What do you think?
Rate this book
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #8.5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Utrom Empire
Collecting the cosmos-spanning mini-series, Utrom Empire takes us to the site of the Technodrome, where Krang's plans to destroy the Earth are ramping up. Little does he know that Baxter Stockman plans to harness its power for himself! As the two villains scheme, one imprisoned robot holds the key to success--Fugitoid! Will he be able to reach out to the Turtles in time? All this plus the long-awaited story of Krang's mission to preserve the alien Utrom race!
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Utrom Empire #1-3 and Mirage Studios' Fugitoid.
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Utrom Empire #1-3 and Mirage Studios' Fugitoid.
104 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2014
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 26, 2022
(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: A motive plot plus padding, decent themes but often pale: it's all too tame, and put to shame by its classic bonus tale.
Notes: A motive plot plus padding, decent themes but often pale: it's all too tame, and put to shame by its classic bonus tale.
July 11, 2021
Krang's backstory is kind of cool, but this Dimension X stuff is the least interesting part of the TMNT universe to me. The rest of it is the Fugitroid being wishy-washy and making things worse on the Terrordrome while Baxter Stockman remains an A-hole. Andy Kuhn's art is atrocious.
April 24, 2020
What motivates Krang? Why is he the giant bastard that he is? Is Baxter Stockman really an irredeemable asshole? Can the Fugitoid actually save something instead of making it massively worse like he has more than once before? And the answers to more questions you probably weren't that interested in!
Dimension X is probably my least favourite part of the Turtles mythos that I've encountered so far. While Krang and the Utroms are intrinsically linked to the Turtles' origin, I just can't bring myself to care about what happens over there when there's far more interesting things going on in our dimension instead. These three issues are mostly flashbacks to Krang's rise to power, which we've kind of seen before, as well as two subplots as the Fugitoid attempts to defeat both Krang and Baxter Stockman and fails at both, and the Turtles are still licking their wounds in Northampton. The three plots are definitely unbalanced, since I cared a lot more about the Fugitoid than anything else going on. The Northampton plot only really becomes relevant right at the end, so I'm surprised so much space was given to it before that.
And then Andy Kuhn's back on art, and that's where I really lose interest. The guy's style just doesn't do it for me, it's scratchy and ill-formed, and I feel like every panel was drawn and then zoomed in a bit so we can see the individual lines. Not a fan at all.
Also included was the original Fugitoid comic, which I opted not to read because I was done with this trade, and because it's from the previous continuity so it made no odds anyway. Filler is fun.
Utrom Empire's skippable, aside from like three pages that will propel the Technodrome story forward in the main Turtles book. Do yourself a favour and just read the Wikipedia entry on this one.
Dimension X is probably my least favourite part of the Turtles mythos that I've encountered so far. While Krang and the Utroms are intrinsically linked to the Turtles' origin, I just can't bring myself to care about what happens over there when there's far more interesting things going on in our dimension instead. These three issues are mostly flashbacks to Krang's rise to power, which we've kind of seen before, as well as two subplots as the Fugitoid attempts to defeat both Krang and Baxter Stockman and fails at both, and the Turtles are still licking their wounds in Northampton. The three plots are definitely unbalanced, since I cared a lot more about the Fugitoid than anything else going on. The Northampton plot only really becomes relevant right at the end, so I'm surprised so much space was given to it before that.
And then Andy Kuhn's back on art, and that's where I really lose interest. The guy's style just doesn't do it for me, it's scratchy and ill-formed, and I feel like every panel was drawn and then zoomed in a bit so we can see the individual lines. Not a fan at all.
Also included was the original Fugitoid comic, which I opted not to read because I was done with this trade, and because it's from the previous continuity so it made no odds anyway. Filler is fun.
Utrom Empire's skippable, aside from like three pages that will propel the Technodrome story forward in the main Turtles book. Do yourself a favour and just read the Wikipedia entry on this one.
April 19, 2020
The book is everything that isn’t why I’m reading TMNT. However as the book continues to go on I saw the connections it was making and became intrigued. I don’t think this needed 3 issues but I am happy with where I ended up
October 8, 2018
Debiera ser 3,5 pero era mucho castigo ponerle un 3
July 6, 2022
Krang has a bit more nuance and depth. You begin to see he's not purely evil, just misguided.
