Bebop and Rocksteady Hit the Road Review

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now, here inside the pull bag. Hello and welcome

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Mr. Joe Reed. Hello, sir. Hello Quite the coincidence.

I'm wearing my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t

-shirt right now Of course Yeah, I usually plan

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it. I'm like crap I'm talking transformers while

wearing a transformer shirt or I'm talking turtles

while wearing a turtle shirt For me, it's just

it's what was on top when I put my shirt on Yes

And we are getting back to IDW Publishing's TMNT.

We were doing that at the tail end of last year.

When did we do Turtles? It was somewhere around

389, 390. Yeah. put it off for a while because

you at least have a have some kind of schedule

with these things coming out I have completely

lost track of time it feels on one hand like

only a week has gone by and then other times

it's been what how many years since I've done

I know right I know right don't you hate when

that happens oh it's so funny it's not funny

I don't know and I don't know how far you want

to go into this if you don't that's fine but

originally we were going to do this back in it

was going to be mutant march of of this year

and you had messaged me saying we may or may

not have a covid scare yeah yeah we we've um

we caught it in november of last year and and

had it and then uh eli uh my son is he keeps

bringing it home from daycare or possibly because

he's the only one who breaks our little bubble.

Everything else we've been completely safe. That

and just generally during the school year I teach

and between February and that spring break week

there's meetings and testing and charity events

and even during like hybrid lockdown no real

school. I still got hit with all that and I just

can't think about anything. So that's also just

been a weird thing dealing with all of that and

the pandemic stuff too. It's just utterly bizarre.

But I'm free now. I am breathing clear. So I

have my brain back. I have my geek brain back

now. There you go. Yes, originally we were doing

this in November, December of 2020. Uh, we did

volume 21, which is episode three 87, and then

the macro series, which was, um, episode three

89. And obviously after battle lines, which is

volume 21, which leads up to city at war, which

we will get to next week city at war part one.

But this week we have something that's a bit

of an anomaly, just like the. Mutants or humans

or mutants or humans or I don't know what they

are now that are starring in what we're gonna

be talking about it is Bebop and Rocksteady hit

the road So first we had Bebop and Rocksteady

destroy everything and now they are hitting the

road and what I love about Thanks Bebop what

I love about the Bebop and Rocksteady stuff in

the IDW Turtles versus Essentially, the turtles

have no consequence here at all. They're not

even in it. It's Bebop and Rocksteady as the

stars with other supporting characters. I think

the most natural supporting character that has

gone up against the turtles that is in this is

Bishop and he's barely in it. This I think is

coming off the back of when Bebop and Rocksteady

came to the IDW series. There was a big fan reaction

with them. Like everything that IDW does, when

they put their spin on it with the turtles and

the characters, it's something special. Bebop

and Rocksteady, for the first time ever, are

a literal and very real threat to the turtles

and to everyone around them. They're just forces

of nature, forces of destruction. Humor in them

that came from the cartoon and so they took off

like popularity wise And I think that's how they

ended up with what ended up being two miniseries

Yeah, I mean the first one we covered bebop and

rock steady destroy everything back in 26 this

five years ago. Oh my god And this wasn't that

long at are we how late is this? destroy, hit

the road was, let me just check and I'll play

some. Let's see here. This was released. Now

we're gonna get sued for copyright, 2018 according

to the inside of the cover of number one. Yep,

so it ran from five issues, ran from 2018 into

2019 because the trade. is is dated February

6th of 2019. So this is even two years old at

this point. But I mean, hey, I didn't have my

computer all of 2020. So I was running behind

on things like literally. We would probably be

over 500 episodes right now, folks, if I had

my computer last year. Anyway, you have a rock

steady hit the road. The what I find really cool

and interesting, and I didn't notice this until

just now if you take all five covers number one

to number five of the main covers the the nick

patara covers and nick did this for i think dimension

x and he might have done it for bebop and rocksteady

destroy everything i don't remember but basically

you take all five covers and it makes a mural

of the of the car of the van of the whatever

i looked at that and i'm like hey wait oh that's

cool I'm very disappointed because I have one

through five all the single issues here except

my number two is cover be oh Because my comic

store doesn't get to dictate which covers they

get and I'm the only one getting Ninja Turtle

stuff so they just get sent what they get sent

and Darn it. They ruined it for me. So I will

just hit one of the other four comic stores in

town and try to get this issue Yeah, so be Bob

and Rocksteady Hit the road. And yes, a story

by Ben Bates and Dustin Weaver. Script is done

by Dustin Weaver. Art by Ben Bates and Dustin

Weaver. The colors were done by Brittany Pier

on this one, so we're on to this time, but that's

okay. Letters done by the impressive Mr. Sean

Lee, as always. Series editor, obviously, Bobby

Kernau. Cover art done by Corey Smith. Cover

color is done by Brittany peer The cover art

that they're mentioning here is the cover art

on the trade, which is the one with them on the

tank Yeah, so we begin and Man, what fun is this?

It's just fun and they are Road tripping across

America trying to get back to New York City In

the purple car that I had as a child the foot

cruiser That's right The little foot cruiser

and they want to be they want to change they

want to be good guys now they want to be more

awesome than the turtles and As as I read this

I had forgotten that they had come up against

Savanti Yeah, that's like oh, yeah, that's what

the destroy everything was because they literally

destroyed the timeline. Mm -hmm And they created

the the bop steady verse Hey, you know, that's

what it is And then all of a sudden as we get

you know, they're driving along and Rocksteady's

ear starts itching and it's a human ear whoo

Bebop's reactions like What the hell? We have

a car crash and... I gotta say, I know Bebop

and Rocksteady are violent, but... They got away

with a lot in this book. That I was kind of surprised.

They did. This is not - Like for a minute I thought,

is this Robert Kirkman's Invincible? I mean,

it's pretty graphic. We could use a Bebop and

Rocksteady animated series right about now. You

know, I think it would almost play better especially

with this version of them. They're Every once

in a while they say something and I hear it in

the animated voices and I'm reading it in the

animated voices But then when it when it gets

Their their schtick Bebop and Rock City's schtick

is that they want to be henchmen. They want to

be Ordered around and told what to do And and

in doing so be as destructive as they want to

be but they're really bad at it And that shtick,

that whenever they're talking about wanting to

be a member of a gang or in somebody's posse,

I don't hear the voices, but that's what's unique

to the IDW verse. But when Rocksteady discovers

his human ear, he does what you do when you discover

something that's growing on your body that shouldn't

be and you cut it off. I'll say right now I am

very squeamish around like I am NOT I respect

the genre and this obviously is not the genre

but I respect horror but I am NOT a horror person

and yeah guts and gore and I know horror is not

all blood guts and gore but just in general blood

guts and gore it like I Just can't handle it.

