Escape Through New York — Reviewing ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ #6

Four brothers, raised by a father to be a solid team. Able to stand together against any forces of evil. Their connection and accomplishments are legendary. None of that matters a bit when those four brothers are splintered, broken, and at each other’s throats. Not to mention their foes have infiltrated every level of their beloved city, making their lives even more dangerous.

Everything comes crashing down in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 as Juan Ferreyra joins Jason Aaron and Shawn Lee for the next chapter in this relaunched series.

Damn does this go hard.

Aaron has not taken his foot off the proverbial gas pedal since launching this series. As the brothers have faced various odds, been thrown back together, and found themselves crumbling as their baggage/issues are too much. Their oldest foe has grown and found new tactics (using the system for themselves) and their allies are scattered.

Not just fixing the brothers issues is a great mark for this book. Some divisions are not easy to heal. Character drama and tension is a part of what makes stories work and we feel that here. Our heroes are in a spot where their backs are against the proverbial wall. A city and space they know well, and have saved numerous times, is against them.

Civil servants are Foot Soldiers in disguise, as people record the “murderous” Turtles kicking around cops and firefighters. We’re shown a few quiet tense moment at the start and then it’s nothing but frantic till the final page.

Having rotating artists to kick off the series was a solid move and really fun. That being said, tapping a full regular artist from this point forward really helps a lot. Frantic is something that we really sense and feel in what Ferreyra presents on the page. A dense art style with sharp edges and rough textures mixed with those of a smoother variety. All of the action scenes feel so kinetic and authentic, creating true sense of motion between panels and pages.

As noted there is so much emotional heaviness in these pages. All of that is clear upon the pages as Ferreyra nails the facial and body language here. All of the anger and sadness these characters are feeling is plain as day upon their faces, and the way they carry themselves. It adds weight to them making their movements not as fluid as they once were. Stress and deep anger are like an anchor that drags people down at times when left unchecked.

Taking place at night, the story naturally has a lot of darkness to it. Perfect for the heavy darkness that is needed to meet the story tone. I really love the almost watercolor like style of colors that Ferreyra employs, going for a palette leaning into the more muted tonal range while still bringing in some of the flashier vibrant colors. Our characters are hurtling through unfriendly streets with nothing really standing out as an escape or sanctuary in their time of need.

These color choices bolster that because the city feels dark and foreboding, even with the prolific number of lights. Instead of being warmth or security these lights are hostile and do nothing but keep the Turtles in the tightening spotlight.

Having Lee still working on the series is always a delight. Handling these characters voices for so long means there is never a miss here. Their personalities, emotional ranges, and quirks are fully there in every letter upon the page. Letting the volume and tones rise and fall as necessary so that we feel it as things become more heated. Even the Splinter captions go from calm and collected to loud and frenzied as the trap is fully sprung upon his sons/students.

I was a bit worried hearing that this series was aiming for a grittier and darker tone. Not that the previous one was all sunshine and flowers. So far though that has been vastly unwarranted as a concern because for all that has changed, the heart and character depth the series has enjoyed for almost fourteen years at IDW is still going strong.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 is now available from IDW Publishing.