Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #38
Publisher: IDW
Writer: Tom Waltz
Artist: Mateus Santolouco
Cover: Mateus Santolouco
Deciding whether to go after Shredder or Krang first isn’t as easy as flipping a coin, and the brothers find out they don’t agree on how to handle these foes. Donatello is very adamant about going after Krang, seeing as that threat is to the entire planet while at the same time diminishing the “turf war” between Splinter and Shredder. As the debate continues, it’s impressively clear how well Waltz has developed these characters. Every time he focuses on the family dynamic of the group, it just adds to how well the story progresses and gives it much more depth. Especially for a book filled with some of the craziest looking characters you’ll ever see in comics.
Waltz also makes sure that the focus of the story doesn’t have to just rely on the Turtles. The supporting cast has been fleshed out quite well, and it’s great that Waltz can have so many in the issue and everything flow pretty well. Brand new characters are introduced to the series, and at no point does the book feel like it’s overcrowded. Nothing is forced and it’s just one very good character driven and plot reinforcing issue. Even the Casey/April and Nobody/Kirbyfan sequences do their parts to help push things along, albeit quite briefly.
Do any of you remember Mondo Gecko? Well Santolouco gives him an updated look and a pretty cool introduction alongside Herman the Hermit Crab, another new mutant in Hob’s army with a pretty intense arsenal. He’s got a great character design as well thanks to Santolouco, who also doesn’t do a bad job on the rest of the issue. There’s really not much more to say about the stellar work this man puts into this title that hasn’t already been said. From panel layouts to the emotion he puts into the characters, you’ll be impressed every time. Along with Ronda Pattison’s colors that pull even more out of the artwork, this is yet another great looking issue from the artistic team.
The past two issues have proven that you don’t need panel after panel of ninja action to move the story along. This one is mostly a build up to what is coming next, and it’s just as necessary of a read as any action filled issue. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to be one of the better books on the shelf and can satisfy the most hardcore TMNT fan!
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