Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics #3

This 2020 IDW volume collects early Eastman and Laird stories in vibrant color, and the cover — penciled by Kevin Eastman and inked by Peter Laird — sets a distinctly grim tone: one of the Turtles lies slumped and battered in a dark sewer tunnel, his gear worn and his body clearly exhausted or worse. It's a striking, moody image that captures the grittier, street-level edge that made these original tales so compelling. Steve Lavigne's coloring brings the murky underground atmosphere to life with a raw intensity that feels true to the series' roots.