Review – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters #3 (of 4) (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writers: Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz
Artists: Dan Schoening, Luis Antonio Delgado (Colours)
Release Date: 24th December, 2014

With two hockey teams and Casey Jones in his thrall, the teams have a fight on their hands if they are to subdue the monstrous entity known as Chi-you, save Casey, and get back to their own dimension before it’s too late. Donatello, Ray, and Egon must combine their intellects to devise a practical method of severing the connection between the demon and his minions, while the others take to the streets to tackle the threat head-on.

The fun doesn’t stop in issue three of this nerdgasmic crossover event, and once again we are treated to some truly outstanding moments; Donatello’s struggles with a proton pack, Casey’s cool-as-hell new character design, the obligatory Venkman one liners, and a cracking variant cover by Corey Smith are just some of the highlights of an action-packed issue, that sets the scene perfectly for the final showdown in next month’s concluding issue.

On the subject of Casey’s new look, If they ever make a toy line based on Dan Schoening’s designs, I’ll be first in the queue! His affection for all things ‘80s is pretty clear, and I love scanning the pages for little in-jokes or references to other movies he likes to sneak in. Every panel in the book crackles with vibrant energy and life, thanks in no small part to colourist Luis Antonio Delgado, who turns in another incredible shift, adding dramatic lighting, smoke and particle effects, to complement and enhance Schoening’s pencils and inks.

A tip of the hat must also go to the writing team of Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz, who continue to do an admirable job of squeezing eight main characters, a supporting cast, and a major villain into the story, whilst continually pushing the plot forward and keeping the action fast and furious. Of course, some relationships are more central to the plot, but each and every character is shrewdly afforded a degree of panel space and no-one feels superfluous.

After a late Christmas stocking filler for the comic-book geek in your life? Look no further!

Rasting: 4/5.

The Writer of this piece was: Martin Doyle
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