Raphael Takes the Fight to Null in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No. 94

Is This Gearing up for a Season, or Volume, Finale?

Despite the complicated plot with lots of moving pieces, Waltz and company always have time for small yet steady character beats. Harold Lilja’s line about tragedy befalling anyone associated with the Turtles is simply yet brilliant. Leonardo reaching back out to Splinter despite all their recent disagreements during a crisis is also right on; despite his quest for independence, Leo is always his father’s son. And Casey and Raphael get some great bits together, as they commiserate upon their own anger and angst, like real brothers (or best friends) would.

Image by IDW Publishing

Dave Wachter and Ronda Pattison are pulling some amazing double duties on art and colors, respectively. Between this and the Free Comic Book Day issue, they’ve produced 2.5 issues of story within barely two months, all without sacrificing quality. This issue is a fast paced ride of suspense and action, with at least two brutal action sequences stuffed within. The raid of Null Group, the slaughter of Lupo and his mafia buddies, and even the rescue efforts for Jennika, are all paced well to keep the read brisk yet dramatic. The amount of emotions Wachter gets from animal-beings remains stunning.

Image by IDW Publishing

The tension and pace are ramping up, as the series moves closer to issue 100, which is deliberately so. All, or at least as many as possible, of the story threads and characters are converging at one particular moment. While this is no doubt being done to celebrate the “century” mark, some speculation as to whether or not it could be a spectacular sendoff for one or all of the regular narrative creators might not be unfounded. Just how long will Waltz, Eastman, and/or Curnow be able to handle TMNT? As great as they are, it can’t be forever. Even Stan Lee and Jack Kirby called it a run after 100 issues of Fantastic Four. Whatever comes, it will continue the green machine of excellence that this series has presented for nearly eight years. Criminally underrated, it’s a comic that always strikes hard, and fades away.