Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #115 // Review
With the new status quo of an entire New York borough becoming Mutant Town, the ninjas of the teenage mutant variety have been trying to find their place in this new world. Donatello has become a writer, Michelangelo runs a podcast. However, a new disaster and a turtle from the future have come back to the past to ensure that the bad future from her past does not come to pass.
By forming a rock band.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue 115 is written and drawn by Sophie Campbell. Ronda Pattinson provides the colors, while Shawn Lee letters the issue. Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz are credited as story consultants.
This issue picks up right where 114 left off, with new mutant babies Tokka and Razar running amok after attempts to placate the gigantic infants went sour. Having been thrown across Mutant Town, Jennika crash lands in a bar where Bebop and Rocksteady have taken up residence to start a new band… without permission from the owner. With the two brutal beasts joining the fight against misguided mutant infants, can the Turtles keep the four from killing one another while calming Tokka and Razar down?
And start a rock band?
This issue was great fun. With how they've been treated by the rest of the franchise, it's easy to forget that Bebop and Rocksteady can be utterly horrifying. Seeing them go toe-to-toe with mutants larger and more ferocious than themselves with brutal efficiency is horrifyingly done in ways the 1987 cartoon could never have hoped to get away with. The running thread of needing to start a rock band feels completely out of place alongside the more serious threat of the Foot Clan's mutants razing Mutant Town. Yet, it's perfectly in tune with the habit of how completely insane the franchise has gotten ever since the early days. The comedy that the book has had in the past still knows when to show up, and it helps make the darker scenes all, the more powerful as a result.
The art is also spectacular. The nighttime setting is beautifully colored. The deep inks used in places keep Tokka and Razar utterly frightening despite their brainpower and the potential adorable use of them as characters. Action is frantic and brutal simultaneously, with clever use of body language and framing showing characterization even while someone is receiving a chainsaw to the shell. Even the lettering is clever, with sound effects bleeding over the page like it's part of the art rather than something added later. Even if the writing was bad (it's great), the book is worth checking out for the art alone.
In short, while you really should go back and grab issues 113 and 114 to see where this story started, this storyline is looking to be a fantastic romp for any fans of the TMNT. You need to pick up this issue, and the price tag is well worth the adventure inside.