This was our right, but I still Cringed at the

slice and then yeah, he throws it And then the

dinosaur goes after it and eats it. The gore,

the gore is why I don't read Invincible. I was

and I loved the story and I loved the writing,

but I just couldn't keep going back for that

gore. If the turtles comic were like this all

the time, I think I'd be out. Just, I mean, I'd

probably still buy it because I'm never not buying

Ninja Turtles again, but I... This is not what

I want to look at. Yeah. And you know what, folks,

we've been doing this for years now. We've been

doing this since I think January of 2014 is when

we started this series. And there was no way

we were not going to do this because I didn't

even know. Like I knew, Oh, bebop and rocksteady

hit the road. I had read the solicitations three

years ago or however many years ago it was, you

know, when the single issues were coming out

and I'm like, okay, well I'll add that to the

list and Joan, I'll get to it eventually. So

I had never actually like, I don't read comics,

but like, Read comics for the show. I enjoy them

as I'm reading them, but I only want to read

them once To have that first fresh impression

for the podcast kind of thing. So when I read

this I was like, oh Boy, this is gonna be a thing,

isn't it? I do love the and you're not gonna

be able to see this in the I mean you could in

the in the physical comic but Again, comixology

in their guided view, how they have Bebop and

Rocksteady hit the road with the foot cruiser.

It literally is my new current, as of this recording,

Facebook featured cover photo. I love the panoramic,

the widescreen thing there, and then it zooms

in with Bebop. Nothing can stop us, not even

an ear. Who are the heroes now? When I look at

the title of this and when I look at that first

page, I assumed that this was going to be kind

of like one of those buddy movies where they're

going across country and every issue will be

one of the stops along the way that will lead

them to their destination and that it would kind

of be a send -up on that genre. At least superficially

I that's definitely not where it went because

they hit many detours Well, and what I like about

this and we'll you know, we'll get to it but

what I like about that is They're essentially

lost children that don't know how to get home

Mm -hmm. That's why they're going everywhere.

That's why they go to you know from South America

to to Mexico they that they know New York is

up. So they keep trying to go up and then, you

know, Arizona and Utah and Idaho, you know, wherever

they end up and we'll get through it here. But

that was one of the things as I was reading this

and one of the realizations that one of the characters

makes later about, oh, they're essentially lost

children and they don't know how to get home.

And they're reliant on these other other characters

to help them out. We get to the EPF The Earth

Protection Force and their special. Yep, they're

back Special Agent Ravenwood Wow, okay At first

I thought she was gonna be another utron body.

I wondered Just the way that she's drawn the

way that she's built but her story whoo It's

way worse than being an Ultron body. And what

I like about her is she is not like Bishop. She

wants to help the mutants. She wants to understand

them. I think that is really cool that you have

an EPF agent under Bishop that doesn't share

his same sentimentality of they have to all be

destroyed. Think she wants them contained and

locked up because I think there's no question

in her mind that they are dangerous But she at

least needs to understand why and the other interesting

thing here is that everybody? At the EPF is assuming

that they are animals grappling with their new

human minds when bebop and rock study were humans

first Mm -hmm Yep Absolutely, and I love how

they kind of give a nod to the chief turtle editor

I'm agent Bobby Browder that has to be in reference

because I mean he was um oh who was he uh I mean

Bernal Island's named after him so I mean Bobby

Browder I guess that was one way to get Bobby

Kernow into this if it's just a name great fine

but as soon as I saw the name like hey it's Bobby

Let's see, so we got the helicopters we got all

that we get to her Basically giving the speech

of that. She's been a part of Earth Earth Protection

Force since its inception in 1955. Oh boy. She's

a time traveler Not really, but yeah, she's like

Bishop. She's been around a little longer than

is natural. Mm -hmm And I love how she basically

answers that question. The answer is discipline

over body and mind and good genetics. Sure it

is. Yeah, genetics came out of a bottle. Yeah,

pretty much. So she's now talking about Bebop

and Rocksteady. Since then, they've made their

way through Central America into Mexico, leaving

a trail of carnage and destruction. They are

strong and they are heavily armed. These are

two of the most dangerous mutants ever created.

I gotta say about the art here, I love the depiction

of Bebop and Rocksteady. Yeah, there's a frenetic

energy to the lines, especially when they go

nuts. I really love that kind of spontaneous

line out of which an image emerges. yeah so good

so so good and yeah so basically like i said

she uh her her objective for them is to capture

bebop and rocksteady and if we have to we will

use deadly force but only on my order and then

we cut to the mexican desert with hector Every

10 -year -old's dream right now. I wouldn't even

allow that to be a feasible dream for a 10 -year

-old, but whatever. He wants to be the Bigfoot

and chupacabra and he knows that there are these

aliens Sneaking through the desert trying to

get somewhere and so he's out hunting for them

Yes, and what he finds is is beep up I Love rock

city. I think he's peed himself Again not a line

I can hear them say in their well true voices

obviously But I can hear It was Barry Gordon

and it was cam Clark yeah Yeah, so it was Barry

as bebop and cam as as rocksteady. I can hear

Barry as bebop. Oh dang Rocco. This guy's low

I can hear him. I could you know, we it's a jackpot

I can hear I can hear that but yes some of the

other lines, you're right. It's just not And

that's fine. These are their own versions. These

are the IDW versions and you know, sometimes

we hear it and sometimes we don't. I love how

they reveal themselves to Hector. We are Bebop

and Rocksteady, aka the Mighty Mutant Foot Soldiers.

I just, I love that panel, that square page where...

Rock City is standing there looking all confident

and bebop looks like he's ready to you know attend

the 70s disco tech and Why remind me why do they

have the dinosaur? When they were back wrecking

the timeline it came along with them. That's

right It's been a while since I've Read bebop

and rock city destroy everything So Hector tells

them about this thing that they that he's hunting

that basically comes down, you know, out from

nowhere and basically steals people. And as I'm

reading this, this creature that we, you know,

come to see and come to find out who it is, is

it wing nut and screw loose? Totally. That's

what I thought as I was reading it the other

day, you know yesterday Well again as we're recording

this on a Sunday, I was reading it on a Saturday

as I'm reading this I'm like wingnut. I remember

what was the other name? What was the unlike

wingnut and skirlos? Yeah, I think that's it

But yeah Yeah, they were one of the mighty mutanimals

in the Archie series and if they ever showed

up in the cartoon I don't remember it I know

they showed up in 2012, but I don't remember

the old comic or old cartoon Yeah, I don't remember

if they did in the 87 cartoon and I haven't I'm

I need to go back and rewatch the 2012 one again.

I had the toy Wing that and screw loose and but

my main memory of them is from the From the Archie

series where they are aliens And wingnut had

metal wings. He had real bat wings, but they

were too small. His species wings were too small

and so they augmented them with the big metal

wings they built themselves. And I think he made

friends with screw loose because he had like

a anxiety or a sleeping disorder and the mosquito

venom put him to sleep and it calmed him down.

