Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42
Written by Tom Waltz
Art by Cory Smith
Colored by Ronda Pattison
Full disclosure – I didn’t read issue #41. The darn thing came out a week after #40, wholly unexpected, so it slipped by me. I remembered I missed it sometime before this issue, but I forgot while I was reading it. Either way, it doesn’t seem like I really missed much. Fugitoid is a tad more involved with the plot this issue, but everything else seems exactly like how we left it in issue #40. Must’ve been a slow one.
Issue 42 is solid enough, but it’s one of those parlor scene issues comic books sometimes run into. It’s an exposition heavy, twist heavy story. There’s going to be lots and lots of talking as Leonardo explains everything to Splinter, and in turn, the reader. Tom Waltz was bound to run into an issue like this sometime in this lengthy, twisty run. All adventurous writers do. Even Watchmen (spoilers for the most famous comic) has that scene where Ozymandius explains his scheme in issue 11. I’m not faulting Tom Waltz for writing himself into a corner, it’s just that we’ve read so many scenes like this, we expect the best execution and nothing else.
Luckily, Waltz makes the most of it and nails the tone with Leonardo’s speech. Splinter is faced with some harsh truths, Donatello makes his long awaited return to the scene, and it’s all done in the first half of the comic, cleaning house among the old plot threads as he creates new ones with the battle we glimpse. Now that all the cards are on the table, we won’t have to skimp on the action in future issues.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42 was a rewarding treat for long-time readers and an appetizing treat for the coming brawls. Every mutant appears. Almost every mutant gets to do something. A solid effort. Can’t wait for the next one.
Written by Tom Waltz
Art by Cory Smith
Colored by Ronda Pattison
Full disclosure – I didn’t read issue #41. The darn thing came out a week after #40, wholly unexpected, so it slipped by me. I remembered I missed it sometime before this issue, but I forgot while I was reading it. Either way, it doesn’t seem like I really missed much. Fugitoid is a tad more involved with the plot this issue, but everything else seems exactly like how we left it in issue #40. Must’ve been a slow one.
Issue 42 is solid enough, but it’s one of those parlor scene issues comic books sometimes run into. It’s an exposition heavy, twist heavy story. There’s going to be lots and lots of talking as Leonardo explains everything to Splinter, and in turn, the reader. Tom Waltz was bound to run into an issue like this sometime in this lengthy, twisty run. All adventurous writers do. Even Watchmen (spoilers for the most famous comic) has that scene where Ozymandius explains his scheme in issue 11. I’m not faulting Tom Waltz for writing himself into a corner, it’s just that we’ve read so many scenes like this, we expect the best execution and nothing else.
Luckily, Waltz makes the most of it and nails the tone with Leonardo’s speech. Splinter is faced with some harsh truths, Donatello makes his long awaited return to the scene, and it’s all done in the first half of the comic, cleaning house among the old plot threads as he creates new ones with the battle we glimpse. Now that all the cards are on the table, we won’t have to skimp on the action in future issues.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #42 was a rewarding treat for long-time readers and an appetizing treat for the coming brawls. Every mutant appears. Almost every mutant gets to do something. A solid effort. Can’t wait for the next one.
A Look Inside
