Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writers: Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman
Artist: Ross Campbell
Release Date: 18th December 2013

Battered, bruised and broken – in both body and spirit – this issue sees the turtles retreat to upstate New York to lick their wounds and regroup. After rescuing their team leader Leonardo from nemesis Shredder’s brainwashing, and getting their shells handed to them in the process, tensions are high in the group. Like the awkward moment when you first see a close friend again after a drunken argument, there are regrets and resentments simmering just under the surface.

Tom Waltz’s script is perhaps a bit wordy and on the nose with its observations but the art by Ross Campbell is cute, making the turtles seem younger and more vulnerable than usual. While it softens the edges of the central characters, Campbell’s style fits very well with this story and its themes of recovery and reconciliation. However, while the art works in respect to the turtles it makes April O’Neil and Casey Jones both seem a little too fresh-faced and young.

While this issue is clearly intended as breathing space after some tumultuous events, things are finely poised to expand into a big and wide-reaching story in the course of this arc. The appearance of an injured foot clan member at the team’s hideout and hints of a link between April’s family and the origins of the turtles, suggests that danger is nearby and change is afoot. The turtles may be hiding out from Shredder in the forest, but they’re certainly not out of the woods yet.

Rating: 6/10.

The writer of this piece was: Joe Morrison
Joe is Freelance film journalist based in Glasgow.
You can also find Joe on Twitter.