And so Screw this was getting blood from the

bat and he was getting the ability to sleep until

they like became friends Cool. Another part of

this is that Hector didn't wants to come up with

a cool Nickname screen name, whatever and they

end up calling him Razzmatazz Which is another

musical style, I believe That it comes up again

in one of the later issues, but they do have

about the only thing that they do have a good

handle on is musical genres And they can discuss

it like they they they understand it and and

as they're befriending this guy I am anticipating

that he's going to become a sidekick on their

On the road trip. I was like, I'm looking forward

to this. Let's see what kind of relationship

Speaking of that, as he's discussing that and

they're naming him, one of my favorite panels

from this is the one where they're, no, about

that gas. Yeah, about that gas. And it's mainly

dark and their dinosaurs in silhouette and their

eyes are just the pupils are lit up. That's a

good example of that frenetic line, the crazy

scribbles where the images emerge and it's dark

and menacing and scary. Yeah, very dark menacing

and scary. So like I said, we get when wing nut

and screw loose and we get the the foot cruiser

and its crew driving down the desert and Let's

see, what do we got here? Okay, you're gonna

be razzmatazz. So they nickname and razzmatazz

Bebop's like that's awesome Roxie's like it's

okay It's okay. It's all right. And they get

attacked by this thing that they don't know,

even though we already know what it is. And yeah,

I expected Hector to last a lot less longer than

he does. And Rocksteady apparently Doesn't like

Dracula's even though there's really only one

rocks. I know rocks that he's you know, whatever

but Boy So they're they're battling Wingnut and

screw loose. Yeah Havoc is breaking out and Rock

steady who had previously grown in an ear now

his arm reverts Back to you. Yup, it does. And

I do, and I do think it's in, in the, I think

it's in the, when they debut in the animated

series in 87. Alright you little creeps, now

I'm gonna murderize ya. I think there's a line.

The boy likes his work because I think he actually

I think cam Clark does actually say that as the

character To the turtles, I believe uh -huh from

the original animated series. So that's awesome

And they're motorized you creeps Mm -hmm. I'm

trying to find where that happens, but I'm sure

it does Wingnut and Screwloose were trying to

get home by building an antenna to communicate

with their race but of course because Bebop and

Rocksteady destroy everything that collapses

and Now they'll never reach home Yeah, I'll say

this about the Bebop and Rocksteady stuff. It

is so different but yet so tied into the main

ongoing story style, art style. However, this

art style is way out there and it is really good.

If you've been reading the Turtles for as long

as we have at this point for IDW and you want

something that's going to basically take you

completely out of what the Turtles are doing,

this is the book for you because this is so cool.

The panel with Wham is another favorite. Yeah,

that is very, very good. Cause for half of a

second, even though I know it's not that I'm

like, Oh great. Rocksteady grew wings somehow.

I know it's not that it's it's wing. Not that

that's got a hold of him, but yeah. So cool.

So frigging cool. And Oh, the wamp. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. For that frenetic scribbly

line. Yep. There it is I love Roxette or bebop

try and kill my friend you get flattened. Oh

He threw him over a cliff and then dropped the

car on him. Uh -huh. Damn it Rock City. That's

the that's the that thing wrecked our car And

I love how they think that this is a disease

them turning back human is a is a disease because

as we get through the end of this first part

here Bebop takes his boot off. Apparently he

had Hooved feet in boots cuz now oh man, it's

on me and he has a regular old human foot Wait,

you had hoofed feet in your boots the whole time.

Yeah I love that. This really stinks. Yeah. It

makes me want to go look at the action figure

because I thought the action figure had the toe,

like, coming loose from the sole and you could

see his toes, but I don't remember. Yeah. That'd

be funny if, I mean, it doesn't, I'm not saying,

I'm looking for continuity here, but I'm wondering

if the hood things in there. Yeah. If we can

pretend it was a thing all the way back then.

Yeah. So, they're walking away. Rocksteady is

more human than human. And, uh, what happened

to Rasmutaz? Whatever, he didn't really understand

us anyway. I like Rasmutaz. Also, Rasmutaz is

a dumb nickname. Should've gone with Doo -Wop

or Grunge. And then we go somewhere completely

different. Okay, it's not completely different,

but it's not really having to do with Rocksteady

and Bebop right now. It is these time cups, I

want to say? Yeah, Renet's people. Yep. Yeah,

and they're inspecting the bottom of the crevice,

the canyon, the whatever, with the destroyed

car. And I love how they're like, you know what,

let's leave whatever it is. It's above our pay

grade. Like they just don't want to deal with

it. Then we have this thing at the very end.

Interesting. Oh Lord. All right. Getting into

issue two. There are five issues out of this

here. Getting into issue two, we start with Agent,

what's her name? Ravenwood. And they are trying

to figure out what's going on with Bebop and

Rocksteady because they... Basically attacked

somebody there apart animal part man They killed

everyone crossed the river smashed the boat into

shore and darted off into the brush I've never

seen anyone move like that When I read this I

thought I picked up the wrong issue like it felt

like it jumped ahead. Yeah But no, they just

they they wrecked havoc in between the issues

And I like that they didn't show it that they

you know that they tell us about their adventures

and they don't show all of them and The thing

about them turning back human is they're not

vulnerable anymore I think I hurt my knee when

we crashed that boat And their mutation is wearing

off Yeah, they're 90 % human that he's got a

little bit of a horn left I I did check for continuity

Rock study does not have an ear for for most

of this. It's just a little hole. Yeah And they

hop a train and they run into a An old wise hippie

who's you know an old homeless person basically

Hobo? Is that what that column in there on the

train? I don't know if that's an unkind word,

but I will. It works. They basically steal his

bag and... Check him off the train. Yeah, they

chuck him off the train. So, okay. Well, that's...

One less in the hobo population. I guess that's

not good. I Got to say I am NOT like I like how

rocksteady looks as a human I'm not too thrilled

with how bebop looks as a human the only thing

I don't like is the fact that his sideburns are

purple mm -hmm along with his mohawk and he has

You know black hair and a black goatee and be

The purple is what throws me off. I think what

is happening, and I'm looking at continuity,

I think it's just been so long that his hair

is starting to grow that that would typically

be the stuff that he would shave. And he would

dye what he left, which would the purple sideburns

and the mohawk. And I think that's because like

Rocksteady's hair is longer and shaggier than

the military cut that it was when he was first

mutated. I think they're just implying that time

has passed. Yeah. his Bebop's face just seems

too old to be who he is, or there's something

about it. It just doesn't look like the personality,

but yeah, okay. That's how they chose to draw

it, I suppose. I like it later. It kind of softens

up, I think. As it goes through, yeah. And I

love how they're like, listen, Bob, you know

how we've been this being bad so they're talking

about being bad guys and like you know let's

go straight and you know all of them have it

figured out see where is this guy going somewhere

and i bet it's great they're all happy and they're

all happy and are we maybe sometimes but right

now it feels like never uh guys not all of humanity

is happy You ready to do this? Yeah, let's get

jobs and be squares First we got to get some

clothes. Well, okay one more mugging so we can

buy clothes We'll make that two muggings Or you

know just find a rich a rich alky and let him

leave him in your will So we get some black helicopters

here and we get the the earth defense Earth protect

not earth defense. That's Transformers not turtles

earth protection force Ma 'am Union Pacific is

telling us the train they boarded was headed

for San Antonio and Any word from San Antonio

law enforcement nothing you'd think they've had

a run -in with them or that there would be a

sighting but it's quiet too quiet for Bebop and

Rocksteady, what could they be doing? They're

washing dishes or they're washing their boss.

