Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #106
Story by Sophie Campbell with Tom Waltz and Kevin Eastman
Art by Nelson Daniel and Ronda Pattinson
Published by IDW
Released July 15th, 2020
The mutagen bomb’s fallout continues to affect NYC in increasingly disturbing ways. As the government struggles to come to grips with a growing humanitarian crisis, mutants start to go missing. The TMNT trace the clues to the waterfront and find something terrifying that is now living in the depths!
Familiarity Could be a Blessing…
It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve had a more linear TMNT adventure within the IDW series. With an epic clash at issue #100, Splinter dying, New York becoming mutant-town, the Turtles disbanding, and the story becoming very Jennika focused. The last issue had a very comforting “slice of life” vibe to it, where as issue #106 picks up with a familiar robot face in the form of a mouser “killing” (?) Kermit the frog. Inside the Turtles dojo we learn about a new possible threat deemed “THE SLITHERY” abducting children from the sewer depths of mutant-town. Tall tale or monstrous mutant?
Meanwhile April grows weary of politics (aren’t we all?) concerning the uninfected treating the NYC mutant problem. The story moves brisk and is focused as the stakes are much smaller this time around. I found that to be oddly refreshing with the dire consequences the series has had for the past 10 or so issues.
Nelson Daniel steers the artwork this time around…unfortunately I don’t know if this is an upgrade to what we’ve been getting with Campbell. Pattinson’s colors are standard, giving the issue a look that fits right in with what we’ve been getting. Yet Daniel’s artwork, while skilled, comes off as quick and vague. The biggest issue I had was not being able to tell our Turtle brothers apart. Small details are absent (Leo no longer has a scar) and the Turtles are certainly emotive with an almost Archie comics flair…yet overall something seems to be missing visually. It leaves the issue, visually, with something to be desired.
Overall Issue 106 was an entertaining read. Slightly disappointing that the cliffhanger ending from #105 wasn’t even touched upon this time around, but I assume Campbell and company is letting it breathe for now. Looks like we’ll be seeing the Ninja Turtles heading back into the sewer to tackle some mousers and mutants afterall. And with everything going on in the real world right now, some familiarity certainly won’t hurt.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #106 is now available wherever comics are sold!