September 2, 2022
It was okay. I like Fugitoid a lot, so any of his stuff was enjoyable, but Krang is… eh.
March 16, 2024
Krang’s backstory & motivation is given some clarity and Fugitroid is annoying and whiny.
March 14, 2016
This review and more can be found at The A P Book Club!
*I received an ecopy of this book from IDW Publishing in exchange for an honest review*
I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and it's rare that I don't at least enjoy any of their incarnations. This comic was no exception! Although the turtles make only a brief appearance, it's still a really interesting story and situation.
I've never really read much of the background stories for most of the villains. I mean, I know the basics. But it was pretty neat to find out a little bit more about the Utrom empire and the alien Utrom race. I learned some new things all while biting my nails and hoping that Fugitoid would come through! I think these comics paint the villains in a different light and makes them easier to sympathize with.
Krang, for example, only wants to save his people. Everything he does is to save a dying race, and if it means taking over Earth then so be it. He's willing to risk himself and his planet as long as his people will make it through. And Stockman is just so conflicted about everything. I wish that more of the movies and the TV shows had shown more of Stockman. Sure, he's definitely one of the more major villains, but he's certainly not around as much as, say, Shredder.
I would totally recommend this comic to any fans of the TMNT universe! I enjoyed learning some more about characters other than the turtles, but I also enjoyed seeing how their actions affect the turtles. And I can't wait to continue this story and find out what happens next. Especially with who all Fugitoid contacted! A 4/5.
*I received an ecopy of this book from IDW Publishing in exchange for an honest review*
I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and it's rare that I don't at least enjoy any of their incarnations. This comic was no exception! Although the turtles make only a brief appearance, it's still a really interesting story and situation.
I've never really read much of the background stories for most of the villains. I mean, I know the basics. But it was pretty neat to find out a little bit more about the Utrom empire and the alien Utrom race. I learned some new things all while biting my nails and hoping that Fugitoid would come through! I think these comics paint the villains in a different light and makes them easier to sympathize with.
Krang, for example, only wants to save his people. Everything he does is to save a dying race, and if it means taking over Earth then so be it. He's willing to risk himself and his planet as long as his people will make it through. And Stockman is just so conflicted about everything. I wish that more of the movies and the TV shows had shown more of Stockman. Sure, he's definitely one of the more major villains, but he's certainly not around as much as, say, Shredder.
I would totally recommend this comic to any fans of the TMNT universe! I enjoyed learning some more about characters other than the turtles, but I also enjoyed seeing how their actions affect the turtles. And I can't wait to continue this story and find out what happens next. Especially with who all Fugitoid contacted! A 4/5.
July 28, 2014
'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Utrom Empire' mostly takes place among the bad guys. The turtles take a supporting role, which you could get from the cover. My review copy was only about 2/3 of the entire graphic novel, so this review is only for the first part of this book.
Fugitoid is back and he wants to take down Krang's Technodrome. Before Fugitoid can get too far, he is captured and finds himself face to, er, face with Baxter Stockman. Fugitoid is a little concerned because he betrayed Baxter the last time they met, but this time around Baxter doesn't seem to remember him. Baxter also has his own plans for the Technodrome, so he and Fugitoid team up. This all happens among flashbacks about Krang on his home planet Utrom. There are cool mutated dinosaurs that start a rebellion. Back on Earth, the turtles finally look at Fugitoid's notebook, and realize they have to also destroy the Technodrome.
It was okay. I've read more interesting Turtle books lately, and I always prefer a turtle story to most with the bad guys, but Fugitoid is cool, and it's always fun to see Baxter and Krang trying to undermine each other. The Krang backstory was okay, but I tended to like the rest of it better. The art was pretty good.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Fugitoid is back and he wants to take down Krang's Technodrome. Before Fugitoid can get too far, he is captured and finds himself face to, er, face with Baxter Stockman. Fugitoid is a little concerned because he betrayed Baxter the last time they met, but this time around Baxter doesn't seem to remember him. Baxter also has his own plans for the Technodrome, so he and Fugitoid team up. This all happens among flashbacks about Krang on his home planet Utrom. There are cool mutated dinosaurs that start a rebellion. Back on Earth, the turtles finally look at Fugitoid's notebook, and realize they have to also destroy the Technodrome.
