Comic Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #68

An injured Hob turns to the TMNT for help. Meanwhile, Agent Bishop continues to make life miserable for New York’s mutant community.

Comic Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #68

(W) Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, (A) Mateus Santolouco, (C) Ronda Pattison

For those of you that may be stumbling upon this website (and therefore, this review) for the first time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from IDW Publishing is easily the best “superhero” comic available. If you need any further proof, look at the issue which is the subject of this post. It’s both grounded, yet wacky. It has moments of gravity, and moments of humor. The artwork is dynamic and fluid while the writing makes it easily accessible.

The biggest strength of this issue is that, even though this is the second part of the latest story arc, it can be easily picked up by a new reader without the fear of being lost. Moreover, it does so without alienating those who have continued to read the series month in and month out. Aiding in the accessibility is the clear delineation of heroes and villains. While having a large cast waver among varying shades of gray, the clear, black-and-white conflict is a welcome change of pace.

Agent Bishop is a great villain.  Like the best villains, he sees himself as the hero of his story, saving humanity from a threat to its existence. While it is a common science-fiction trope, it is effective as it causes readers to take a step back and think about their real-world reaction to such a scenario. Of course, the reader knows that his perceived threat is only dangerous when they are manipulated – as he has done to Slash. Bishop is a man that will not be reasoned with – despite the pleading of the captured Mutanimals.

If there is a flaw to this issue, it’s that the Turtles are given very little to do aside from banter with Old Hob about if the latter is telling them the truth. Also, the issue’s cliffhanger is a bit of a head-scratcher as Bishop’s team, for the entirety of the issue, was preoccupied elsewhere. However, just because the Turtles were not the central focus does not make this a bad issue. Quite the contrary, in fact, as the varied personalities of Mutanimals are more than enough to keep readers thoroughly occupied and entertained over the course of the issue.

Every month, it seems that this series forces reviewers to come up with new ways to sing its praises, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #68 is no exception. Finely scripted and beautifully illustrated, this continues to be the standard by which all other superhero titles should be judged.