Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #22 Review


A massive story that’s been in the works for months finally begins here, but was it worth the patience of its devoted audience?  Read on to find out.

The official description from IDW:

‘CITY FALL’ part 1: A normal night on the town for Raphael and Casey turns deadly when the Foot Clan appears in full force. The resulting chaos is only the first step in Shredder’s master plan! The stakes have never been higher, and lives are on the line. Don’t miss the start of the biggest story arc to hit the TMNT yet!

When you have titanic forces working against our heroes in a half-shell, it was only a matter of time before some serious blood would be spilled and that’s exactly what happens here.  Thanks to a brilliant creative team this issue is firing on all cylinders as Casey Jones gets caught in the crossfire.

Tom Waltz pens the script and the scribe gives us a thick but consistent slice of action with mayhem as the Foot and the Turtles come head-to-head once again.  Emotions are high as potent connections are pulled and yanked along as one loss is traded for another.  I was very impressed with the author’s ability to balance all the varying pieces to this puzzle and the candor in which he executed several painful maneuvers.  But there were some instances where the dialogue felt a bit too bulky and it did take away from this journey.

The art by Mateus Santolouco is just as impressive as you can imagine as he brings a level of realism to these proceedings that is, at times, quite inspiring.  I was enthralled by every punch as the line work met the paper at exactly the right angles to believably create a kinetic motion.  I honestly don’t have much in the way of complaints, save for several of the more human characters looking a tad bit too stylized.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #22 is an impressive outing that starts this arc off just right.  I was hooked by the concept and I can’t wait to read what happens next. Recommended.

4/5

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