It was okay. I've read more interesting Turtle books lately, and I always prefer a turtle story to most with the bad guys, but Fugitoid is cool, and it's always fun to see Baxter and Krang trying to undermine each other. The Krang backstory was okay, but I tended to like the rest of it better. The art was pretty good.
I was given a review copy of this graphic novel by Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
August 12, 2014
Being only 80 pages, it feels almost unfair to leave a review on this book. The drawing is fun (I like the near-minimalist approach he's taking with this recent revival of the comics). The storyline a good continuation for contemporary Turtles. Its a quick and easy read, setting up for what is clearly going to be the next big challenge the turtles will face.
Eighty pages is long enough to reveal (or remind readers of) some backstory. To set up alliances and build the foundation for a great conflict, but not quite enough pages to get to the meat of any story. A great cliffhanger sets readers up for the next issues, and what's contained in these pages is going to be crucial news as the series makes its way.
For fans, this will help to fill out Krang's anger and resentment (which provides depth and complication for the villain, not usually given such attentions). Allor is bringing the turtles forward in a world where hero/villain isn't so black and white. I'm eager to see where it goes, and to see if this brings introduces youth anew and brings fresh Turtles fans to the table.
Eighty pages is long enough to reveal (or remind readers of) some backstory. To set up alliances and build the foundation for a great conflict, but not quite enough pages to get to the meat of any story. A great cliffhanger sets readers up for the next issues, and what's contained in these pages is going to be crucial news as the series makes its way.
For fans, this will help to fill out Krang's anger and resentment (which provides depth and complication for the villain, not usually given such attentions). Allor is bringing the turtles forward in a world where hero/villain isn't so black and white. I'm eager to see where it goes, and to see if this brings introduces youth anew and brings fresh Turtles fans to the table.
March 3, 2015
This story was mainly a continuation of the Krang one shot that came out a few years ago. We got to see the Downfall of the Utrom Empire, and believe it or not, they actually added some depth to the character of Krang. I read my comics at night, usually in bed with my wife right next to me, and I was super worried she would look over and find me reading a book that was almost 80% about walking, talking brains. I can't give this a good review, because there was way too much exposition from each character. Too much tell and not enough show. Also, it took a while to get used to the jumping between the story taking place in the past and the story taking place in the present day. Totally a far fetched read, and one I am a little embarrassed to post in my goodreads update.
June 30, 2014
Not enough action for my liking but it was ok. We've got General Krang an Utrom trying to take over Earth, because well apparently Earth will always be the greatest planet in any universe or galaxy or dimension. The Utroms are squid like aliens whose home planet was destroyed and are now in a state of stasis with Krang trying to bring them back.
The Turtles with the help of Fugitoid have to save Earth, slice of pizza right? You'll enjoy this series, because who doesn’t love knowing squid aliens want to take over our planet and we've got some bad-ass shell power stepping up to knock them right outta here.
The Turtles with the help of Fugitoid have to save Earth, slice of pizza right? You'll enjoy this series, because who doesn’t love knowing squid aliens want to take over our planet and we've got some bad-ass shell power stepping up to knock them right outta here.
January 26, 2016
Une bonne surprise que ce Utrom Empire, vu comme je n'avais pas trop apprécié l'incursion des tortues dans la guerre se déroulant dans la Dimension X.
Ici, les rebelles sont au second plan, et on se concentre surtout sur Krang. Qui est-il, qui était-il, et comment est-il devenu celui qu'il est. C'est bien construit, intéressant, et ça le rend en partie humain.
Ici, les rebelles sont au second plan, et on se concentre surtout sur Krang. Qui est-il, qui était-il, et comment est-il devenu celui qu'il est. C'est bien construit, intéressant, et ça le rend en partie humain.
August 12, 2014
An interesting micro-series that sheds some history into Kraang's past as well as his goals.
July 26, 2014
This earns the fourth star purely for the old Fugitoad story. The new stuff is, sadly, meh.
August 11, 2014
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles team-up with Fugitoid to block Krang and Stockman's evil schemes. Also has backstory on Krang. Decent quick set of tales.
July 7, 2016
This book made me actually FEEL something for Krang... Wow. But also, EFFE Stockman!!!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews