by Kevin Eastmen and Peter Laird

Okay, so my childhood was all about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I absolutely loved these guys; but i especially loved Raphael. I’m not really sure what it was. Was it the red mask? Was it his cockiness or take-no-crap attitude? I don’t really know. All I do know is that I couldn’t get enough of him. Remember in the first TMNT movie where he’s hurt and in the bath tub? As a kid, I was crushed by that scene and I think it still haunts me…

Anyway… I picked up IDW’s Color Classics Micro-Series: Raphael–for obvious reasons–not realizing it was a re-coloring of an original Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird–the creators of TMNT–story. The story starts with a sparring match between Mike and Raph where, inevitably, Raphael loses his cool and almost goes too far. Raphael is forced to leave the sewers and get some “fresh air” to help cool him down only to come across a mugging in progress. Still hot from his sparring match with Mikey, he jumps in and gives the muggers the old what-for. Enter Casey Jones. Casey, after Raphael lets the muggers go relatively unharmed, chases after and proceeds to beat the living hell out of the muggers forcing Raphael to now save the muggers from Casey Jones. This leads to an epic “hot head vs. hot head” battle of the century.

Being that it’s a classic Eastmen and Laird reprint, some of the dialogue is obviously a bit dated but I really enjoy the classic art. I think the original black and white work was good, but I have to admit that this new re-colored edition looks great and really does work for this classic story. $3.99 for 32 pages of classic, newly coloured Raphael vs. Casey Jones goodness. There is absolutely no way you can go wrong with this.

Story: B
Art: B+
Overall: B+

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Founder/CEO/President/Editor-in-Chief at ReadComicBooks
Tyler is a life-long comic fan who forgot–probably due to some crazy bump on the head–his true passion for almost 15 years. Now, back into comics with a fiery vengeance that can’t be quenched, he focuses on ReadComicBooks.net daily–growing and nurturing the young community and website. Comics are something that he believes should be in the hands of anybody that just wants to read a good story and/or check out some amazing art. ReadComicBooks.net is a way to help share that idea and the passion for comics. Follow him twitter @readcomicbooks or @rcbTYLER.
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@GailSimone Second that! - 4 hours ago
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