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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #105
Publisher: IDW
Writer: Sophie Campbell
Artist: Sophie Campbell
Colors: Rhonda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Cover: Sophie Campbell

We’re a few issues into Campbell’s run now and I just have to say that with each one she finds a way to just kick you in the feels. Well this one is no different as the brothers are still trying to rebuild after losing their father and coming to terms with some hard truths last issue.

Campbell lightens the mood a bit with the developing relationships and humor. Taking what’s best about the family theme of this series and expanding it to new directions. The Turtles themselves have now included another into their ranks and have dubbed themselves “The Splinter Clan” in honor of their father. I’ve always thought this character should join the group in some capacity so it’s great that Campbell has unknowingly granted my wish! Moments like these are just as good as any action sequence because of the rich dialogue and pacing that hits some great emotional beats.

Campbell’s art is some of the best in the industry and when it comes to the Turtles she’s always on fire. Now, when you combine that with Rhonda Pattison’s colors, you get an amazing looking issue. Their opening concert sequence is a quiet series of panels without dialogue but it’s the colors that hit the hardest. Which gives us a perfect display of how their talents move in sync to illustrate these events. Campbell also pulls so much emotion out of these anthropomorphic characters that you really can’t help but be drawn into the story. There’s a consistent attention to detail that also makes going over the backgrounds of the panels worth it. A panel that stands out is where we get the full Splinter Clan and Campbell shows Leo’s mask with the stitching over his scarred eye. It’s just a little something that adds to the whole image.

The creative team wraps things nicely here while setting us up for new events with a great cliffhanger. One that longtime Turtle fans might get a kick out of when they see a certain object. So add this one to your read pile immediately and enjoy!

Infinite Speech
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