Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #33
There was something off about this new Ninja Turtles series. It was a lot slower than the turtle stories I had read before. It felt decompressed. I was initially getting bored watching it go through its paces, repurposing and elongating classic Ninja Turtle plot threads, while introducing new spins of its own. Some were inspired. Raphael’s introduction as the lost turtle the others were trying to rescue added a lot of personality to the early issues. Other changes seemed to be done out of convenience more than anything else. The majority of the TMNT supporting cast coming from the research lab where they made the TMNT, and so did half their villains. Everybody was in the right place at the right time. Eastman and Waltz were going o devote lots of time to conversation and contemplation with this book. They needed a convenient science lab for every story element to spring from.
As the series kept on, the Stockgen Labs storyline was pulled apart from every angle. The initial implication of the turtles being science experiments may have seemed like a toning down of a truly preposterous concept, but that has turned out to be far from the case. Every revelation, rather than streamlining the origin process, only made the story more convoluted. I love the comic for this. Ninja Turtles has always succeeded at taking concepts too stupid to work in mainstream superheroes and making them work in their odd little universe. All of the anthropomorphism is great. Krang is awesome. Baxter Stockman might be my new favorite villain. And it’s always building, layers within layers.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been building and layering for 33 issues now. (more like 50 if you count all the mini/micro/whatever-series) The turtles just got back into NYC after their trip to mine one of my favorite turtle tropes-character building through camping. Their trip to the O’Neil family farmhouse was a melancholy affair. Leonardo brooded a lot. Alopex tagged along and brooded even more. Mikey brought everyone together through the power of hot dogs, but only temporarily. It was the inevitable ninja fight that really brought the team spirit back. The fight also blew their cover, and now it’s time to return to the city.
This comic has enough going on that it can approach a story from many angles, and the narrative has gotten fairly complex at this point. I was expecting a return to sword-swinging action this issue, and artist Mateus Santolouco delivers, if only briefly, the turtle violence we crave so much. After Ross Campbell’s stint on the farm, it’s good to have Santolouco back on the book. Campbell had some great faces, but his figure work was lacking. His turtles all looked lovely, their rounded bodies perfect for his style, but the human characters looked a little wonky. Santolouco draws figures better, but he also draws action with a confidence and style unmatched by any other turtle artist. The layout of this issue’s opening bank robbery is an impressive feat. It’s great he put such effort into that scene, since most of the book is just conversations. Donatello talks to April. April talks to Casey. Casey talks to Hun. Hun talks to Shredder. All this talking does nothing to slow the story momentum, though. The tone is a little more tense than it’s been in the past few issues, and every character’s formulating big plans. We know where the main characters stand – The turtles need to team up with The Foot Clan to take down the technodrome, Krang still wants to terraform Earth for his people, and Shredder still wants to murder all of his enemies. This issue devotes a lot of time to side characters, and Casey Jone’s evil dad, Hun, is the star.
Hun was never my favorite villain, but this issue goes a long way to make the guy just a little more compelling. The guy preens and postures as much as the big bads, Shredder and Krang, but he’s covering up his complete lack of self-worth. Hun’s really just a sycophant, desperate to belong to something bigger than himself. Of all the big tough guys in this comic, Hun’s the only one who loves to go on and on about how big and tough he is. Throughout this one issue, he makes repeated comments about being a real man now. He claims it’s because of his new position in the Shredder’s army, but we all know he’s into it because he wants to push around guys like the ex-gangsters he roughs up in his attempts to find Casey. He needs to talk to Casey about his new career path, how he’s chosen work over family in the most ridiculous fashion.
See, if you’ve been following Ninja Turtles closely, Shredder’s trying to tie up some loose ends with his star lieutenant’s family matters. Shredder’s sticking to his preferred tactic of murdering someone’s family for their compliance. It’s come up in at least two other issues, so it wasn’t long before Casey Jones became the target of assassination. This time, Shredder gives Hun one last chance to make a plea to Casey. I don’t think there’s doubt in any minds about whether or not Casey will join up with the Foot, that guy’s team turtle for life. Hun’s been given this ridiculous, God and Abraham style bargain, and the knowledge that he and Casey are never going to see eye to eye on this adds to the tension the series keeps building up. Will Shredder execute Hun? Will Shredder execute Casey? Who knows? TMNT has done a great job defying expectations so far, I doubt they’re going to start falling back on the easy solutions at this point. Hun could just as easily betray Shredder as he already has betrayed his son. Characters arcs never seem to end in this series. Nobody ever seems completely realized. Even Splinter has much to learn. It’s pretty good stuff.
