Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #53…
“Michelangelo is warmly welcomed when he visits the Mutanimals. But the hospitality may be cut short when he discovers what Hob’s new plan is…”
Raphael went missing. Leo turned to the dark side. Donatello had an out of body experience.
It’s about time that Michaelangelo became the focus. The problem I have at the moment is that I’m worried he won’t get the same level of attention that the others received. He’s struck out on his own and is spending time with his chums in the Mutanimals, but will upcoming events change him? Do we want him to change? His empathy and thoughtfulness are extremely endearing and relatable traits that I don’t want him to lose. Perhaps he will become further opinionated; he’s already told his family he won’t become part of the Foot Clan, has bashed his brother’s heads together more than once, and is already standing his ground when challenged by Old Hob.
Maybe I’m asking too much. I love Mikey as he is, but also want to him to get lots of pages over the next few months. To give him that exposure and not change him would be a waste on IDW’s part. I’m a fickle and conflicted fan.
Orange bandana wearing turtle thoughts aside, the art is a mixed bag for me. I’ve taken to checking out new artists’ work elsewhere before judging them, and Dialynas has done some good work. Here however his faces seem oddly inconsistent. There is a lot of talking this issue, and when you have faces changes between panels and the humans looking oddly young, it can be quite off-putting. I do like his mutants though. I guess I just miss Santolouco! I’m looking forward to the art settling down again soon.
For a series so consistently good it’s been hard the past few months. Post issue #50 and the massive changes it made there has had to be a lot of scene setting. Three issues in and things are still being set up. It’s dragging, and to be honest I’m not looking forward to issues the same way I have been. As I said earlier, I’m chuffed to bits that Mikey is getting attention, but when characters are being really dumb and not seeing that Old Hob clearly has ulterior motives it rather undercuts things. There is some good humour, and the team dynamic of the mutanimals is well written. These things just make the odd choice more obvious though.
I’ve got a lot of faith in the creative team of this comic, but lately the dialogue hasn’t been as strong and I’m not sure about the artist choices. A wobble after such a big story? I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I just need things to pick up.
Chris Cooper is a Flickering Myth Staff Writer, and owner of the blog Super Duper Stuff. Follow him on Twitter @SDCCooper or visit the blog’s Facebook page.
Originally published December 31, 2015. Updated November 7, 2019.
