Big Shop Of Horrors: Reviewing ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #143

Often, they say a physician who treats themselves has a fool for a patient. Oh, hey there Doctor Jasper Barlow!

After making the foolish choice to kidnap one of the weasels — bringing the full force of the Splinter Clan upon himself — the mad doctor made another foolish move. Wonder how badly this one will blow up in his face?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #143 continues to chronicle the new status quo for the Turtles while also wrapping up plotlines. It’s brought to us by Sophie Campbell, Gavin Smith, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee.

With Barlow back to his malicious machinations, the story has taken a bit of a horror bent. Smith bends the artwork in that direction, without losing anything from the character-focused first issues of the arc. There is still a ton of weight and emotional depth, with all the characters full of life. There was already a tinge of roughness around the edges and Smith plays that up as the heroes descend to the nightmarish sewers.

Various characters are faced with their nightmares, and those pages are sufficiently terrifying. It really plays into the fears of the characters, making sure the horror, pain, and even violence are quite visceral. All the red crackling energy as the borders, from the dragon scale that is causing the phantasms, is such a good touch.

Thicker colors with weightier shadows are mixed in by Pattison. It’s not all darker stuff, though, as there are still plenty of lighter and even vibrant colors to be found. All the supernatural and superhero/fantastical elements help provide those moments. A certain grittiness is felt throughout the whole thing, making the city and its spaces feel real. This is meant to be New York City as we know it, after all, just one with mutants and aliens running around.

I’ll forever remain in awe of how smoothly Pattison’s colors morph to fit any artwork while staying uniquely her own style.

Speaking of uniqueness, the path that Campbell has taken in this series is wild, if one were to describe it. Every arc has been very different as she’s tackled everything from time travel to body horror to interpersonal struggles/growth, and plenty of magic. Yet, there is an easy-to-follow throughline that defines the run and keeps it stabilized: the wonderful characterization and development.

Everything from the first issue of the run, all the way back in 101 believe it or not, to now feels like a natural change. Their world and each of the characters’ roles and goals are different by now, but the characters still feel the same overall. We can trace how Donny, Mikey, Jennika, and others got from point A to point B; complete logical moves that enrich the characters and the world.

We feel so many character moments both in and around the horror that stand out. Raph and Alopex’s moment almost got me misty-eyed. While anger is still an issue, Raph is not who he once was, and he cares about Alopex too much to keep the divide between them.

Feeling those character moments is helped by the way that Lee handles the lettering. Personality, emotion, and energy radiate off every single word allowing us to soak it all in. Lee has a very natural feeling style to the lettering that allows volume, tone, and more to be inherently clear. It’s never trying to take up too much attention or stand out too much, sitting alongside the rest of the artwork as an enhancement.

It all takes on a bigger, louder, and bolder feeling in those nightmare scenes. That jagged exaggerated red font on the black bubbles fits right into a horror realm. It hits hard and really plays up the otherworldly effect that these nightmares are meant to have.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #143 is now available from IDW Publishing.