TMNT vol 5 [spoilers]

[jedispyder]

The first issue hit the stands yesterday and it was pretty awesome. The series is basically an "update" of the original story, bringing it more to modern times.

Starts out in the current with Master Splinter, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello going up against a gang that is comprised of humans led by...well, I think it was a Dog humanoid but I can't really remember (read the issue at 4am, lol). They win the fight easily with Splinter telling them, "don't forget, no killing!" After the fight is over, Leo (I think) says, "we'll find you, Raphael" or something similar.

We cut back to 18 months ago where we're introduced to April O'Neil as she begins her work at a new R&D company. We see the 4 TMNT as regular turtles and Splinter as a normal rat just sitting in the lab. We're told the lab is used just for experiments for something "good" but we soon are introduced to Baxter Stockman, who is on the phone with a General Krang (we don't see him) about how the testing is going well and the military will get all it's stuff soon, dropping the word "mutagen" but not describing it.

Few months later we find out that the lab techs have named the rat Splinter because he's in a group of tests to splinter the psyche or something similar. Then they tell April she can name the turtles, which she replies that she already did. She based them off the Renaissance History class she's taking, Leonardo because he is sitting there calmly, Donatello because he is studying a bug, Michelangelo because he's pigging out on lettuce, and Raphael because he's fiesty.

Cut to the present and we find Raphael roaming the streets, looking for food and looking like shit. He finds pizza but it's old, he finds a shirt that says Cowabunga but makes fun of it (nice meta jokes). He walks past a house where a father is threatening his son, so Raph breaks into through the door and we find out that the son is Casey Jones! And that's it for the first issue.

Basically sounds like they updated the original origin a bit to make it more of a statement on animal testing. I really like that April is no longer a newswoman, making her more involved in their actual origin is very interesting.

Anyone else pick it up?