Initially I was a bit skeptical how this crossover would work. Turns out it works out pretty well. The author and artist manage to keep the essence of the characters from both settings, and they interact pretty well.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) find themselves transported by a dimensional portal to Gotham City from their own New York. Their enemy Shredder and the Foot Clan also get transported to Gotham. Shredder figures he may as well try to take over Gotham, but he soon has to figure out alliances with the local villains including the Penguin, Ras Al Ghul, and others out of Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, the TMNT get to meet Batman, and after a bit of a rocky start they become allies. The Turtles are fighting also against time because the mutagen that makes them who they are does not exist in Batman's universe. This means it will go inert and turn them back into normal turtles if they do not return to their world soon.

As I said, this comic turns out to be very good. It is fast paced. The reader gets dropped right in the middle of the action, and soon we follow the story from there. Story combines good action with a bit of the grittiness Batman comics are known for, and it also maintains the humor that distinguishes TMNT comics. While it is a dramatic story, there are plenty of moments to make readers smile as well.

The art is very good as well. It captures the characters well. It is a bit realistic within the overall fantasy style. Art is also in full color, which makes this volume a pleasure to read.

Fans of either Batman or the TMNT will probably enjoy this. I certainly did. This is a good selection for libraries with graphic novel and comics collections. If the libraries already collect comics for either series, then this can be a good addition to the collection as well. Overall, I really liked this one, and I am likely to read the next installment of this series.

Sometimes you just wanna mash all your action figures together. Even fewer times someone else does it pretty well. This is strictly by-the-books for a comics crossover, dimensional rift, misunderstanding leads to fight, eventual conversation, building respect, bad guy team-up, fight scene, respectful nods exchanged, and peace out. There's a couple of good character moments during a batcave hangout/sparring session, the team up of The Shredder and Al Ghul could have been a little more fleshed out but it's all pretty good. The art does good job of meshing the current TMNT book's feel with a version of animated gotham mashup.

Verdict: try it. It's a decent diversion for anyone looking for a Saturday morning feel.

This got bumped in favour of a broader feature about the IDW comic books in our TMNT special.