Leaping Before Never Looking — Reviewing ‘TMNT: Casey Jones’ #3

Armed with hockey sticks, baseball bats, and other sports equipment, Casey Jones is ready for a lot of normal threats. Ever since he met the Hamato Clan Turtles though, the threats have been anything but normal.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3 the hockey mask wearing vigilante might have bitten off more than he can chew. Though, he’s not the one doing the biting in the latest chapter from Alex Paknadel, Amancay Nahuelpan, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Darran Robinson.

Supporting casts that are strong are ones that are memorable and deliver so much to a main series. The ones that are the most powerful though are those who can become a starring character all on their own — so fleshed out and tangible that they take on a whole other life outside the shadows of others.

Casey Jones is iconic and is very much one of those characters. It wasn’t this series that proved that the character has been a dominant force for decades. What this series has done though is remind us of that fact quite heartily.

Through these three issues Paknadel has painted quite a proverbial picture with the character, showing the struggles of being a normal human in this supernatural filled world. He speaks to the fight that is within this hardened character as well as the wherewithal to realize his limitations and the reality of his situation, yet, never stepping down from standing beside those who he loves.

This new curveball with the regenerative drug Nostrum definitely adds new dimensions. Especially now that Casey Jones has sampled the drug, we’ve seen what it did to another human, and the way that it has a hold on the villainous Ludovic (thanks to his boss Mr. Marlin).

There’s so much for Nahuelpan to render into beautiful reality. Big fight moments, intimate character beats, and even some more sedate normal moments. The slick roughness of this style really allows the world to breathe and move with a sedate feeling quickness. Panel choices keep the audience level with the world so that all spaces feel scaled, either intimate or vast.

Kinetic energy ripples through each bit of the action. Blow for blow, we feel it as the characters go through the motions and things happen to them.

All of it feels dense too from the swathes of color Delgado brings to the page. Keeping things centered on a portion of the palette which is more natural or neutral in tone sets the foundation through the backgrounds and overall set pieces. The colors surrounding the more fantastical or bold happenings can then surge in vibrancy as needed. This is a street-level series so the gimmer, grittier, darker elements pay dividends with the story direction.

Another space that needs depth and tonal range is of course the dialogue, and all of the lettering. Robinson achieves that easily through the spoken and thought words found on the page. Casey’s particular cadence and vocal perceptions are felt through the captions and his words. There are unique elements clear in every character’s voice, and the atmospheric sound that exists in the world.

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