Or they're burning down the diner. Yes, yes,

burning down the diner. I love this because it's

them trying their best to go straight and it

doesn't really work. Who in their right mind

would let Rock City be a knife salesman? One

of my favorite three panels are bebop reading

to a kindergarten class. He would substitute

teaching, I imagine, and it's 10 in the morning.

He's like, oh, I'm out of things to do. And so

the next panel is kindergarten fight club with

boxing gloves, and there are people in the background

taking bets on the fight. That's fun. That is

so funny. They try yoga Rocksteady farts out

the yoga class And then we have the loose double

gosh what Lucy oh I love Lucy reference the the

conveyor belt. Yep Yep UPS lifeguard and poor

bebop is just sleeping And again, that's what

makes this fun is that you have TMNT characters

that are trying to find their way without because

at this time What is going on in New York? Isn't

it the big battle still? That hasn't happened

yet as a bishop is still alive it would have

been I Mean, maybe it would have been that time,

but I think It's it's all I know is that it's

before burnout island where slash dies because

that's where bishop takes off Right, right, right.

So we get back to the EPF and, um, they get a,

a message, uh, well, actually they, they, they

find the old man that they kicked out of the

train. I got a guy here. It says he had a run

in with our friends on the train. They took his

only worldly positions. The thing is he says

he happens to know that the train was on a nonstop

route. Not to San Antonio, but to Houston damn

it Which and you know that they find the train

guy Which means that like everything that happened

in the previous page was like within a day. Yeah

Maybe Yeah And we find out their real names,

or at least what their real names are in the

IDW verse. I'm just gonna say Gene and Max. Gene

is Bebop and Max is Rocksteady. Gennardo and

I can't even, I don't think I can even pronounce

what Max is. Max and Gene. Yeah, that'll do.

Yep. And Bebop lost another job. This is fine,

right? We're doing this being normal business,

right? and Roxy's like oh you should come work

at the port with me and I'm the boss and so that

goes kind of well and Sort of not really and

then they run into Zang so Yeah, all but she

will you She was the I didn't remember at all

at first either until I read further in the book

Where they she was one of the first gangs that

they tried to join and they ended up destroying

all of her stuff and all And everything else.

Yeah, but I love her design. I love the way she

looks I love how bebop is like. Oh, wow. What

are the chances we we meet here? Did you, what

do you got going on? Running drugs, guns? That's

cool. I'm just happy to see someone from the

good old days of the foot clan. Oh, that's right.

She was in the foot clan. That's right. Yeah.

I don't remember from the main line, but obviously

some kind of gang leader has a group of people.

And, uh, of course Rocksteady and Bebop forever.

The the wannabe sidekicks try to join but she's

not having it No, and they hop in the back of

the truck Ames We're criminals my man. We're

not people. We're monsters always have been always

will be It's just fun because again honestly,

I mean bebop and rock city are those characters

that you want to root for because They can't

help who they are. I mean, we're not even through

the whole of the second issue out of five yet.

And so much, like you said earlier, so much has

happened in just under a day to them. And they

just keep getting it wrong. And of course they

ruin Zang again. Or run over her entire crew

with the truck that they stole. Yep. Blow up

the docks. which draws Agent Raven Wood. Yeah,

Raven Wood, yep. Yep, draws her in there, and

yeah, they have ghost robots and... People off

in Rockston, they end up in the dumpsters. Oh

yeah, the ghost robots from Zang's crew Tear

them apart and because they're human they're

not as indestructible as they used to be Mm -hmm,

and so they're getting pretty handled Yes until

the dinosaur comes and saves them And I I love

bebop rock we're rolling oh boy because the dumpster

is rolling down the street Catch that oh, yeah,

I Man, ever since they revealed how they got

the names of Bebop and Rocksteady and their musical

genre, I'm always looking for the musical stuff

in these with these characters because, again,

like you said earlier, the musical stuff, the

musical genres, the musical talk, all that is

kind of their go -to. And it's something I didn't

know back when it was a cartoon. The fact that

I didn't know that rock city and bebop were musical

genre So the fact that it's getting used now

I I think that's fun like and and idw is going

to do it on purpose So you've got to keep your

your eyes open your ears like, okay I didn't

even bother to look up razzmatazz to know that

was a musical genre That should be our outro

music though, you should find some razzmatazz

I'll see if I can And they think they have Bebop

and Rocksteady, but they don't. Because they're

lying dead in a dumpster. Well, almost dead.

That's a lot of blood. I mean, they got a lot

of stuff happened to them. Oh, man. And, you

know, this issue ends with, uh, I don't care

about mech suits. Rocksteady and Bebop are mutants.

Find them! They'll be hard to miss they're monsters.

Yeah, that's right. We're monsters. Oh They are

broken And it just kind of hurts my heart because

I Mean, you know, you can kind of see the villainy

of bebop and rocks day with their mutants, but

really like we've said so far They're just even

here even back in the old back in the old cartoon.

They were even dumber But, um, you know, it's

just one of those things where... Dang. So the

third issue begins. Below ground, away from the

Earth protection agents that now comb the port

of Houston, at the bottom of the drainage basin,

we'll be safe down here. Sure you will. Uh -huh.

Enter Savante Romero. Sinister evil time and

dimension hopping villain connected with Renette.

Yep. And apparently he's the one that turned

them human again, and he's the one that can turn

them back into mutants, but it only lasts for

so long. And because they were all bullet -holed

and riddled and whatever, turning the mutants

again... They actually have to give bebop a As

mutants your wounds heal quickly, but will still

need to set that bone using this brace does that

hurt tickles And I love how that becomes a running

thing throughout the rest of the series of bebop's

mechanical arm Yeah, that looks cool. I was kind

of hoping they were gonna keep that because it's

a it's a robot arm and it's set as bone and it's

Basically acting as a cast that he can move around

in but they it has x -ray vision and so you can

see the bone to make sure that it's healing and

It's really interestingly drawn and and that's

something that I was like, oh sweet. I hope he

gets to keep it So Savanti basically wants them

to come back and work for him essentially He

feels that since he has control over their mutation

that they're beholden to him Because I think

he was back stabbed by them in Destroy everything

so he's not playing any games and knows how they

operate. Mm -hmm Well, again, I love I love whenever

we get quite they're not I know they're not hero

characters, but I'm gonna say this quote unquote

hero shots of them will help you. Lord Disco

Dance is dead. Lord Disco Dance. Wow. Uh, so

we get back to Ravenwood and at the docks. They

have to be here. I can feel it. And there's something

wrong with her hand there. Yeah boy So she sees

the footage you know Agent Browder is showing

her and you know Two humans they kind of look

like Bebop and Rocksteady. They're there one

minute. They're and they're not there the next

minute You know and they go back to the dumpster

and All of that. Then there's an alien invasion

in the city of Houston. It's the time, cops.

