As soon as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto crossover series was announced it immediately became the #1 comic book I was looking forward to. These are two of my favorite franchises across all media. Both franchises hold special places in my heart for different reasons. Ninja Turtles, along with Batman and Spider-Man, is how I discovered and fell in love with comic books. Naruto meanwhile was the first manga series that I read from beginning to end as it was being published. I had the chance to check out an early copy of this highly anticipated crossover series. Find out how it turned out with this advance review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Caleb Goellner
Artist: Hendry Prasetya
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES X NARUTO #1 SOLICITATION
“It’s the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared! The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about.
When teenage reporter April O’Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. They aren’t the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan have their own interest in April’s visit, as they think she might hold the valuable information on mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can’t be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!
Working with acclaimed manga publisher Viz Entertainment, IDW is pulling together two of the most popular comics in the world to bring you the four-issue comic book event of 2024!” – IDW Publishing & Viz Media
REVIEW
When it comes to these franchise crossovers when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles paired with other brands it’s not about how one fits into the other. We’ve seen in their crossovers with Batman, Power Rangers, Stranger Things, Street Fighter, He-Man, and others that it is okay for these comics to exist on their own. That is exactly what we get with this opening chapter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #1.
To be certain, there may be certain things that may stand out given the age of the cast used for this crossover. It would be a lie to say there weren’t moments where my super fan brain said “Hey that character shouldn’t say or be able to do that.” But that is where Caleb Goellner and Hendry Prasetya’s talents as a creative team really came into play the most. They turned these brief moments into something that works for the storytelling of this series. In turn, these moments work as a reminder to just enjoy this comic book as a crossover between two beloved franchises.
Especially with what versions of these characters are used it needed to be shown that Splinter’s Hamato Clan and Kakashi’s Team 7 stood on equal footing. That is really what all of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #1 above the bigger story being told. Neither the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles nor Naruto are taking the starring role over the other. It is made clear to fans of both franchises that we should expect equal development time to be spent.
This made the way the different combinations between the Hamato Clan and Team 7 are utilized to enhance the story. Goellner took the time to maximize the different personality types within the Ninja Turtles and Naruto franchises to make each character stand out. This is particularly helpful for readers who may only be familiar with one franchise and not the other. You get a good level of understanding of who each character is without feeling you have to do a lot of research into them. That highlights how important it was for Goellner to pick the right pairings right off the bat given how many lead characters are involved in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto.
It also allowed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto to exist as its own thing. You quickly don’t think twice about what universe we are in. April O’Neil plays a key role in this. While she is positioned as a support character without her the two franchises wouldn’t be able to work together as well as they do. There is enough established with her character that April is set to play an important role in the story moving forward. That is a good thing as we do see in this first issue that ninja action will be heavily relied on as the story progresses.
Hendry Prasetya does a great job blending Masashi Kishimoto’s manga style with the traditional comic book art style in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #1. It does take a bit to get used to seeing the Naruto characters with the comic book coloring. Prasetya and Angulo get enough time to get the style down so all the characters mesh well together. It helps that this is an action-heavy debut so that they can focus on the fighting styles of all the different characters. This played into their strength as an art team and further enhanced the character storytelling.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #1 delivers a comic book that was an absolute joy to read. Caleb Goellner and Hendry Prasetya create magic with how they blend the Ninja Turtles and Naruto worlds. The cohesive package shows that these franchises were made to have crossovers with each other. An absolute must-read for fans of these franchises.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
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