Those United Now Stand Divided: Reviewing ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #140

Rat King’s games might be over, but the fallout for the Splinter Clan and New York City has just begun. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles begins its post The Armageddon Game era with a status quo-changing character-focused emotional ride.

While this title might be in a space that is beyond the actual crossover, that’s not the case for the crossover itself. In fact, the final issue of The Armageddon Game isn’t slated to come out until the beginning of July currently. So, if you would prefer to read that before any potential spoilers, now is the time to turn back.

Okay, now that you’re still here, let’s dive in.

Not surprisingly (it’s the hero’s way after all), Rat King has been defeated (unknown how, so far) and his family, the Pantheon, have left the mortal plane behind (for now). On top of that, the separation of Mutant Town and the rest of NYC has ended. Mutants are living amongst everyone else. Unfortunately, the friction between humans and mutants hasn’t gone away.

One of the strengths of this series has always been the character focus. During the crossover event, so many of the plotlines that had been brewing were not forgotten. They were wrapped into the event in some cases but the overall effects on the characters were still felt. The path that Sophie Campbell had been setting the characters upon this whole time is closer to reality now. We’ve seen the growing cracks in the Splinter Clan, some of them becoming holes during the event, and now the core group is falling apart.

Personally, my favorite issues of this series tend to be the ones where there is way more chatter than action. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing the Turtles in action, always have, but the issues where they work out their issues and discuss life and the world are just great stuff. Campbell makes sure that every character, no matter how big or small in the series, is fleshed out and has a role to play. This issue is about how the Turtles and allies deal with a world that is different from what they knew.

A world where the mutants stroll down the streets, return to jobs/lives, deal with open discrimination, and so much more. Donatello is wrapped up in the future stuff he saw, Jennika has her band dragging her away, Raph is angry about a lot of things, Mikey ponders on living a real life with a home and a job, and Leo wants to patrol and be ever vigilant. A lot of that is usual for them but it’s naturally been elevated to higher group-endangering levels through the last year or so of adventures.

With a new story arc comes a new artist with Gavin Smith stepping in for the departing Fero Pe, with Ronda Pattison still on board with colors.

Much like the work that Pe delivered for the event tie-in issues, Smith has a very detailed dynamic style of artwork. There is a realness to a lot of the work that makes it pop off the page but still feel unreal and fantastical at the same time. Everything from the shells on their backs to the wraps on their limbs has tons of depth and personality, and the same goes for every mutant/character on the page. It’s this level of detail that is also found in facial expressions/body language that shows off emotion perfectly.

When Raph is angry, we can instantly feel it before we even see what he might be saying. At any moment the energy of the scene can rapidly change in a tangible way from hopeful to worrisome/scary to full-on anger. We’re right there on street level with these characters and are part of their story, a silent observer bombarded with feelings.

Consistency, of various types, is beneficial to these types of long ongoing series. We have that for sure with the writing, but it’s also within the colors. Pattison, if I recall correctly, has handled all, or almost all the coloring since this run began with issue #101. It’s her work that helps set the visual tone, whether the current arc is action-packed or horror or dramatic or whatever else goes down.

We witness these colors shift from vibrant to more down-to-earth/toned-down levels, giving each arc a signature but unique look. That’s because while Pattison keeps her work consistent, it naturally shifts and moves to complement the style of the artist. That’s such an underrated thing when it comes to colorists, that ability to make sure their work is their own, but also is never so disconnected that it becomes its own thing and clashes with the rest of the artwork.

Speaking of consistency, for my entire first read-through, I automatically assumed I knew the name of the letterer for this issue. Shawn Lee has been doing that great work, bringing such great energy to the work. It wasn’t until I looked back at the credits again that I realized this issue was done by Rus Wooton who did his thing while channeling that same energy.

All the same little things are done to capture these voices, bringing the tone/volume to light, and filling everything with personality. Glancing the previous issue and this one, there are slight font differences but they’re pulling from the same space.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140 is now available from IDW Publishing.