The jig is up because they know Savanti Romero

has just teleported there. So they come in and

lock down interdimensional travel to keep him

there while they start combing the city. Mm hmm.

Comb the desert. We ain't found shit. That's

Tuvok, you know that right? I think everybody's

got to know that by now. I think that that's

uh, oh gosh. What was his name Tim Russ? Go space

balls Yeah, so They're gonna be helping out Savanti

and they do the best that they can do and he

actually gives them weaponized uh pods yeah pods

little uh little spaceships yeah basically uh

rock and roll and they go and try to they try

to go against the earth protection force but

um They end up once again basically destroying

everything because they're bebop and rocksteady.

They don't know You know, you know, they're going

after her in the in the EPF and I love bebop

It's fine. I'm okay bebop bebop. This is Savanti.

Who are you talking to? It's them bebop and rocksteady

and are in the smaller aircraft get them I think

in the dialogue bebop and ruxy are quoting top

gun at each other. Oh, of course they are Yeah,

they don't know they don't know what they're

doing. They're flying and crashing into everything

but they're Yeah, yeah he does refer to one of

them refers to somebody as goose at a point Yeah

It's no good. It's no good. Talk to me. Yeah,

it's it's so funny Oh So funny and they're still

trying to capture them and they basically blow

up everything And where's the brakes Yeah, the

the EPF shows up the time cops are there everybody's

having a wreck Mm -hmm, and she explains to him

that they just want to you know, they want you

to land peacefully and come with her and Promise

nobody's gonna hurt you hurt me hurt me. I would

love to see him try. No, no I'm on to your game

Rasmut has told me all about men the men in black

with your black Helicopters and all the terrible

things you would do to us You can forget it lady

and Yeah, she pulls out the big gun. Holy crap

That's Not good and holy crap all units open

fire Man, it's a battle scene to end all battle

scenes for these guys. I Didn't I didn't See

what was happening in all of this. I can see

it now. Yeah Like bebop gets hit with the giant

thing that she shot all units open fire BAM BAM

BAM BAM BAM ejector seats and land the helicopter

pulls his head out gets too close to the helicopter

blades helicopters crash And Savante is like,

Creighton, you're supposed to save me! So they

end up capturing Savante. And... It's me, the

guy with the super blaster pointed at your butt!

Rocksteady wait! Turn and burn! And of course

Rocksteady fires on Savante. Uh, Savante, boss,

you alive? And they capture Rocksteady. And...

Yeah, they... Oh yeah, Savante turns off the

mutation thing and his ear comes... his other

ear. Yup. Oh, that's right. Oh no, not again.

You better not cut off that one, Rocksteady.

He doesn't get a chance because as the Time Cops

arrest Savanti Romero and take him back to his

dimension, Rocksteady will be fully turned back

into humans because that spell or the technology

or whatever it was has left the area. But as

the Time Cops are freezing time for all of Houston

and erasing everything and undoing everything,

they determine that There is already some kind

of weird time thing happening with them, and

Savanti had polluted their timeline, and so they

were showing up as they looked pre -mutants,

and so they undid that and popped their mutants

again, and they're not gonna change back anymore.

He would have cut that ear off, though. He would

have, yes. Thank God he didn't. And I kind of

like bebop's new low -cut. I like the other one

just as well, but I like the low -cut too Yeah,

I think this this is more What we're used to

I think the the shorter. I mean from action figure

Yep And so they they figure it out we're back

on track big bopper New York here we come They

go off and it kind of ends with Raven Raven would

not not so happy Get into the next one here and

it starts off with news coverage of everything

because we get to Hector again So Hector is stuff

like quite a tornado in Houston. It was just

a tornado. Yeah, of course. It was just a tornado

a tornado with a warthog and a rhino. And...

I honestly thought that Hector was not going

to survive this entire series. Yeah, I didn't

think they'd come back to him, but when he did,

I'm like, oh man, why couldn't he have gone along

for the whole journey? Yeah, and He's talking

with his family and he's like sure laugh, but

I know aliens are real. I've met them So you've

met aliens, huh? Oh geez so we see Bishop Holy

crap came our agent Smith Yeah, he kind of is

I mean Yeah Pain and destruction brought on by

Bebop Morax today weighs heavily on my conscience.

I'm not your therapist, Agent. You know where

they are and where they're going. The craft is

difficult for our satellites to track. It can

just appear in different places, but we're piecing

it together. It's a path. Is there a pattern,

Agent? And this is right about the time that

they realize that they're essentially... lost

children. However... Go ahead, what are you gonna

say? We all know that the actual reason that

there is no pattern is that they're idiots. Right.

Right. And it is revealed that apparently, you

know, Bishop says, frankly, Agent Ravenwood,

I don't trust what you think is in or out of

the mutant character. You continually sympathize

with the mutant. I suppose, after all, you are

one of them. I have sympathy for any creature

that suffers, and I am not one of them. You're

a failed experiment, a freak. Huh. Then what

are you, Bishop? I... Moderately successful?

Not really. But we you know kind of get you know

This leads into revealing what she is and that

I found I thought was really really cool Why

are they talking about Alvin and the chipmunks?

But he's also a chipmunk it should have been

Alvin and the other chipmunks Yeah, I think that

was a the second of two literal Out loud laughter

bits then but oh yeah Absolutely bone -arm bebop

check out the bone, baby. Oh Lord They're still

trying to find New York and they end up in the

Florida Everglades Once again, it's just them

trying to find out where where they're going

or where they need to go The North Pacific Ocean,

500 miles east of Hawaii. Oh, Lord. Shooting

humpback whales. Not supposed to do that, guys.

No, it's an evil space probe, isn't it? Come

down and wreck San Francisco. That's the second

Star Trek reference this episode. Oh, my gosh.

Of course, yes. Sorry. Hey, you know what? Star

Trek Turtles it's all the same and we have Ravenwood

interrogating Zang who's not talking yeah, and

she's like tell me what you know and she shows

her the picture and Zang just starts laughing

and She just has this weird look on her face

we cut again to Hector Briefly Who's been arrested

by the Earth EPF? Yeah, EPF, the Earth Protection.

It sounds like I'm saying the EPA wrong whenever

I think of those letters. All you've got to remember

is Grandpa Simpson. Eepa, eepa, eepa. So he gives

up stuff. Tells her they're headed to New York.

New York City. New York City. I didn't think

it was those old salsa commercials. Yep. All

right. All we got to do is get on the I -80 and

it's like a straight shot all the way home. No,

you idiot. You get on I -95 and you'll be taken

to Massachusetts. Then you go west. We'll be

there in no time. Ready the chappers. We're moving

everything to New York. Huh, even they're going

to New York? Yes. Of course they are. And again,

this is where I said earlier it makes total sense,

and I think they're lost. They go down to the

lab. Dr. Selvin has to show her something and...

Complex network of capacitors, and I was certain

I could. Doctor, I appreciate your exhaustive

research, but time is of the essence. Yes, of

course. It is all cut to the chase, so to speak.

