wanted some more comics to read for Halloween season and the artwork for this caught my eye.

I don’t follow the Buffy series at all but I’m guessing this is some sort of spin off sequel, as at the beginning it mentions events (saving the world with her group of friends) as though we’re supposed to already know about it. It wasn’t hard to follow though; they had a tough time and she needed to get away.

I enjoyed the mysterious vibes of the town and people. Even though they all became very friendly and welcoming there was still the feeling of something being off, which became even more apparent when she meets the witch who wants to escape.

It was going well but I felt that the last chapter and ending was quite rushed. I was surprised that she would choose to forgive them so quickly after they tried to trap her. I did like the concept of them sharing their powers to be stronger together, but I don’t know what they fear so much to the point that they would force witches to stay. The outside threat isn’t explained much at all.

Anyway, it was short enough to not stress over and was worth checking out for amazing issue artwork on it’s own. The other reviews here do a decent job a critiquing it further.

Honesty I was barely listening properly for most of it but I got it for free and it was only 2 hours or so AND it’s performed by Scarlett Johansson so how could I resist!?

Pretty cool! I enjoyed the first Batman/Fortnite collab and was looking forward to how they would develop the story. I felt the writing in this was more detailed and not as rushed as the first series, however the volume is still pretty short making it seem like an intro/teaser of something to come. 3 stars for now, but I can see myself bumping that up for the full series.

Weird, crazy and a lot of fun. Honestly I didn’t know what to expect when starting this Audiobook. I’m a massive fan of Doc and all of his content so I was very excited when he announced this memoir. It was bonkers to say the least, but what must be acknowledged is that this is a memoir from The Doc persona and not from Guy, making this more of a fiction than a real biography. That’s not entirely a bad thing but it needs considering as you strap yourself in for the violence, speed and momentum of this audiobook.

Simply put, you either love or hate him. I love him, so I loved the majority of this book. The over-the-top descriptions and ramblings are what make the Doc, Doc. I really enjoyed the multiple origin stories and the chapters about growing the perfect mullet, the poisonous Ethiopian caterpillar and what makes the perfect flip phone.

However taking things a little more seriously for a second, I did find myself losing interest in some of the fictional story parts towards the end, mostly because it got a bit too random and weird. Also I know audiobooks are always read slower and the speed can be adjusted, but I felt his delivery lacked the spark and energy that we’re used to seeing live. Probably no fault of his own, I just missed the elements of surprise, the rages, the voice cracks, the singing…

In the end, as an entertaining depiction of the Doc this memoir was excellent but as a work of fiction it wasn’t that great, despite still having some very fun moments. I think certain things could have been done better and I wonder if one day Guy will produce another for the man behind the mullet.

Firm handshakes nonetheless!

Studied this book for A-Level English Literature. It's funny when I first started reading it I felt really out of my depth as I had never read a book of this age and style before. So it took me a while to get into, but after studying and writing about for a while I really began to appreciate it for the iconic classic that it is.