The Story Vs The Truth — Reviewing ‘TMNT: Nightwatcher’ #3

Society has been built to allow the many to fall through the cracks, often forgotten or railroaded by the powerful. For the mutants of New York City, there are even more cracks to fall through and even ways to be persecuted.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #3 shares the tale of one of many to have this fate befall them in a story from Juni Ba, Fero Pe, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Nathan Widick.

One of the hopes pinned upon the news that IDW Publishing was relaunching their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series — and starting a new line of titles — was variety. That each of the titles would offer unique voices and slices of life within this very dense and nuanced world. So far, that mission has been accomplished with smashing results.

It was pretty brilliant to spend the second issue (I hate that I missed reviewing it) as an origin story. Knocking out the mystery around the Nightwatcher fully, and showing how the combination of Jennika and the living suit of armor came to be. It allows the series to really run now, with issues like this.

Writing story arcs come in two flavors. One being the standard affair of the whole arc just being the one story cut into multiple parts. It keeps everything contained, focused, like a mini-series of sorts, and great for trade purposes. The other way to go is to have an overarching storyline that weaves its way through issues that, in a way, stand alone.

Ba masters this second way pretty well in this series so far. Through three issues we’ve had stories of Nightwatcher dealing with different incidences (kidnapping, hostage situation, and wrongful persecution) that find a way to be tied to the overall plot of mystery villain Lao Ban. Within this issue we get to have a very stark conversation about how companies care about profits over people, how people treat the marginalized, and how desperation can lead people to be taken advantage of by powerful people.

The story of Eliza Leonetti is tragic and, in many ways, all-too-recognizable a tale. Someone that “had it all” only to have it ripped away as she was cast out and left without the potentially life-saving drugs she needed. Having the story be told through a blogger, a newscaster, social media posts, and then Eliza’s own recording is so powerful. It really shows how the truth bets blurred and hidden and exposed in various ways.

Every issue just rocks so much because Pe’s artwork is beyond expressive. Every emotional beat or tense moment is felt hard on these pages. There is no denying their impact as the panel choices help us really fall deep into the story. Plenty of intricate detail and clear depth are apparent on those pages as well. Mutants of all shades and shapes are here, as are tons of people, and everyone feels fully unique and three-dimensional.

This is a living, breathing, fleshed-out space on every page.

All the ways that the various tech elements are woven in just flows with the story. Pe’s attention to detail allows for very smooth and kinetic action sequences. There is a panel where the villains’ name is revealed as a shadow form of them looms over Eliza, and it’s really terrifying.

Adding to this is the color choices that Delgado is making. Most things here are very natural or neutral in tone, creating that very sort of ‘realistic’ level of colors. Spaces that feel old and metal and very city like. It allows a baseline to be built here, so that when we do have more vibrant splashes they stand out even more. Mixed throughout are the heavier shadows that play into the darker and weightier aspects of the story. Through them Delgado easily creates lighting effects that feel authentic to night or specifically a city at night, as our title vigilante moves through the darker world.

I mentioned those tech elements before with the blogger, newscast, and recording as well as social media posts. What makes them work is how they are compiled, placed, and emphasized. Widick does an astounding job at really capturing the voices and tonal elements that would be at play here. Making sure that we feel these are authentic, and allowing them to flow smoothly to tell the story. Framing the artwork with them, hitting at the right perfect moment for most impact.

This is in addition to the solid lettering work all around that really captures tone, volume, voices, and energy perfectly. Still fully digging the dark red ringed bubbles for Jennika when she’s in the Nightwatcher gaze. Some real badass vigilante power.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #3 is now available from IDW Publishing.