We managed to get the communication system operational.

We can talk to Rocksteady and Bebop. Right now,

would you like to do the honors? Bebop and Rocksteady

are just excited that they found the tunes. You

want to talk about some psychedelic panels folks?

Yeah, these panels man. The colors are off the

hook The motion blur on their arms and legs as

they're dancing. Yeah, I don't even know how

You conceive of that in two -dimensional. I Static

art, but it's beautiful. It's well done. It's

it's really well. Yeah, it's so cool So so cool,

so she's trying to get a hold of them. What was

that? And she's trying to explain to them that

she wants to help And They're just they aren't

making it difficult they're making it easy She's

she's coming at them with the compassion of thinking

that they're simple -minded children and that

they're scared or lost, but they're just laughing

at her Making fun of her over the radio and it

just cheeses her off Rasmutaz, that twerp ratted

on us to the men in black. You punks have no

idea what you're dealing with. If I wanted to,

I could take you apart. Don't push me. Like,

it, and you see that panel on her face and you

see her eyes, like, holy crap. This lady has

got some really, really strange things going

on with her. Yeah, when they mentioned that she

was a mutant now I was like well We've seen weird

moments where her body has contorted in very

strange ways or that her fingers look strangely

socketed like robot muscle metal tendons or something

and so something's not right and those eyes are

are not right and Then they when she said she's

a mutant. I'm like wait. What kind of mutant

is this this isn't I? Don't know what she is

yet and So she gets the the extensive criminal

records those two men in the dumpster I got everything

on them and Juvenile detention center Assault

burglary, you know Rocksteady was thrown out

of you know dishonorable discharge from the military

and Alias is Bebop and Rocksteady. They're not

children. They're not animals. Nope. Nope, nope,

nope. And all the black helicopters converge

on New York City. Well, they're in New Jersey,

just across from the Hudson River from New York.

Taking the roads all the way, even though they're

driving a spaceship. Yep. And they're singing

the Bottles of Beer on the Wall song, so there's

that. I got an idea. I'll use my special driving

trick. Let me drive. And Rock City just zooms

through the whole thing. I should have thought

of that. Man. Know that's most likely not the

Verrazano bridge, but every time I see a bridge

in a comic book and I know it's New York It's

like also I can think of his middle gear solid

2 and snake on the on the bridge That very beginning

of the middle gear solid 2 game way back when

I don't think I played that one I played the

the first one that was a man golly. Yeah, that

was ps1 And it wasn't actually the first one

because the first one was on NES Well, yeah,

that was Metal Gear. Metal Gear Solid, the very

first solid game was on PS. Yep. And then Metal

Gear Solid 2 was on PS2. Yeah, it's a two -mission

game. It starts out with you and you as playing

a snake and then it switches to Raiden. Oh, that's

right. Yeah. So Bebop and Rocksteady, you know,

you just have to take us alive, pigs. Wake up

Bobby. Here's a love letter from your uncle Blasto.

Oh Man I gotta say writing for these characters

Dustin and and Ben must have had a blast writing

this Because this is just fun Yeah, I don't know

how you write stupidity and that's very interesting

and it's a fun kind of these guys have a fun

kind of stupidity you'll have to take us alive

pigs but again human brain animal body kind of

thing i guess what i find interesting is that

the epf has robots And I'm like, hmm, that would

have been a perfect opportunity for turtles transformers

crossover I Don't think that has ever happened

I Mean they've yeah, I don't think it was any

one of the one -shots IDW have the license, but

I don't think they yeah that way we Came prepared

launches to cable pod looking things that immediately

in Tangle and Pen, Bebop and Rock City. Yeah.

You've reached the end of the road. Dead end.

She's angry now. Oh, wait. Oh, that is the end.

Oh, man. Yeah, that's the end of issue four.

I have to cycle through. There we go. now we

get to the finale here suspended between New

York and New Jersey on the bridge and they are

just laughing and laughing and laughing you're

through you'll both be locked away in cells not

even you could break out of you'll never walk

free again this is no laughing matter Rocksteady

and bebop oh no it ain't oh no it ain't that

It's that this is where our dinosaur kills you

and saves the day. Yeah, he does it every time.

Dinosaur? He'll pounce any minute. Yep. And that

doesn't happen yet. Just wait. It's kind of like

Batman with the bat gag where he presses a button

and nothing happens. And because he's in the

Batcave and he's like, wait for it. And then

all the bats come out because it was a high pitched

bat signal thing for the bats. So I'll just wait

until I get out of this thing. Roxton and I we

killed much tougher ladies than you for no reason.

But you're giving us all kinds of reasons. And

does bishop double cross her or does he okay?

That's what I thought he she turns around and

these things basically free yeah, he frees them

and Then the dinosaur attacks. That's right.

Yep Yep, because he thinks she's unclean and

he thinks she's too soft. So right at the right

moment he disables those cables that were holding

them down and so they're right there and Then

the dinosaur pops out. Yeah And I swear for half

a second. I'm like What does that dinosaur remind

me of? Kind of reminds me of a cross between

No, it's straight it's like it looks like a dinosaur

version of Mundo it's not But like this this

panel here where he pops up and his mouth and

his tongue and it really looks like Mondo to

me. Oh They're both lizards, so who knows So

we have another battle The part that blows my

mind is that dinosaur picks up a machine gun

and starts shooting it He's been around them

so long that he's picking up bad habits Not only

can Raptors open doors, but they can fire machine

guns Yeah The Raven Woods watching everything

break loose she's trying to save things it's

frantic things are exploding Bombs are going

off. She's leaping away trying to save people

and then we have another fantastic panel after

the bridge blows up, but Bebop and Rock City

pulling themselves out of the water. The glowing

eyes, the blood trickling over the black shadows,

wonderfully illustrated panel. Yeah, the shadows

in this entire series are done so well to illustrate

so many good points. And then the next panel,

more absolutely frenetic Scribble Scrabble action

lines. I can't tell you what's going on, but

I know that it is destructive and it scary and

terrifying It's one way to show them destroying

stuff and I think it's great how they yes it

is a little Over -the -top with the gore and

the whatever but just looking at this page All

the gore around the middle two panels of her

at the helicopter Like wow, that's one way to

show violence in a comic that Doesn't really

show violence. I mean it does but it doesn't

And Lost here because I didn't see this coming

I know Also, yeah, I got lost here because we

get bebop and rocksteady robots Yeah, she pulled

out the secret weapon which was I don't know

these learning machines that are supposed to

socialize and Befriend them or something, but

they started converse with these rocksteady and

bebop robots Yeah, I Proxity, what do you think?

