Chris Cooper reviews the latest in IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series….
“The Turtles thought they’d be safe in Northampton– they were wrong! Surrounded on all sides, the Turtles will have to reunite as a fearsome fighting force. Will their newest ally be their salvation, or doom?“
This week I was giving some thought to my continued reviews for TMNT and it’s off-shoots. I thought about how each month I say it’s great and one of the best titles you could pick up. Is the praise getting boring? Should I be harsher? I wasn’t sure, but I opened up #32 in a slightly harsher state of mind.
But I’ll have to disappoint you, as this is one of the best single issues of the entire series. Story is of course important,and the usual team of Eastman/Curnow/Waltz once again do a fine job with fitting dialogue and a script that really zips along whilst still managing to hit home with several emotional moments
However, this issue belongs to Ross Campbell. Emotion, composition, angles, the way the panels come together….I could go on. When he started on this arc I noted how good he is at capturing emotion on faces, well here I thought to myself “he’s upped his game here”. Then I’d turn the page and it happened again! From the joy on Mikey’s face to the determination on Leo’s, this is the Turtles at their best. All of this is heightened by Ronda Pattison’s colours.
Then there is new foe Koya, a falcon and Foot Assassin. Her theatrical dialogue – “I will strangle you with your own entrails!” – is very entertaining, and makes it all the sweeter when she gets smacked in the face. We’ve got quite a few mutants now, but each is so distinct that I don’t feel any fatigue with it yet
Whilst the issue is pretty much one big fight, it still finds plenty of time to tug at the heartstrings, as characters discover more about each other and make decisions that will impact the series for a long time to come. After the hectic ‘City Fall’ arc and now this I do wonder what’s in store (I avoid solicitations like the plague). We’ll also have the return of Mateus Santolouco on art duties
IDW are damn lucky to have such a strong pair of artists on this title, and should everything to keep them. Tie them down maybe? Or just throw lots of cash at them. Either way they need to stay as they are both fantastic
Do yourself a favour and start buying this book if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it
Chris Cooper
Originally published March 12, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
