Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #43…
“Attack on Technodrome” Part 3! A major battle on Burnow Island unfolds! Will the Turtles be able to help Fugitoid to deactivate the Technodrome before it’s too late? Meanwhile, Splinter and the Mutanimals go up against Karai and the Foot!
Issue 43 of TMNT is the perfect example of why this series is so good. The world that Tom Waltz and Co. have created is so well crafted that even when an issue contains only a handful of pages featuring the turtles you don’t feel short changed at all. It would be easier to list who isn’t involved in this issue, and in lesser hands it could easily become a big old pile of ooze. Instead we’re presented with page after page of interesting situations between characters that illicit a range of emotions.
We’re still in the thick of the battle on Burnow Island, and this issue provides a turning point for them. This could be their ‘darkest before the dawn’ moment, but it could never be plain sailing for them could it? I did find myself rooting for a certain ninja who names his soldiers after appendages, if you get my drift. He is an evil so and so, but the chap he’s fighting is an ugly piece of work. I’ve clearly come down on one side of a fight that I’ve been eagerly anticipating since issue 37, and it doesn’t disappoint.
Cory Smith has picked up the baton from Mateus Santolouco for work on this arc, and he’s running with it. Fantastic looking layouts that connect well with each other makes it easy to follow the various threads. One panel in particular, featuring an expression from Shredder, is so well done that I might make it my Twitter profile pic. Smith has nailed Mikey’s face this month too, with some great expressions. There’s some great sound effect work too, particularly the ‘BRAKK’ of machine gun fire. It all pops thanks to Ronda Pattison’s smart choice of colours. They really do work well together.
The clue is in the title for this arc, and it’s not letting us down with the amount of guns, swords, and punches on display. Most importantly it’s all serving a great story, one which easily maintains interest through its smaller plots whilst ramping up the danger and introducing several moments that leave me with baited breath for next month.
I want the TMNT and their allies to win, but I don’t want this story to end. It’s too exciting!
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 February 25, 2015. Updated November 14, 2019.
