Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #101: With Heavy Hearts… We Move On

TMNT #101 is our first issue with a new creative team and they do a brilliant job at driving that familiar storyline that we have grown accustomed to. The team of Sophie Campbell (script & art), Ronda Pattison (colors), and Shawn Lee (letters) have taken this book in a fresh direction that does not stray away from the book’s roots, but instead pay homage to the legacy while putting their own spin on it. The book opens up with the family mourning Splinter’s loss. He’s a loving memory that will forever be in their lives.

Adding to the heaviness that is their heart, Mayor Stockman decides to “contain” Old Hob’s mutagen bomb and build a wall around the “affected” area thus creating a “city within a city”. As the book goes on, we get introduced to the new lives of the turtles. Donny lives the simple life, Leo has occupied his time with greenhouses, Mikey’s depression continues, Jenny wanders the city still confused on her new way of life and missing her old one. Raph is back to doing his best vigilante routine and secluding himself from all forms of life. We even get a peek at April and she’s just as much as a wreck as the rest of the family…and you can’t blame them.

The way Sophie Campbell has written this book makes you feel as if you are in the city with these characters. You almost feel as if you can go to Alopex’s shelter and get something to eat, or when Jenny meets Mona and they fight off the neighborhood bullies. The combination of the art, colors, and letters is just amazingly well done with no detail left out of any panel. A truly remarkable first issue with a new creative team that is sure to carry the family through another 100 issues.