Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Juan Ferreyra
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Release Date: 26th February 2025

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The first act of Jason Aaron’s soft-rebooted TMNT ongoing series did a fantastic job of establishing the new status quo for our four brothers. Initially scattering them to the wind, the six-issue arc saw them gradually being brought back together as they were hunted down by a ruthless gang of ninjas, with each issue boasting a new guest artist and giving us a deep dive into a particular brother’s psyche. It provided some truly stunning moments of character development, with Aaron and artists like Joelle Jones, Rafael Albuquerque and Cliff Chiang covering some dark and frequently bleak themes.

This latest chapter, which sees Juan Ferreyra taking over as the full-time artist moving forwards, picks things up right from the end of issue six, with the Brothers Hamato pinned down by DA Hale’s Foot-controlled “emergency services” in the middle of Times Square. forced to fight their way out and continually tanking their sketchy-at-best good name in the city, the turtles regroup in New Jersey and try to agree on a plan of action.  Unfortunately, “agree” is the absolute last thing they end up doing.

Okay okay, so having the brothers bickering with each other isn’t exactly a new approach, but Aaron has ramps things up to a whole new level here and, rather than just the usual clash of personalities, this feels like a family that absolutely hates one another. “Four busted knuckles” indeed.

Adding an interesting wrinkle to the proceedings is the fact that, in the midst of all the aggression and sniping at one another, we have the truly tragic figure of Donatello, still processing the trauma of his time spent in a sick mutant “zoo” while speaking to (and apparently being “spoken” to by) a dead rat he is convinced is his late father, Splinter. Ferreyra’s knack for the grotesque really shines here, and the way he illustrates the emaciated, slightly manic Donnie makes for a truly harrowing sight – especially for a brother who is best known for his sharp mind and peerless intellect.

Speaking of Ferreyra, I simply can’t understate how great it is for one of my all-time favourite comic artists to be working on one of my all-time favourite properties, and watching the Argentinian artist showcase his flair for wildly overexaggerated expression and spellbinding page layouts is an absolute treat to see. One particular double-page spread near the end of the issue is a legitimate highlight, with our freshly-separated brothers dealing with the Foot Clan in three separate locations, and Ferreyra’s striking colours making each sequence ‘pop’ in a markedly different way.

The final pages see Donny delivering an emotional gut punch of a revelation, leading to a goosebump-raising final page as the ‘lost’ turtle seemingly finds his way. It’s an incredibly strong start to the new arc, and Aaron and Ferreyra are clearly having an absolute blast putting our heroes through the physical and emotional wringer, something which only looks poised to continue in the weeks to come. I honestly can’t recommend this series highly enough, and watching the four Hamato brothers being presented with this level of emotional depth is absolutely fantastic.

Rating: 5/5.

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[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says
You can follow Ceej on Twitter

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