What do you think man? I don't know. I really

want to trust these guys Yeah, I know something

about them. They just seem like really good dudes

Yeah, they're robots. That's really cool. Let's

hear them out You'll come with us where your

new buds we got snacks lots of snacks say is

your horn gotten bigger And Bebop is like, hey,

what's that? Made you look. Bam. Bunch of them

right in the face. Oh, wise guy, huh? Initiating

combat mode. Yep. Is it going to get it? Yeah,

no more Mr. Nice Robotic Guy. Not even robots

of themselves can defeat them. But man that bridge

is gone yep And they aren't built for water so

bebop and rocksteady are Surviving here the robots

aren't and Ravenswood is like fear -mongering

with mutant ruthlessness and destruction displayed

for the world to see Where's Bishop? He already

left. And... She's gonna handle things her own

way now. Mm -hmm. And we get the full reveal

of what she is, and... Hmm. She looks like she

could be the next Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat

2. I have to say did it referencing the new movie.

I haven't yes I watched the beginning of it in

the beginning was really good Yeah, I didn't

watch any further and I need to I I haven't it's

been months and I haven't seen it yet I think

it just came out the new it did by the time this

is airing it'll I see so yes Yeah, so she goes

on and fights them and basically whips their

asses Oh, yeah breaks his back smashes him open

she and she her body is stretching and it's I

Don't know how to describe that it They look

like synthetic plastic muscle twisted sorts of

things and and she's uber flexible, but no even

though There aren't she's like injecting them

with poison here Yeah, she's basically the TMNT

version of Metamorpho. Metamorpho was Rick Rex

Mason in DC Universe where he got all these chemicals

mixed into him and he can become anything he

wants kind of thing and it seems like she's doing

the exact same thing kind of and then she's basically

turning into ribbons and multiple heads and oh

my god wow this is This is way too much it's

awesome, but oh Much no no, I'm the hero Ripping

her to pieces. She's multiple heads. They keep

squishing heads which disorient the remaining

heads Monsters The dinosaur is actually alive!

I was not expecting that, but the dinosaur is

alive and the dinosaur gets in on the action.

Bebop and Rocksteady look like they're not doing

so well. Yeah, they're swollen and dripping green

ooze. And this is where I should have expected

it I'm thinking like oh, they're gonna they're

gonna die or they're gonna get captured because

they're just crawling around the ground They

do the fist bump, you know with their melting

flesh and and splattering poison, but then in

the next panel They're healed and happy and walking

down a city street like okay. Yeah, there we

go on our city. They healed that Yeah, they're

in New York Crazy how this dinosaur keeps finding

us. You know, he did save our butts a couple

of times and he's not so runty anymore. Maybe

we should finally give him a name. I guess maybe

he's earned a place in our gang, but what's a

good music style to name him after the best two

are taken? Anchovy? Anchovy? Yeah. Is that a

musical genre? I don't think so. Wait, what is...

What did they name? What did the Ninja Turtles

name their dinosaur? Pepperoni. Pepperoni, yeah.

Making sure that they didn't rip that name off.

Yeah, no, no, no, no. So Enchovi? Enchovi? I

guess. You know, at first I thought they were

gonna name him Walk. You know, like you walk

the dinosaur. Yeah, but yeah, so they're a gang

of three and They just smash everything I Had

to look it up That dinosaur was named anchovy

in the earlier series. It was pepperoni and anchovy

Uh -huh where they picked him up But it is a

musical themed gang name and show V Named after

the music they had listened to while in Savanti's

stolen transdimensional craft. That's right.

That's right. Yeah so the three of them are Happy

to be destroying things in New York and the and

dot dot dot question mark We all know it's not

gonna be the end They'll be back when they need

another Ninja Turtles to die Hey now I heard

that Donnie something happened to Donnie recently.

I'm not liking that And I'm not talking I don't

know I I don't think I'm that far behind but

oh my Something with I don't know I saw something

about how they've supposed and again we're recording

this in april folks it'll be out in august so

by this time the information will probably be

incorrect i'll have to look it up however i saw

a news article the other day about and it was

probably just one of those clickbait articles

why is id why does idw always kill donatello

kind of thing and like they're making it like

it's a i don't know i'll have to look it up later

we get to the ep log a rundown building tucked

away in a dark alley in manhattan Home sweet

home for the first time I feel good about life

We've always lived in dumps, and we've always

been kicked out of gangs, but for the first time.

That's exactly how I want it. Yeah There's who's

that? Congratulations bebop and rocksteady I

Don't have an epilogue. I don't know what this

is really you don't have an epilogue nope So

it just ends at the question. Well, okay. Well

I Alright folks, it's edit time. Let's see if

I can do this right. 123 .10 edit. Let me know

when you can see my screen. Yay, there we are.

Alright. Alright folks, so we get the end and

we already answered or not answered the questions

of that and we have an epilogue here in the trade.

A rundown building tucked away in a dark alley

in Manhattan. Home sweet home. Who's that? Congratulations

Bebop and Rocksteady. Kick. Move and you're dead.

Saw what you did back there on the bridge very

impressive. I'm back to take over this city you

in Yeah, so that epilogue is not in the single

issues, but that cry has that evil blade that

Yep Yeah, I think that thing but yeah back She's

a bad city at war. Yep. It is Very cool and we

get the so yeah, that's bebop and rocksteady.

I almost called it destroy everything hit the

road Before we talk about the variant covers

that we have here. I got it. This was fun There

was a couple of times where I was a little squeamish

with the violence in it, but it is what it is

it's not gonna Take away from my grade at all,

but I thought this was So much fun. So so much

fun. So we have cover art. We have Bebop and

Rocksteady, their mug shots with them as mutants.

They were human. By Ben Bates. We've got the

main trade cover by Corey Smith. So that's what

the trade is covered. That's a really nice. Yeah.

Yeah, it is. We've got one done by Kevin Eastman

colors by Tommy Vargas of them with their dune

buggy or whatever it is vehicle and out in the

middle of the desert We've got one by Ulysses

Farnes Which basically looks like they're in

a go -kart and the turtles are on the oh Okay,

I saw Donnie and Leo rafts behind them And Mikey's

are the Mario Kart turtle shells. Yep, yep, yep.

Love that. We got one by Giannis... I'm gonna

mispronounce his name, but it's basically Rocksteady's

on a scooter, Bebop's on a skateboard. With a

comic book in the background, that's nice. Another

one by Buster Moody, with road tripping them,

them in the desert, checking out a roadmap. And

then another one by Aaron Conley, which is them

just kind of bopping around almost on a turtle.

Rat Fink style. Yep, Rat Fink style. Yep. This

one I really dig. Well, these are the art designs

by Dustin Weaver. I love that design. That is

so cool. And then we get the Savanti designs

in here and the... The ghost spot designs and

the time police designs and the human designs

for bebop and rocksteady Very very cool the multiple

designs that they that they used I love the the

design sketches that can happen in the back of

trades. I miss that stuff by getting the single

issues You should always get the charades. Agent

Bailey Ravenswood, so we see how she kind of

progressed. For reference, this is Peggy Stockton,

a bodybuilder in the 50s. So that, wow, nice

reference. That's cool. I think that's really

cool how they, how Ben referenced something all

the way back from then. And then obviously Wingnut

and Screwloose, along with N. Chovy. And that's

that. We love this, folks. It is absolutely fun.

