IDW Publishing 2016
Written by Paul Allor
Illustrated by Damian Couceiro
Coloured by Ronda Pattison
Lettered by Shawn Lee
The Turtles and April are trapped in a building owned by Baxter Stockman. Trapped with them is a mysterious scorpion mutant. Outside, the forces of Bishop and the Earth Protection Force seek to capture the mutants!
Bishop is a deranged man with delusions of grandeur who thinks that he’s at war with the mutants. He can’t understand how they exist and can’t tolerate that which he cannot control and he’s as dangerous as they come because of that. Paul’s characterisation of him and how those around him see him makes that abundantly clear. At least when it comes to Stockman we know there’s more reason behind his anger. Unfortunately we see men who are dangerous like Bishop out there wielding the kind of power he does and it doesn’t make the world a better place it makes it worse. There used to be a time when Mutants were the most feared because they were different now Paul is bringing that idea back in spades here and it’s worth noting that in the world we live in today is very much like that, fearing what we don’t understand.
That aside the whole deal with Dodi the mysterious new mutant Scorpion leads to the question how she was created and she’s around how many more are as well? Will they all be like her these new mutants or will there be good ones among them as well? It opens up a whole new world of possibilities here and it’s should be fun to have explored.
Paul also touches on why the boys have been separated lately and what effect that’s had on them. Raphael has been moody and brooding, not to mention spoiling for a fight and we finally learn why and it goes deeper than we could have imagined. Gotta say this was pleasant and unexpected and I really liked it. Having never been a follower of the boys beyond a few cartoon episodes here and there and the Batman crossover I do feel like Paul’s made it easier to understand them as individuals. With that comes more likeability and relatability and it’s making me a fan of his work and this run.
Damian and Ronda have been doing some great things with the interiors here. While I’d really like to see more backgrounds in play from Damian the mood he creates here is rather effective and the shading in the characters brings a darkness that the black backgrounds leave out. Still the flow of the story through page layouts, angles and perspective are handled well.
I really like the direction this arc has been taking and i’m hoping that Paul isn’t going to stop with just this one and that eventually we’ll be seeing him take up this tract and bring us back to it either later down the series or elsewhere. I’d be down for a series that keeps this going this way with Stockman wanting them back in his lab on one side, Bishop and his task force on another and new mutants on the third effectively creating a hostile triangle around the boys. It’s a great approach and one that screams for further exploration. With the work Paul’s been doing i’m sure they’ll be a demand for that.