Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3: One With Nature

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 picks up with the adventures of everyone’s favorite leader, Leonardo, as he goes on his own journey of self discovery. For those not getting the pattern of the first two issues by now: The turtles have split up. Each one of them is on their own journey, leading their lives in dramatically different directions. Raphael was shown in prison while Michaelangelo was living the TV star dream in Tokyo, Japan. But, as all turtles fans know, Leonardo is the most honed in of all his brothers, living in his father’s footsteps in his practice of ninjutsu. This leads Leo to the Ganges, where he decides that the only direction he can go in life is one that truly brings him back to his roots.

Let’s just get this out of the way, plain and simple, this is the best issue so far. Jason Aaron has taken the first two turtles in directions that are true to their characters and logical in the storytelling. But none of that eclipses the direction that Leonardo goes in here, which is absolutely apropos for his character, but also just as ridiculous as it sounds when reading the issue. But the crazy part is that it all spins off the mind of Aaron, who knows how ridiculous it sounds, and it really works logically in knowing why Leo would go to these great lengths, yet how comical it turns out. This is the definitive direction that Leo would go in life, and Aaron simultaneously keeps it true to the character, while also identifying how multifaceted this world can be.

A lot of this issue delves into the current mindset of Leonardo. Just to recap, this is a Leonardo who was brainwashed by the Shredder, aided in the Shredder’s death, saw his father die to resurrect the Shredder, and then teamed up with the Shredder to stop the end of the world. Needless to say, the guy has been traumatized over and over again. His only solitude comes from his training, his meditation, and his connection with the family that has now split apart following the events of The Armageddon Game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150. Aaron truly gets this character’s mindset, showing a true knowledge of this franchise’s past, and all of that comes across beautifully in this issue.

The art and coloring duties for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 belong to Cliff Chiang, who brings his signature style and flair to the world of TMNT. Chiang’s thick inks and bold lines help define the rougher edges of the character, while also highlighting the character’s inability to change regardless of the circumstances around him. Chiang’s art really harkens back to the themes of the story, allowing for a perfect marrying of dialogue and art. For Chiang’s credit as well, a lot of what makes his art great is what he decides not to depict. Some sequences may feel shorter than others, or even cut off from what we would typically expect. But this is all in service to the aspects of Leo that are being shown off in this issue.