Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans have had a real up-and-down roller coaster ride for the last 30-some years. Six attempts at TV with only half of them being good (that’s a review for another day), Seven theatrical films (another mixed bag), and countless toy lines (I get it…I need to review it all), the consistency of the Turtles has not always been a strong point. It’s safe to say that the longevity of the comic book series over countless iterations has had a similarly checkered past. Thankfully, for the most part, the recent run by an IDW that has had 143 issues has been primarily positive.
For all the good, this fan would say that it is currently having a particularly shining moment. This current story arch (starting with #140) came out on the heels of a status quo-changing event. It seemed hard to believe that the incoming creative team would be able to simultaneously fill the shoes of the past while blazing their own trail. But they’ve been able to surprise me at every turn! The story opened with a cliffhanger that lead to one of the greatest TMNT comic covers of all time (see issues #141)! That amazing cover was done by the series’ current artist, Gavin Smith. This guy is incredible! I’m not just saying that because he’s a fellow Hoosier. I would argue that Smith is one of the top 10 up-and-coming comic book artists to watch. The emotion that he is able to draw out of anthropomorphic eyes with a pencil is simply stunning. The action scenes feel like they are moving off of the page. This is top-tier Turtle art to rival Eastman himself.
Sophie Campbell’s scripts seem like the perfect pairing to these pencils. Campbell takes the franchise history and respectfully creates her own tapestry out of the decades of good and bad. Her story somehow weaves in some of the ugliest parts of turtle history with a needle of forgiveness and a thread of fresh eyes.
Another nostalgia nonpareil. I give this one 5/5 Krackles!
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