Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #32
Publisher: IDW
Writer: Tom Waltz
Artist: Ross Campbell
Cover: Ross Campbell
The Northampton story line comes to a close as Foot assassins led by the mutant hawk, Koya, finally find their prey. It’s an intense battle that leaves no doubt that Koya is there to end the Turtles and anyone associated with them. However, it’s a good thing that Leo seems to have shaken off the majority of Shredder’s brainwashing and made peace with himself, so he can add a helping hand to his family.
The Turtles may be celebrating their 30th anniversary, but Tom Waltz is bringing something fresh and new as this series continues to wow fans and new readers alike. This has been a pretty emotional arc as the Turtles try to regroup and refocus from the events of City Fall, and Waltz has done some excellent character building along the way. Leo’s internal struggles to find his place among his family again have been anything but a slow paced series of events. Everything has led to this, as not only are the Turtles whole again, but Waltz has thrown in some more information regarding the ooze that will undoubtedly be looked at in future issues.
This title has also boasted some very good artistic talent since it was brought back, and Ross Campbell is one of those guys! He’s able to give you the soft and quieter moments, and pull every ounce of emotion that Waltz has in his script, laying it out there for all to see. In this issue he shows that he can carry well laid out action sequences with just as much intensity. The opening four panels prove this, and Pattison did a great job changing the color palette to heighten the ferocity of Koya and Leo’s attack. The Foot assassins also have a very different look than the regular Foot ninja that we’re accustomed to seeing, and with their long claws and heavily wrapped arms they’re quite the fierce looking foe. It’s a very cool design that keeps things simple yet intimidating. You might also like to know that there isn’t one bad panel in the entire issue, and Ross keeps things moving very fluid throughout.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at its core is about family, and Waltz continues to give you the heart of the story while throwing in some really great action along the way. Campbell’s visuals are some of the most impressive, and hopefully he’ll continue to be on the series for a long time to come. And though this may not be a “jumping on point” for the series, I’d suggest it anyway because of just how great it looks and reads!
Till next time!
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
