Last issue, Batman didn’t just team up with the Turtles, he’s a part of their team. How is that possible, you ask? Well, the answers are here in this issue, as the DC Multiverse continues to expand in every imaginable direction. Answers are forthcoming, courtesy of the original Raphael – the black and white version for the earliest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics of the 1980s.

This chapter is long on action, with fights among the heroes and the against the villains. Peppered throughout is exposition to explain the whats and whys of the world in which we’ve found ourselves. Continuity? Never heard of it. Just go with it and try to hold on.

It’s purely a commercial effort, teaming one of DC Comics’ flagship characters with the perpetually popular Turtles franchise. But to their credit, the publishers recruited original TMNT creator Kevin Eastman to help with the artwork, which ads legitimacy to the project. It’s sure to please Bat-fans and TMNT afficionados alike.

This is the third teaming of in recent years of the two franchises, almost making it an annual event. While I have no objection to doing so, I must wonder how much life the idea has in it. Perhaps the Turtles should join another major character – DC, Marvel or otherwise. After all, if you’re going to open that door, open it WIDE!