New Yet Familiar Comforting Blanket: Reviewing ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #1

Change is inevitable. Whether it’s good or bad, it is one of the few constants that exist within our reality. From the simple day-to-day things to major parts of our life, to even just within the entertainment we choose to enjoy.

After thirteen years, IDW Publishing brought their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series to a close with its 150th issue. All so that they could relaunch it with a whole new creative team, direction, and fresh outlook. For everything that changes, some things remain constant, like how enjoyable stories featuring a group of young turtle mutant ninjas can be.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 from Jason Aaron, Joëlle Jones, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee begins a whole new era.

What a stellar beginning it is.

When Aaron spoke in interviews about trying to get back to a gritty feeling of the Mirage years of the Turtles, I wasn’t sure what to think. It’s such a loaded phrase when it comes to comic books, and often trying to recapture the past in artistic endeavors leaves much to be desired. Not in this case.

Everything that came before in the previous beloved series is still in play. These are the same characters we knew and loved there, but life took some hard turns for them in the (in universe year) gap between series. Choosing to showcase a different Turtle in each issue was a brilliant one, because not only has the franchise done that before, but it also gives us more room to explore each character and what they’ve been through.

I’m a through and through Leonardo guy (with Jennika now tied with him), but this issue definitely got me liking Raph quite a bit more than I had previously. Somehow a story with him in prison trying to help out, set up by a returning to villainy Foot Clan, just works.

Knowing the title that I loved so much was ending, I approached the idea of change with trepidation. All of that was washed away when I cracked open this issue. While things have changed within, my like of this series is very much still in place.

Jones brings a lot of heaviness to the issue with her artwork, leaning heavily into the darker tones and thicker lines. Adding plenty of sharp roughness to the whole thing, still capturing every single big of emotional energy and fluid movement solidly. Backgrounds shift between super detailed and non-existent, depending on what best suits the mood of the panel. Being a pretty bland prison setting definitely helps with that.

One of the things that works for the Turtles is often the artwork that makes these giant walking talking fighting mutants seem real. Not that they don’t appear outlandish, but their outlandishness only feels slightly out of whack with the world around them. It’s similar to how superhero stories feature brightly costumed figures that only feel slightly out of place in worlds mean to represent our own. Jones easily bridges that gap and lets Raph dominate but also participate in the setting smoothly.

Also have to mention the paneling. A perfect example is the scene in the sewer, where the panels are all shaped differently, bouncing around the page, even sliding over one another. It creates this frenzied, hectic, chaotic sort of feeling. Even having focuses shift in ways you never expect, like a close-up of a fist knocking out a tooth. Exactly what a fight like this would feel like were one actually in the thick of things, wild.

As much as things changed, there are some very welcome things that have stayed the same. Chiefly being the fact that Pattison and Lee are still here. If there are MVPs of the Turtle-verse at IDW, it would be these two who have been here all along working on these books through the years.

Part of the longevity factor for Pattison surely is connected to how easily her colors shift and grow depending on the artist. Plenty of familiar palette styles and artistic quirks that identify the colors as hers are always clear. Yet, the weight, depth, tone, and overall palette choices are fluid to maximize what the art is trying to convey. Here they are a little rougher in texture, with some opposing smoothness still in play.

Weightier, darker tones are mixed into the whole affair. So even the vibrant popping colors feel gritty and toned down. It allows the red of his mask to really stand out compared to other colors, even with the likes of Raph’s greenness being toned down.

Lettering is about more than just putting the script words onto the page; be they caption or dialogue or SFX. It’s about making sure that those words are conveying every emotion, personality, quirk, and tone that the story requires. Lee makes that such a simple thing, having perfected the voices of these characters some time ago.

Helping the placement of the words flow around the rest of the artwork, striking for the most impact. Bringing various colors and styles into play, giving that visual punch up. Letting the fonts shift and slide around to maximize volume and tone, so a shout or a whisper feels more than authentic.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 is now available from IDW Publishing.