Everybody should be reading Bebop and Rocksteady

Hit the Road. It is so, so cool. So fun. So interesting.

What are your final thoughts before we close

it out, sir? Every once in a while, there comes

one of those Crossover back issue not back issue

side issue side story things and they're really

interesting and fun I can do without the bebop

and rock steady ones only because It almost it

almost feels gratuitous like yes the fans enjoyed

the characters in the main story, but here's

this Where it's almost like too much of their

schtick Mm -hmm still more in like a lot of I

don't it's it's what IDW manages to pull off

though is that they They they give you this thing

and it's the best that it absolutely can be and

So despite the fact that like I don't think anybody

asked for this story. It was still kind of fun

to read Mm -hmm, you know, and I was like, okay,

I'll read it and I'm still going to read everything

that they do because there are definitely redeemable

things and laugh out loud moments, which doesn't

usually happen for me. So, you know, it's a bag

of mixed things for me, I think. Here's the way

I look at the side things. And I think I've said

this in the last, well, we're not quite there,

but we're almost at 10 years of doing this stuff.

I mean, We started Turtles in 2014 and we're

three years away from 2024 so the way I look

at like stuff like dimension X or Mutanimals

or whatever It's a way for them to Pay attention

to the characters that normally would not get

attention in the main book like you could show

Hob and slash you could show them or what you

can show bebop and rocksteady but for further

adventures folk and this is why I love these

these miniseries is because you get like other

creators the fact that um dustin weaver and um

Oh god, I just said it at the beginning of the

podcast who else writes this damn thing? Um ben

bates ben bates. Yeah. Sorry ben Yes, yes, Ben

Bates and Dustin Weaver. Ben is on art as well.

But, you know, you get them to write a Bebop

and Rock City story that feels like it just fits

in with the rest of the stuff. And it just works.

And the fact that, and I hate that the fifth

issue does not have that epilogue. I don't know

why it wouldn't, but I'm glad I read it in trade.

I'm glad I was not getting it in single issues.

I'm glad I wait for the trade because Sometimes

there are things that you just don't know until

you you know catch them like like you caught

this here and All that extra cool. Mm -hmm concept

art that I I love that stuff and and we got to

the end of that issue where all the guns were

pointed at him at the bridge of issue four and

I realized like if I'd have read that I'd have

had to wait an entire month before You just get

to turn the page that's right That's why I love

that we like the pullback so far in 2021 We have

a mixed bag now where we do trades and we do

singles, but we're doing singles as they come

out Like we do Beast Wars and we do radiant black

Beast Wars from IDW transformers Beast Wars and

radiant black is from image comics. It's by Kyle

Higgins So I don't mind doing single issues that

way for new current things but for stuff that's

been out for a few years, it's like Get the trades.

Just get the trades and read it all at once.

Yeah, this is so much fun. Absolutely. What would

you give Bebop and Rocksteady zero to five, sir?

This might be the lowest I've ever rated an IDW

Ninja Turtle book. Three and a half? I could

be convinced to give it a four, but nobody needs

to convince me of that. Like what they did in

certain parts of the art I love what they did

with the story with when it's focused on bebop

and rocksteady I've never been a fan of the earth

protection force. I'm just not a fan of that,

but that's just the way I am I'm right there

with you three and a half because Any comic that

makes me squeamish from whatever, you know cutting

an ear off and Letting the dinosaur read it like

that was a little much. I mean, it wasn't so

over -the -top But it just it did make me cringe

when I saw him cut his ear off Yeah, and even

even at a three and a half And yeah the squeamish

of that it it almost feels unfair I mean i'm

looking at issue one that beautiful spread. The

art is incredible The the writing is humorous

the writing it's fun writing. There's nothing

Wrong with this. There's nothing wrong with this.

It's just it's a it's a story That I didn't need

it But you're right though that that what IDW

does tend to do with these side stories is While

you're off reading the main story. This is what

Leatherhead was up to this was what Krang was

up to This is what Rocksteady and bebop were

up to and that's kind of fun Yeah, because again

it get without what we had Utram Empire Was the

three issue mini thing with with crying way back

when? Without having that we may not have the

crying origin story again as long as it all ties

back into the overall continuity of the IDW turtle

series mm -hmm I Do not care the main book can

be what the main book is and that's fine. That's

great. We're on we're on the road to 100 we're

on the road to city at war and that's what's

going to be coming up next here inside the pool

bag discover a world of vintage and modern toys

that's more than meets the eye with the triple

takeover toy cast hosted by toy writers and photographers

toy box soapbox 6o and tf square one this informal

and chilled out series of discussions cover everything

from vintage transformers to mask diaclone microman

and more be it nostalgic or current whether you're

a seasoned collector or a casual robot enthusiast

All are welcome. Triple Takeover Toycast. Twelve

years in the making, after six Top 100 Countdowns,

the Geekcast Radio Network, along with 33 participants,

are launching our Top 100 Transformers Characters

Countdown, August 8th, 2021. 35 years after Transformers

the movie was released. Don't be the only con

left out of this one, folks. Because, really,

whether you're a Predacon or a Decepticon, you

want to be at the top. Right, Megatron? Yes.

Tune in to Geekcast Radio Network's Top 100 Transformers

Characters Countdown from August 8th through

September 17th. 2021. Six parts, six constructicons.

Learn who will fall and where they will fall

because one always falls. Transform and transcend

here with us on the GeekCast Radio Network. You

know, it's gonna be City at War part one and

two those will be two different episodes 422

and 423 and Then later on in the month, we're

gonna do shredder in hell. We're actually going

to Stop City at War episode at issue 99 Because

issue 100 has to be its own thing. So at least

in the trade for me I have found like stop at

page 115, 116 in the trade because that's when

issue 100 takes over. So I have that note here

for myself, but yeah. Awesome August is all turtles

and we may have a Beast Wars number seven review

at the very end of the month, but yeah, all month

long is all TMNT on our personal road to issue

100. And man, I cannot wait to dig into this

stuff because Trying to find that point in city

at war. I'm like, I'm just looking at the page

numbers I'm just looking at the page. I can't

I can't look at the things I can't look at the

things because if I look at the things that I'm

gonna get curious and I need to not spoil my

own self kind of thing so Very very very cool.

You have read all that. Yeah, so much fun. You

have anything you would like to promote sir Well,

since it's August, we hopefully will be having

a Geek Stuff garage sale coming up in the next

couple of months. It's got to depend on what

the state of the zombie apocalypse is at that

point. But it's an outdoor event, so it's reasonably

safe as it is, but I'll just wait for what health

department things are going on. But I hope we

do that because that's always a fun thing. come

out and buy stuff and sell stuff and talk to

other geeks for free. Who can say no to that?

Absolutely. We've got a whole bunch of stuff

going on with GeekCast Radio Network. I have

no idea what's going to be going on other than

what's going on here inside the pull bag. So

we're just going to get the heck out of here.

Make your great escape into comics and we will

catch you next time here inside the pull bag.

You've just heard the latest episode of The Pull

Bag, the GCRN's first comic review and discussion

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