Chris Cooper reviews the latest issue of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles….
“In this breathtaking penultimate issue to City Fall, Shredder asserts his dominance over the criminal underworld of NYC through a show of force. But what happens when the Turtles crash the party? With allegiances shifting no one is safe from all-out war!”
Leonardo is my favourite turtle. Anyone who knows me knows that. So you might think that nearly an entire story arc without him would be hard work for me.
Turns out it isn’t, as instead I have Michelangelo! Not only does he discover information that really helps the good guys, but we see him go from happy-go-lucky pizza dude to bad-ass in two panels. Good to see some Mikey Justice being doled out. He also gets to wear another cool hat. First the ushanka, and now a chefs hat!
There is plenty to juggle this issue, as by this point we’ve got quite a few factions and need a little prod to know what they’re up to and how they fit in. Writer Waltz juggles this well, moving from scene to scene fluidly whilst giving us all the info we need.
Leo’s continuing struggles are coming to the fore, and are dealt with cleverly. Little things such as the flower near him whilst sleeping (reminding him of his Mother), and his difficulty fighting his Brothers really highlights the internal struggle he is facing. In a nice tie-in a scene early on foreshadows another later, crippling him as everything kicks off.
With one more issue in this story, it would appear that we won’t be seeing much more of Mateus Santolouco on art duties as a new artist is in line for #28. Over the last year, his work on both the main title and The Secret History of the Foot Clan mini-series has been nothing less than stellar. Hopefully it is just a break and we will see him again, as the individual looks he has brought to the turtles really brings them to life. It is without doubt a large part of the reason I now love Mikey in the way I do.
Another entertaining piece of story and artwork, TMNT #27 leads us into the finale of City Fall strongly. Here’s hoping the the final issue in this arc ends in the same fashion. I’ve got a good feeling it will.
Chris Cooper
Originally published November 12, 2013. Updated April 15, 2018.
