Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #63…
“Chasing Phantoms” Part 3! With an ally in danger, the Turtles look for a new way to defeat the Street Phantoms. Will the Turtles be able to do what it takes to save the Foot Clan?
If you read last month’s review you’ll know I struggled with the choices that characters were making but loved that the series was still eliciting such strong emotions from me. I was hoping for answers too.
Well this month I get…some.
TMNT is in a good place at the moment. This main title has picked up again and I’m really looking forward to each month. In fact, quality might be a problem. IDW are so confident at the moment that they’ve started a second title. A title which at the moment I think I’m enjoying more. TMNT may have the main story and lots of things I care about but Universe is all fresh and sparkly and new. It’s come in and given me lots of turtle-bro awesomeness.
That’s not to say #63 is bad, far from it. It does seem to getting things back on track with regards to the most important aspect of any turtle’s story; the brother’s relationship. They’ve been apart or disjointed for a little while now but seem to be getting back on track, even if it is due to their mutual suspicion and unhappiness with the current situation. Coming together when there are parental issues is something that hits closer to home than I expected and gives the entire affair a level of emotion that others might not find.
The brothers all still fall into their usual categories but with a bit more maturity now. They’ve been through waaaay too much to just be normal teenagers now, even mutant teenagers. It’s good to see that things have changed them.
Splinter is also getting a lot of attention at the moment. Like Leonardo, I really want to trust him and hope that calling friends ‘assets’ whilst putting them in danger is just a way to mask how he truly feels whilst getting things done as leader of The Foot. But is he right? I believe his sons and us readers have every right to question his intentions at the moment.
Let’s not forget the humans caught up in all this. Harold has become a big part of the team and this is my favourite issue of his. It’s always nice to see the less fisticuff based characters doing their thing.
With a strong sister series to accompany it, TMNT is back on its feet. What a great time to read turtles comics.
Rating: 7/10
Chris Cooper
Originally published October 12, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
