Striking Swiftly Like A Snake — Reviewing ‘TMNT: Shredder’ #2

Myth. Legend. History. Reputation. All of these can be cultivated, manipulated, and used to create powerful sway in the world. For the Shredder, they can all be as deadly and precise as his blades, and as breakable as any individual.

The former Foot Clan leader’s journey to take down a potential protégé takes a brutal turn in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2. This finely crafted tale comes from Dan Watters, Michele Bandini, Sid Kotian, Marco Lesko, and Darran Robinson.

There are many reasons that the Shredder is an imposing and everlasting figure in the TMNT universe, in ever form it takes. He’s a tenacious being who has a razor-sharp focus on what he wants to accomplish and will let no one get in the way.

Watters easily showcases that here. Everything from the disciplined blade sharpening, to how he deals with the EPF agents, how he moves through King Cobra’s domain, and how he deals with the snake motif crime boss in the end. Striking with precise power without ever breaking any kind of sweat or waver is his mission. It’s a fascinating look inside the head of this character, especially since he’s been so many things under the umbrella of this IDW TMNT-verse.

The idea that he cares nothing for his reputation, because to him it is just actual history that he has accomplished, speaks volumes. It fits the character perfectly, because he knows who and what he is. What he does is in the name of stopping the Mourner and her deadly plan, but also goes beyond that. This is not a heroic version of Oroku Saki, doing something selfless for the world.

There is more bubbling beneath the surface we have yet to witness, as evidenced by the speech to King Cobra, and the brutality laid upon the figure before the story ends.

Truth be told, there was a moment when returning to this issue to do the review that I noticed something I had missed. That was the fact that there was one, not two artists on this issue. Bandini returned from the first issue to tackle the first and final pages. Without realization, Kotian slid in to take over the bulk of the issue.

Tapping artists who have styles so complementary that they blend together is not often a choice in artist jams. They nailed it here because both artists have this really smooth, delicate, dense, and detailed style that lands somewhere perfectly between whimsical and grounded. This gives things the right levity for being a comic story but also the harshness that the particular story needs.

Swift kinetic energy crackles in Kotian’s work as the action sequences just dominate their pages. Giving that tangible firm feeling to everything. Expressive features are clear in both styles, allowing emotional elements to really sing and stand tall. This is all capped with a sharper edge that matches the blades of the title character.

Similarly, the colors find their perfect home between heavier and light, swirling with darker hues and much plenty of lighter more toned-down colors. Enough vibrancy is added in to give spaces a brighter and splashy feeling even as the darkness encroaches at all times. Spaces feel authentic with their lighting aspects, from bright to dim, allowing the settings to have a firm representative feeling to them at all times. Also, it means that each space has enough unique qualities to stand apart from one another.

We have a title character that uses words in a pointed way similar to his weapon usage. Short, often sharp, and right to the heart. Robinson taps into that so that Shredder’s words flow so smoothly and are dotted around to maximum effect. There is no need for colors or modifiers to really set them apart, as the terse to the point feeling is pouring off each of the dialogue bubbles. Others’ words are just as pointed in their own way, without stepping on Shredder’s or others’ words.

All of it is structured perfectly, bouncing around the page in the best ways possible. This frames things in a way that keeps the eyes moving where they should while informing us of so many things.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2 is now available from IDW Publishing.