Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #48

By Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz, Cory Smith & Ronda Pattison

The current arc finally hits its climax! Shredder and Baxter Stockman make their move against the Turtles. As the Stockman horde attacks, the family struggles to protect Donatello’s soulless body. Luckily, they have a plethora of allies who are prepared to aid them in the fight. Some new subplots are revealed that can only spell trouble for the future…

If it wasn’t already evident by this point, Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow and Tom Waltz know how to develop and execute excellent storylines. Despite the fact that this is an action heavy issue, a lot of plot development takes place. It’s these subtle or sometimes explicit moments that truly give this series depth and character (no pun intended). The love and bond the Turtle family has is palpable. That’s the core of this story and this writing team never lets readers forget that; not only do the ancillary characters respond to that, but readers as well. Also, it’s fascinating to see the uneasy alliance between Shredder and Stockman play out. Both are brilliant strategists with massive egos, the anticipation to see who will have the ace up their sleeve is nerve-racking.

The dominant artists of this series, Cory Smith and Ronda Pattison, deliver breathtaking work, as expected. They present dynamic fight panels, with no two page layouts being the same. They have panels overlapping each other conveying the intense, hectic nature of the unfolding events. It immediately captures the eye and draws readers in. Pattison uses the entire color spectrum in her panel backgrounds. From bright, fiery red and orange to shadowy blue and black; she understands intuitively how to deliver the most impact with the color palette. Also, it’s worth mentioning that it’s very impressive that with the incredible amount of Baxter’s creations, these two are able to bring quite a bit of detail to each one depicted.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hasn’t skipped a beat yet, this continues to be one of IDW’s best titles. Pick this up and be sure to pick up the miniseries Casey and April that is being released concurrently. It, as with every side series, ties in with the overall excellent storyline.