Issue 33 was some pretty good stuff. I wouldn’t recommend newcomers to start here, it’s a pretty dense jumping on point, but I would recommend the newcomers to get caught up. Teenage Mutant Nijna Turtles is a great comic right now, and it’d be a shame for someone to miss out on what might be the best incarnation this series has ever had.
As the series kept on, the Stockgen Labs storyline was pulled apart from every angle. The initial implication of the turtles being science experiments may have seemed like a toning down of a truly preposterous concept, but that has turned out to be far from the case. Every revelation, rather than streamlining the origin process, only made the story more convoluted. I love the comic for this. Ninja Turtles has always succeeded at taking concepts too stupid to work in mainstream superheroes and making them work in their odd little universe. All of the anthropomorphism is great. Krang is awesome. Baxter Stockman might be my new favorite villain. And it’s always building, layers within layers.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been building and layering for 33 issues now. (more like 50 if you count all the mini/micro/whatever-series) The turtles just got back into NYC after their trip to mine one of my favorite turtle tropes-character building through camping. Their trip to the O’Neil family farmhouse was a melancholy affair. Leonardo brooded a lot. Alopex tagged along and brooded even more. Mikey brought everyone together through the power of hot dogs, but only temporarily. It was the inevitable ninja fight that really brought the team spirit back. The fight also blew their cover, and now it’s time to return to the city.
This comic has enough going on that it can approach a story from many angles, and the narrative has gotten fairly complex at this point. I was expecting a return to sword-swinging action this issue, and artist Mateus Santolouco delivers, if only briefly, the turtle violence we crave so much. After Ross Campbell’s stint on the farm, it’s good to have Santolouco back on the book. Campbell had some great faces, but his figure work was lacking. His turtles all looked lovely, their rounded bodies perfect for his style, but the human characters looked a little wonky. Santolouco draws figures better, but he also draws action with a confidence and style unmatched by any other turtle artist. The layout of this issue’s opening bank robbery is an impressive feat. It’s great he put such effort into that scene, since most of the book is just conversations. Donatello talks to April. April talks to Casey. Casey talks to Hun. Hun talks to Shredder. All this talking does nothing to slow the story momentum, though. The tone is a little more tense than it’s been in the past few issues, and every character’s formulating big plans. We know where the main characters stand – The turtles need to team up with The Foot Clan to take down the technodrome, Krang still wants to terraform Earth for his people, and Shredder still wants to murder all of his enemies. This issue devotes a lot of time to side characters, and Casey Jone’s evil dad, Hun, is the star.
Hun was never my favorite villain, but this issue goes a long way to make the guy just a little more compelling. The guy preens and postures as much as the big bads, Shredder and Krang, but he’s covering up his complete lack of self-worth. Hun’s really just a sycophant, desperate to belong to something bigger than himself. Of all the big tough guys in this comic, Hun’s the only one who loves to go on and on about how big and tough he is. Throughout this one issue, he makes repeated comments about being a real man now. He claims it’s because of his new position in the Shredder’s army, but we all know he’s into it because he wants to push around guys like the ex-gangsters he roughs up in his attempts to find Casey. He needs to talk to Casey about his new career path, how he’s chosen work over family in the most ridiculous fashion.
See, if you’ve been following Ninja Turtles closely, Shredder’s trying to tie up some loose ends with his star lieutenant’s family matters. Shredder’s sticking to his preferred tactic of murdering someone’s family for their compliance. It’s come up in at least two other issues, so it wasn’t long before Casey Jones became the target of assassination. This time, Shredder gives Hun one last chance to make a plea to Casey. I don’t think there’s doubt in any minds about whether or not Casey will join up with the Foot, that guy’s team turtle for life. Hun’s been given this ridiculous, God and Abraham style bargain, and the knowledge that he and Casey are never going to see eye to eye on this adds to the tension the series keeps building up. Will Shredder execute Hun? Will Shredder execute Casey? Who knows? TMNT has done a great job defying expectations so far, I doubt they’re going to start falling back on the easy solutions at this point. Hun could just as easily betray Shredder as he already has betrayed his son. Characters arcs never seem to end in this series. Nobody ever seems completely realized. Even Splinter has much to learn. It’s pretty good stuff.
Issue 33 was some pretty good stuff. I wouldn’t recommend newcomers to start here, it’s a pretty dense jumping on point, but I would recommend the newcomers to get caught up. Teenage Mutant Nijna Turtles is a great comic right now, and it’d be a shame for someone to miss out on what might be the best incarnation this series has ever had.
A Look Inside
