By: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz (story), Mateus Santolouco (art), Ronda Pattison (colors)
The Story: First rule of parenting: never befriend the man who stabbed your child.
The Review: I don’t think I’ve ever thought of the Turtles as superheroes, but just in case I ever do, Leo says quite bluntly in this issue, “Remember, we’re not superheroes and this isn’t your comics…this is dead serious.” There may be a note of irony there, but it feels mostly sincere. Leo clarifies that while they’re all for stopping a bit of crime along the way, their real target is the Foot, source of this crime wave. The other Turtles, even Mikey, are in general agreement with this mission statement.
What this all says about TMNT as a series is something that should’ve become apparent to you early on, which is the writers have little interest in a Baddie of the Month title, wherein the Turtles fight various enemies out of a vague sense of justice.* Their goals are more clear-cut and personal than that. Their enmity with the Foot is vengeance, pure and simple, though unlike Batman’s, theirs is motivated by two lifetimes’ worth of uncalled-for persecution.
But that’s old news, and this issue wisely spends no time rehashing old grievances when the last arc in already did so. Instead, it focuses on other ends left loose when the Turtle family booked it in #28, mainly on the strained relationship between the Turtle-allied Casey and the Foot-allied Hun. Apparently, while our attention was diverted to the Hamptons, Hun and his Purple Dragons have risen in Shredder’s eyes to become one of his most trusted arms, to the point that Shredder is willing to make allowances for Casey—if Hun can convince him to change allegiances, which is futile, obviously.
Not that you’re supposed to, but I can’t say I’ve ever cared much for Hun, a typical bastard whose idea of reconnecting with his estranged son is so out of touch with what his son actually wants that it really has nothing to do with Casey. It’s true Hun doesn’t react well to Shredder revealing that he had stabbed Casey (“Understand, however, that my actions were never of a personal nature,” Shredder reassures Hun, in the fancier version of, “Wasn’t personal, man”), and this motivates him to encourage Casey to flee the city, using all the money Hun has to spare. But when Casey’s moved enough by his dad’s earnestness to ask if Hun will escape with him, Hun reveals that his true loyalty is to himself, or at least to his vision of himself as a “real man.”
This scene has an emotional credibility that the other parts of the issue lack, particularly in Hun’s throwdown with his former bar buddies, who have a lot to say about his current activities but nothing about his past, which is what you’re really interested in. As for April’s nail-biting concerns over Casey’s future, she lays it on a bit too thick, acting as if it’d be a big, ghastly drama if Casey ultimately decides not to go back to college. For a nerd like April, this must seem like the end of the world, but in any real-world context, this is no big deal, and it’ll be a drag if the title treats it like one (even worse if it’s enough of one to cause an infection in her and Casey’s blooming romance).
Woo! Santolouco is back! Although I’ve developed new levels of appreciation for Ross Campbell’s work in the last few months, the moment I see Santolouco’s sharp, taut lines, all memories of other TMNT artists fly away. His handling of the action sequences are top-notch, full of high-energy movement that never spirals out of his storytelling logic. The sequence of some fleeing burglars getting caught by the Turtles captures the cinematic speed of a Fast and the Furious car chase, but still makes it easy to follow the course of the action. Also, I just love being able to tell the Turtles apart just by their faces again.
Conclusion: A welcome return for Santolouco, although the story stalls a bit to catch up on minor matters.
Grade: B
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: * Although the Turtles may fall into this category later on, when they’re fighting against Krang, perhaps.
– For the real Scots out there: thoughts on Fight’n Ferguson’s dialogue in this issue? Legit, uncomfortable, hideously racist, or what?
Grade
Conclusion