TMNT #42
IDW
Story By: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow & Tom Waltz
Script By: Tom Waltz
Art By: Cory Smith
Colors By: Ronda Pattison
Here it is. The start of a war with three possible outcomes; the world is ruled by Shredder, Krang terraforms the world, or the turtles pull out a miracle and stop both villains. Each arc of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ongoing series has been an excellent balance of turtle monumental events mixed with nostalgic and classic turtle lore. I didn’t want to stop reading this issue once the characters were marching towards the start of the battle.
Once the plans were underway, and some espionage and backstabbing was thrown into the mix, my head started quickly unraveling how this would all play out. I was hoping the turtles would come out on top. With the great story finally putting all the pieces into place, the coloring was there to give full life to this issue. The art has been solid in this TMNT run for a while now, giving the mutants (not just the turtles) their signature personalities. From the thuggish Bebop and Rocksteady to Mondo Gecko being the chill skater punk, there wasn’t a lot of in-depth reading to understand the mentality and emotions everyone was feeling. I love this creative team and what they are doing for the Ninja Turtles.
Moments before the brawl takes place, there is a fair amount of twists and inside work that changes everything. Even though the turtles think they have the upper hand, as does The Shredder and Krang for that matter, you can be sure that everyone has had their hands dirty ensuring favor for their cause. If you have ever seen a TMNT cartoon, comic or movie, you know that the turtles almost never accomplish their objective of saving the world without the help of a pesky journalist, April O’Neil. She had a minor amount of panels in this specific issue, but I would keep my eye out for her to have a major role in the conclusion to this arc.