Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to evolve into a really impressive series. At first, original TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman seemed happy to bring the Turtles back to their more violent, underground roots. Now, he’s stepping up the game and, alongside fellow storywriter and TMNT scripter Tom Waltz, evolving the story into a full-fledged universe. Beginning with the abduction of Leonardo, TMNT has been dealing with more adult themes, such as friendship, betrayal, family and love. A tremendous jump from “cowabunga dude” and pizza.
Issue #26 travels down two roads. The first is reconnection. Since their arrival, the Turtles have been involved with so many other aspects of superhero life that they’ve lost connection to those they hold dear. Losing Leonardo has driven this point home. TMNT #26 opens with a simple scene of Leonardo struggling with the new identity he’s been brainwashed into believing, and the truth of who he really is. It’s a brief two pages, but really drives home the struggle Leo is having.
Meanwhile, in the city, Raphael reconnects with Angel of the Purple Dragons. The tension between the TMNT and the Dragons was difficult, but they have become real allies to the fight against evil. Raph, letting down his guard in rare fashion, brings the friendship between the two forces into focus. Michelangelo steps up to connect with the pizza man he became friends with – the one that would help him keep an ear to the street. It’s more comical than the other connections, but still a great scene. In the final connection, Raphael breaks his absence with Casey Jones, something readers have been waiting for.
Outside all the warm, fuzzy feelings, there’s plenty of action: Splinter stealing some kind of green ooze for Old Hob, Donatello and April attempting to wrangle up some new weapons in the fight against The Foot Clan, and the epic battle between The Foot and their arch rivals, The Savate. Here we establish not only The Foot’s dominance, but also Leonardo’s new sense of savagery, and Kara’s initial plans to destroy Leo and replace him by her uncle Shredder’s side, begin to hatch. Issue #26 is packed with information, and Waltz handles it beautifully.
Mateus Santolouco continues handling the art. While I still long for Eastman to return to pencils, Santolouco does an excellent job. The Turtles are illustrated in Santolouco’s unusual style, giving them a more human dimension. Action wise, the pencils are strong, and Santolouco knows how to communicate movement, especially in battle. The standard human characters are a bit one-dimensional – they lay flat on the page, especially when standing against the creatures or even the armored humans. Overall, Santolouco’s work is stellar, I just wish he’d pay more attention the human faces.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to impress. With this kind of writing, there is no limit to where it can go.
(4.5 Story, 3 Art)
