Chris Cooper reviews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #66…
Alopex is alone, her psyche reeling from Kitsune’s mind control. With Raphael and Nobody searching for her, will Alopex be able to find her way back to the side of good?
You can’t spend as long reading a series as I have without gaining favourites. Writers, artists, characters…it’s going to happen. Without solicitations or any future knowledge spoiling things, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this month’s TMNT adventure has been drawn by one of my favourite artists. As soon as I saw the first page of TMNT #66 I knew I was looking at Sophie Campbell’s work. This immediately set high expectations, but there was nothing to worry about.
I could go on and on about how beautiful this issue is. The way the snow affects how clearly we see each character. The snow itself and the stunning setting it provides. How open Raphael is trying to be about his feelings and how vulnerable yet strong Alopex is. There could be no words and I think we’d understand the story. That’s how strong the visuals are. It’s not just down to Sophie though. Pattison’s colours seem to be more complimentary to Campbell’s style here, and the marriage of both is what really makes this issue stand out as a high point for me.
There is a tonne of stuff I’d like to go into with you all, but no spoilers! It’s odd for TMNT to have two one-shots in a row as it usually appears to be going at full pace towards the next big story arc. I appreciate this slightly slower pace to things. It’s given us time to now only have a really fun Christmas issue but also time to actually concentrate on Alopex, and to a lesser degree Raph and Angel, without having to fit them in amongst other story points. If they can keep them to the quality of these last two issues then please let there be more.
I’ve made it sound like the writing is of less importance this month. It really isn’t. It’s always really cool to see these characters punching flipping their way out of trouble. But it can be even cooler to see them display real emotion. Moments when art and dialogue comes together to make truly understand how they feel is special and #66 manages it in spades.
Rating: 9/10
Chris Cooper
Originally published January 25, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
