Carry A Big Hockey Stick — Reviewing ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones’ #5

At last, the mystery of the mind-altering revitalizing drug Nostrum comes to horrifying light, sending Casey Jones on the warpath.

A one-man sports equipment-laden army is unleashed in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #5, the penultimate chapter of the miniseries from Alex Paknadel, Amancay Nahuelpan, Enid Balam, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Darran Robinson.

When every aspect of life has been a fight, it’s hard to not want to embrace any tool that makes that fight easier. Even if that tool turns out to be an enhancing drug.

There is some power in the struggle that Casey Jones is undergoing, which contrasts perfectly with the struggle of Ludovic. Two characters are simultaneously trying to maintain who they want to be, in very different ways. Paknadel explores this dynamic quite smoothly in the issue as both characters and their predicaments feel earned and fleshed out.

One of the things I’ve liked best in this series is how well Paknadel weaves in, but doesn’t entirely rely on, the Turtles. We get beats with them that connect with Casey’s well-being or current actions. Then we circle back to Casey’s solo journey and his ways of handling a problem, like how Donatello is here to help with the research.

Yes, we get the reveal that the brothers will know where to go, likely setting up an appearance in the last issue, but that’s it. This is Casey’s story through and through.

A bit of a delay happened with this issue, and the presence of two artists is likely tied to that. Nahuelpan handles the vast majority of the issue bringing the same slick but rough artistic stylings to the page as the previous issues. Panel design and layout are utilized in fun and unique ways to really liven up the story momentum and action sequences.

This shows the gritty but bright presence that the character has within his world without losing any of the rawness that we need for this particular tale.

There is a hard shift with Balam’s work but not in a completely jarring or off-putting way. This work captures much of the same feeling and aesthetics, just in its own particular fashion. A fashion that has a rounder feeling cuts back on some of the levels of detail and density featured in the previous panels, still really keeping the rougher gritty feelings even with the somewhat softer foundation it’s built upon.

Just like with the artwork, there are some noticeable shifts in the colors that Delgado provides. In the sense of their visual brightness and some of the smoother elements. Either way, both palettes are darker with flashes of more vibrant beats sprinkled into the mix. Things build upon a more natural or neutral landscape before shifting to either side of the spectrum, keeping that familiar world outside our own window sort of feeling going strong.

Plenty of captions, dialogue, and SFX of the world at large make themselves fiercely known in this issue. Robinson delivers with all of it, making sure to keep up the little things here or there to craft these powerful unique voices, infusing them with emotional purpose and power at every single turn.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #5 is now available from IDW Publishing.