TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #115
Recap
Tokka and Rahzar are on a rampage, Rocksteady and Bebop are doing Rocksteady and Bebop things, the turtles have their hands full for sure. Ironically, it’s Karai and Jenny who hold two different keys to tame this situation. Will it work?
Review
Not since the Blues Brothers got the band back together has a musical group held so much importance. In the latest divine offering from the supergroup of Sophie Campbell, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee, the turtles find themselves not only in the middle of an all-out street fight with Rocksteady, Bebob, Tokka, and Rahzar but also in a race against the clock, a race that Jennika is leading and losing all in the same fell swoop.
With the great placement of clever one-liners, sincere character portrayals, solid storytelling, and dazzling art, issue #115 continues to build on the story of Jenny needing to form her band in order to save the turtles’ future timeline. Now, the turtles and time travel are no strangers, we’ve been here before in some form or another, however, this time it feels different. Could it be Campbell’s clever storytelling, artistic ability? Could it be Ronda Pattison’s extraordinary colors? Could it be Shawn Lee and his lettering? Yes, the answer is yes. Stories have told since the dawn of man. Those stories have been told and retold time and time again, however, it’s the delivery that matters most and this creative team continues to do just that. Deliver.
I’m absolutely in love with the character work that we have come to expect with the IDW series. The tradition continues with the phenomenal work in each panel of this issue. The book picks up from where 114 left off and, from the first page, we are treated to tremendous fight scenes that show a little bit of vulnerability in the turtles. Realizing that Tokka and Rahzar are in fact still babies stuck in their massive brute forms. The turtles thinking quickly and modernly decide to set up a video call between Karai and her babies. The exchange that follows is pure turtle brilliance in a rather heavy storyline considering how much we are leaning on Jennika and her ultimate decision. Those scenes with Karai, Tokka, and Rahzar are just the little cool-down that the story needed. As I say that, we are then thrust into what seems a battle for the ages that leads to Jenny throwing caution to the wind and realizing she must form the band. Form the band, save the world.
The gang is all here in issue 115. Rocksteady and Bebob bring their shenanigans and destructive ways, along for the ride are Tokka and Rahzar who are cult fan favorites that have finally made their way on the IDW stage and then you have none other than the headlining act of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bringing their brand of justice to the stage, but what does this all mean? It means that this is an opening act to what I believe is going to be another big phase for the turtles that will see their strength and character on display and test them once again. What is this test? I’m too sure. I don’t think we will see another character killed off, but I do see a return of a character… or something so huge that the turtle’s way of life will again be turned upside down. Only time will tell.
Final Thoughts
Another great installation in the IDW series. This book was super fun, and the passion of the creative team continues to rain down on the pages of each issue. All in all, this issue is really well built with the right amount of cheesy humor, good fight scenes, and classic TMNT speculation at the end.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #115: I Wanna Rock!
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 8/108/10