Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things #2: Is That A Demogorgon Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things #2 picks up with the two teams split up trying to discover why The Upside Down has unleashed itself upon New York. While one team investigates the gate to The Upside Down inside of the subway station, the other is trapped inside TCRI while Eleven is being manipulated by one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ oldest foes, Baxter Stockman. As all these tales end up going, chaos ensues and the bigger scheme behind the scenes starts to unravel itself. 

Much like the first issue of this series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things #2 will leave you grinning during the story. Writer Cameron Chittock simultaneously captures the tone and humor of an episode of Stranger Things, while infusing the life and nuance of Eastman and Laird’s original Mirage Studios style Turtles. The best part is that Chittock puts his writing chops on display whilst highlighting how much of a fan he is of these two series. The amount of fun, niche references in here is astounding, yet they never take over the story, allowing this world to grow and develop on its own. One particular instance of this is when Eleven starts experiencing visions of her life with Hopper, who is actually Stockman playing tricks on her brain. This section feels straight out of the TV show, yet comes across completely authentic on its own. Being a fan of either of these properties will make this read swimmingly, while the authenticity behind the writing will also lend well to new readers.

Fero Peniche’s artwork here is a lot of fun, perfectly capturing both the retro ‘80s Stranger Things aesthetic and the classic TMNT aesthetic of the same era. While Peniche’s art is not particularly reminiscent of either standalone projects from these franchises, it works well when mixing them together. The Turtles and the Stranger Things’ kids look like a perfect pairing here, making their drastically different appearances less odd, allowing the story to take center stage. The highlight of the art here has to be the fight between Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Demogorgon. The Demogorgon is a perfect fit for a foe of the Ninja Turtles, and Peniche captures all of the excitement of their fight in a well paced manner. These pages display all of the fun of the series while also visually capturing the grittiness of the Mirage version of these characters.

Sofia Dodgson’s colors here build upon Peniche’s fantastic pencils, helping cement the tone and aesthetic of the two settings on display here: the TCRI facility and the subway train car. Dodgson does an excellent job using colors to contrast these two settings, giving the subway car an ominous red hue while the TCRI facility is well lit. This makes the shifts between these segments throughout the story feel welcome, adding to the overall flow of the issue. 

Wrapping up the creative team is Rus Wooton on letters. Wooton does an excellent job throughout the issue, with an emphasis on his use of onomatopoeia. While not used excessively, Wooton’s onomatopoeia always adds a dynamic sense of action to these panels. For example, adding these effects while the Demogorgon comes through the gate to The Upside Down makes the page feel scarier, while also highlighting the threat of these monsters.